Jamal Shead

Shead began his high school career at John B. Connally High School before transferring to Manor High School. As a junior at Manor High, he averaged 18.1 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 3.9 assists per game. Shead led Manor High School to the state tournament for the first time in school history and scored 44 points in a win over Rudder High School, earning District 18-5A Most Valuable Player honors. As a senior, he averaged 19.3 points and 4.3 assists per game, helping Manor achieve a 28-10 record and the District 18-5A title. He was considered a three-star prospect by 247Sports. Shead committed to play basketball for Houston over Texas A&M, SMU and Colorado State. Jamal Shead played sparingly as a freshman at Houston. He averaged 3.3 points and 1.5 assists per game, logging minor minutes as a backup point guard on Houston's 2021-2022 Final Four team. During Shead's sophomore season, he was promoted to the starting lineup and finished averaging 10.0 points and 5.8 assists per game. Shead was named to the All-American Athletic Conference third team. As a junior, he averaged 10.5 points, 5.4 assists, 3.0 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game. Shead was named to the All-AAC second team and earned AAC Defensive Player of the year honors. Following the season he declared for the 2023 NBA draft , but ultimately returned to Houston for his senior year. In 2023-2024, Houston's first year in the Big 12, Shead led the Cougar's to a regular season title with averages of 12.9 points, 6.2 assists, and 2.2 steals per game. He was named the Big 12 Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year, becoming the first player to win both awards in the same season.