O Captain! My Captain! Houston's J'Wan Roberts leads the 2024 All-Glue Team

Marquette's Stevie Mitchell is the fifth two-time selection in the 24-year history of the All-Glue Team

Late in the first half of a game at Oklahoma on March 2, Houston forward J’Wan Roberts reached out to defend Sooners guard Jalen Moore on a baseline drive. Roberts’ right hand momentarily got caught on Moore’s bicep, ripping the webbing between his thumb and forefinger so deeply he could see the bone. “It all happened so fast,” Roberts says. “I didn’t know my hand could split like that.”

Roberts, a 6-7 senior, went into the locker room and received seven stitches in that hand. The second half was less than four minutes old when he re-entered the game. With the score tied at 85 and the clock winding down, Houston point guard Jamal Shead drove the lane and clanked an attempted game-winner off the rim. Roberts couldn’t quite gather the rebound, but he was able to reach out his stitched-up hand and knock the ball away from an Oklahoma defender. It bounced to Shead, who sank a fadeaway with 0.1 seconds to play to give the Cougars an 87-85 win.

Roberts finished with 20 points, five rebounds, two assists, a block and a steal, but as usual his stats did not tell the whole story. Stitches and deflections aren’t recorded in box scores, but his contributions did not go unnoticed where it mattered most. “Coach (Kelvin Sampson) said afterwards, if you don’t tip that ball, there wouldn’t have been a game winner,” Roberts says. “He always says it takes two guys to get a rebound, one to tip it, and one get the ball.”

It's understandable why Roberts might not be a household name. Sampson is on the short list for national coach of the year, Shead is a surefire All-American, and 6-1 senior guard L.J. Cryer, a transfer from Baylor, has been the team’s leading scorer all season. They are the most-cited reasons why Houston won the Big 12 regular season title, climbed to the top of the polls, and earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.

There is, however, one place where Roberts not a supporting actor but the leading man: He is the captain of my 2024 All-Glue Team.

I’ve been conducting this annual exercise for so long that the team is now older than any of the players who are on it. It started with a Sports Illustrated story in March of 2000, in which I collaborated with Alex Wolff to produce an All-Glue team for our NCAA tournament preview issue. That story birthed the phrase “Glue Guy.” From that year forward, I have selected an annual All-Glue team and assigned a captain for each one. It is a sticky endeavor and a labor of love, as well as an important exercise that recognizes players like Roberts, who do all the proverbial little things and make big sacrifices in an effort to hold their teams together.

“Being a Glue Guy to me is about finding ways to impact winning without scoring the ball,” Roberts says. “It’s getting out of your comfort zone to help the team win. Like tipping the ball for a rebound. Giving your all on every possession. It doesn’t show up on a stat sheet, but it impacts winning.”

Roberts is the Cougars’ fourth-leading scorer at 9.9 points per game, but he has scored 20 points three times. That indicates he could score a lot more but sublimates that skill for the betterment of the team. He is the Cougars’ leading rebounder (7.0 per game), he’s second in assists (1.9), and he’s third in steals (1.3). According to KenPom.com, Roberts has the 11^th highest offensive rating in the Big 12 while ranking in the top 20 of the league in offensive rebound percentage, block percentage, and steal percentage. That’s some sticky versatility right there.

Metrics maven Evan Miyakawa took every player in college basketball who is averaging under 10 points per game and ranked them according to their Bayesian Performance Rating (which measures overall impact). He calls this his Glue Guy rankings. Roberts has the third highest rating in that group.

Roberts is the fourth Houston player to be named to my All-Glue team in the last six years. Sampson describes him as a “sweet, compassionate, caring young man, the kind you’d want your daughter to date,” but once Roberts steps between those lines, Roberts becomes a warrior. His effort is surpassed only by his utility. “He’s our best low post scorer, he’s our best passer outside of (point guard Jamal) Shead. He’s a great decision maker,” Sampson says. “And he’s become a great leader.”

A self-described “chill dude” who grew up in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, Roberts came to the U.S. in eighth grade to live with his aunt in Killeen, Texas, in search of exposure and competition. When Roberts got to Houston the summer before his freshman year, he was just 17 years old and weighed 195 pounds. Sampson suggest he sit out the year as a redshirt year so he could develop. The throwback redshirt year is a rarity these days, but Roberts was on board with the plan. “I didn’t question anything,” he says. “Every freshman would want to play his first year, but it was deeper for me than that.”

