I'm not going to snatch the low-hanging fruit. There's no need. It doesn't matter if your last name is Laugher or Weeper, losing the national championship game in the final seconds would be devastating for anyone. It clearly was for L.J. Cryer.
The Houston Cougars guard didn't get a chance to put his team over the top against the Florida Gators. The final possession was a disaster that ended in a turnover without the star getting a look. An earlier possession saw Cryer lose the ball out of bounds. He didn't take a shot in the final 1:25.
The "What If" of that final minute will be sure to haunt Cryer and the rest of the Cougars for a long, long time.
L.J. Cryer was overcome with emotion on Houston bench
Joseph Duarte of the Houston Chronicle captured the moment after Cryer made his way back to the bench and let his emotions out.
Tough moment as L.J. Cryer sits on the Houston bench after a close loss to Florida in national championship game pic.twitter.com/N3D68n7qdF
— Joseph Duarte (@Joseph_Duarte) April 8, 2025
That's sports for you. The agony and the ecstasy. For every player jumping for joy, there's one hunched over on the bench, devastated.
Cryer finished with 19 points, six rebounds and two assists in 37 minutes of play. He was 6-of-18 from the floor and 4-of-11 from beyond the arc. No other Cougar had double-digit points on the night.
The loss will be particularly devastating to all of Houston because it looked like they had their hands on the trophy. They took a 12-point lead in the second half and blew it. After overcoming a significant deficit against Duke to advance to the title game, they were on the wrong side of it in the biggest game of the year.
Where does Cryer go from here? The senior is out of eligibility. He'll have to convince an NBA team to pick him in the draft or give him a chance as an undrafted free agent. Hopefully this isn't the lasting image we have of him.