Roberts also didn’t question anything when he played just 10.8 minutes per game as a redshirt freshman. Or when he played four total minutes during Houston’s run to the 2021 Final Four. Or when averaged just 16.2 minutes the following year. The progress was steady, but it took a while for Sampson to coach the beach out of him. “J’Wan didn’t know how to play hard our way,” Sampson says. “He’d have a good day, but then he couldn’t stack another day on top of it.”

Many, perhaps most, college players would have transferred after three years in such a reduced role, but Roberts never considered it. “I never tried to look at it like, why am I not playing?” he says. “My thought was, let me play my best basketball in practice and get these guys ready for the game. I’ve been a team player. If you’re averaging 30 points a game but you have a losing record, that’s not fun.”

Roberts finally entered the starting lineup last season, averaging 10.0 points, 7.7 rebounds, 1.3 blocks and 1.2 assists per game. He was named the AAC’s Most Improved Player while helping the Cougars to a conference title and a spot in the Sweet Sixteen, where they lost to Miami. Roberts has continued to flourish this season. “If you’re going to put a guy on a poster who represents this program, it would be J’Wan,” Sampson says. “He’s been developed from the ground up.”

Though he is a fifth-year senior, Roberts has the option of returning to Houston for a sixth courtesy of the additional year the NCAA granted to all athletes due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Will the Glue Guy stick around? He’s not sure, but there are some more important things to focus on as the NCAA tournament gets underway. “Playing in the tournament is really about building memories,” Roberts says. “We’ve been close to a national championship, just right there. I feel like this team has a chance to do it. I just want to keep playing my heart out so I can help us make it happen.”

Here is the rest of the 2024 All-Glue team as well as a complete list of past honorees:

Stevie Mitchell, 6-3 junior guard, Marquette

Mitchell is the fifth player in the history of the All-Glue team to be a two-time nominee. (Baylor’s Mark Vital, Purdue’s Dakota Mathias and Raphael Davis, and Kansas’ Travis Releford are the others.) That speaks to Mitchell’s consistency as well as the program he plays for. While 2023 All-Glue selections like Gonzaga’s Anton Watson and Kansas’ Kevin McCullar moved up to featured roles, Mitchell rejoined a team that returned mostly intact from last season, and has once again been a sticky stalwart at both ends of the floor.

First and foremost, Mitchell is one of the best perimeter defenders in the country. He led the Big East in steal percentage for the second straight season at 4.3, which is the highest steals percentage in the conference since Kris Dunn’s 4.88 in 2014-15. Mitchell is also third in the league turnover percentage (he was second last year) and is No. 7 on EvanMiya’s Glue Guys ranking.

This season Mitchell ranks fifth on Marquette in scoring at 8.8 points per game. His three-point percentage of 28.3 is a career low but disproportionately impacted by a 3-for-23 slump in his first nine games. Otherwise Mitchell is posting career highs in field goal percentage (52.1) and free throw percentage (75.5). He’s also averaging a career high 25.9 minutes. “Stevie playing one minute requires the energy of a normal player playing three minutes,” Marquette coach Shaka Smart said. “What this guy does is not human from a standpoint of both ends of the floor and the relentless energy that he brings, and the relentless energy he gives to his teammates.”

Mitchell graduated from Wilson High School in Reading, Pa, as the leading scorer in school history. He originally committed to play for Steve Wojciechowski. After Marquette fired Wojciechowski and hired Smart, Smart called Mitchell on his first day on the job and went to visit him. Smart convinced Mitchell that if he came to Marquette, he would thrive in whatever role he chose to embrace. Mitchell doesn’t just perform his Glue Guy function well, he actually enjoys it. If he returns to Marquette next season, he could be a first-time All-Glue threepeat.

Robert Jones, 6-10 super senior forward, Iowa State

In Ames, they celebrate Hilton Magic, but this season the arena has also been powered by “Big Rob Energy.” That’s the sobriquet Jones has earned in his third season in Ames. Besides being energetic, Jones is strong, agile, intelligent and wise. He fancies himself a philosopher king, and last summer he had an image of Poseidon, the Greek god of the sea, inked on his right arm. “It represents the progression I want to reach in my life,” he said in December. “Living every day in order to be the best version of myself.”

Jones might have been just as well off getting a tattoo of Job, because he has had to show a Biblical level of patience. As a three-star prospect coming out of Prior Lake (Minn.) High School, Jones was skinny and slow, which is why he drew no interest from high major schools. He committed to Denver and played two years, averaging 9.0 points and 4.8 rebounds. He planned to transfer to Northern Iowa until the assistant who was recruiting him there, Kyle Green, left for Iowa State, where Cyclones coach T.J. Otzelberger was taking over a program that had gone 2-22 the year before.

As a junior, Jones averaged 2.9 points and 12.1 minutes a game. As a senior, he averaged 5.7 points and 17.1 minutes. He started a total of 13 games, mostly when starers were injured, but he mostly he was a role player. Otzelberger appreciated Jones’ talent, but he made too many mistakes. Jones averaged 2.5 turnovers per 40 minutes as a junior, and 3.2 last season. As was the case with J’Wan Roberts, many players in Jones’ situation would have transferred again, but he chose to stick it out.

That perseverance paid off. Jones has been a full-time starter this season, and though he ranks sixth on the team in scoring at 8.2 points per game, he ranks in the top 10 of the Big 12 in both block percentage and steal percentage, per KenPom. He’s also fifth in the league in offensive rebound percentage and making a career-high 61.0 percent from the floor. And those turnovers? Down to 1.8 per 40 minutes.

“Rob, as much or more than anyone, has on a daily basis lived out the standards we have in our program in every aspect of his life,” Otzelberger said in December. “His voice maybe, at times, may be more impactful than the coaches’ (voices), because guys know that he's been through it. He's done it. He's lived it. So when he says something, they know it's very substantive. He's never looking to cut a corner. He's always looking to do the hard work and take the stairs.”

Mason Gillis, 6-6 senior guard, Purdue

For his entire career in West Lafayette, the storyline around Gillis has not just been about his Glue Guy contributions, but also his minutes (or lack thereof) and his lineup status (off-and-on starter). After redshirting his first season to recover from a knee injury that cost him his senior season in high school, Gillis started 23 games as a freshman and 25 as a sophomore. That went down to 15 last season, but he had every reason to expect his minutes would tick up again as a senior.

Two things happened to thwart that scenario. First, Purdue coach Matt Painter recruited Lance Jones out of the transfer portal. The 6-1 super senior guard from Southern Illinois gave the Boilermakers the athletic, attacking shooting guard they lacked in the past. Second, 6-9 forward Trey Kaufmann returned for his sophomore season with a dramatically improved three-point touch. Gillis was caught betwixt and between, and Painter decided the team was better off bringing him off the bench.

Gillis didn’t pretended to be happy about the situation, but in true Glue Guy fashion, he didn’t let his disappointment affect his play or impact the team. There’s a reason his teammates voted him a co-captain last fall. Gillis has actually averaged more minutes than Kaufman-Wrenn – 20.4 per game, fifth highest on the team – and is averaging career highs in scoring (7.0 points per game) and assists (1.7) while averaging 3.8 rebounds per game. He is also posting his best shooting percentages across the board (50.7 from the floor, 48.5 from three, 85.4 from the foul line).

Gillis has scored double figures just seven times as a senior, and his season high is 16. But he has a knack for making timely buckets. When Purdue was reeling against Illinois at home on Jan. 5, Gillis hit a three-pointer that stopped a 17-4 Illini run and ignited an 18-7 response. Purdue’s spurt was capped by another three from Gillis, and it spurred the Boilermakers to an 83-78 win. “I've always thought Gillis is a stud,” Illinois coach Brad Underwood said after the game. “I love him. He finds a way to kick my ass every time we play him.”

Gillis’ willingness to sacrifice his stats and accept his role has not gone unnoticed. “We vote for our captains, so that’s what his teammates think of him,” Painter said. “Part of leadership is when it doesn’t go your way, be happy for other people. He’s done a great job of that.” That positive attitude, not to mention all those three-pointers, assists, and lockdown defense, will be critical to Purdue’s pursuit of a national championship.

“To a degree, I've sacrificed every year here so I'm used to it,” Gillis said. “I understand that moving forward in life you have to be able to sacrifice. I want be able to keep playing, I want to keep being who I am.”

Josiah-Jordan James, 6-6 super senior forward, Tennessee

When James committed to Tennessee in the spring of 2019, the expectation was that he might not play two seasons in college, much less five. The Charleston native had been named Gatorade Player of the Year for South Carolina and a McDonald’s All-American. He was ranked No. 20 in his class by the Recruited Services Consensus Index. The only question was when he would leave for the NBA.

The fact that James is still in Knoxville results from a combination of injuries and reality, but it should not obscure the reality that without him, the Vols would have had a much harder time winning the SEC regular season championship. That’s why he is second in EvanMiya’s Glue Guys rankings. James has started every game this season and ranks fourth on the team in scoring (8.4 ppg), second in rebounding (6.5), third in assists (1.3), second in steals (1.3) and third in blocks (0.6). He is in the top 25 of the SEC in block percentage, steal percentage, turnover rate, and defensive rebound percentage.

James confesses that he, too, fell into the expectations trap. “I had my whole life figured out,” he said. Those plans started to go awry before the start of his freshman season, when he sustained a hip injury that lingered all season. In February of his sophomore year, he missed two games because of a wrist injury. That eventually required off-season surgery, which cost him precious development time. Last year, James missed 12 games because of various injuries but still averaged 10.0 points and 4.7 minutes in 25.2 minutes per game. He entered the NBA draft, competed in the NBA G League Showcase, and worked out for several teams. In the end, there was not enough of a demand to warrant leaving his name in the draft. So he opted to return to Knoxville.

This is the first season in which James has not missed any games, so it’s no coincidence that he is putting up his best numbers. Though his scoring average has dipped, he has shown the ability to score if the team needs it. He scored 20 points in a loss at North Carolina on Nov. 29 and 26 in a win at Kentucky on Feb. 3. Many observers looked at that performance as an anomaly, especially considering James began SEC in a horrendous 1-for-18 shooting slump from three-point range. In true Glue Guy fashion, however, James saw it as a natural result of diligence, patience, and hard-won perspective.

“I've been playing basketball for 23 years, and you go through ruts,” he said. “You go through shooting slumps, but it's always about the things you can control — being a good teammate, being a leader. Those are things I pride myself on.”

Chad Baker-Mazara, 6-7 senior forward, Auburn

For a guy who is playing for his fourth school in four years, Baker-Mazara has provided a lot of stability for the Tigers. He is a classic three-and-D wing whose agility and burst make him a perfect fit in Bruce Pearl’s up-tempo system.

Baker-Mazara is Auburn’s third-leading scorer at 10.3 points per game. He is also averaging 3.7 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.1 steals per game. He ranks in the top 20 of the SEC in assist rate, block percentage, steal percentage, free throw rate, and free throw percentage. Baker-Mazar is versatile, consistent, and has natural leadership skills that have been invaluable for a squad that brought in a bevy of new players.

Baker-Mazara has elite physical qualities, but he turned out to be more of a leader than Pearl expected. With Auburn trailing Ole Miss, 43-35, at halftime, Baker-Mazara led an impromptu players only meeting in the locker room, spurring the Tigers to a 91-77 win. Baker-Mazara also had 25 points, five rebounds, four assists, two steals and a block in Auburn’s 97-76 win at Georgia on Feb. 24. The Tigers needed that output because their starting power forward, Jaylin Williams was out with a knee injury.

Few would have projected this kind of success for Baker-Mazara in the spring of 2022 when he was dismissed from San Diego State for not having “lived up to his academic responsibilities,” according to a university statement. Baker-Mazara, who grew up in the Dominican Republic and played high school ball in New Jersey, had transferred to San Diego State after spending his freshman season at Duquesne. He averaged 6.4 points and 2.0 rebounds in 12.8 minutes for the Aztecs and was voted the Mountain West’s Sixth Man of the Year. He scored 17 points in SDSU’s first-round NCAA tournament loss to Creighton. After he left, he transferred Northwest Florida State College, where he averaged a team-best 15.2 points while leading the team to a 29-8 record and a spot in the NJCAA National Championship game.

Baker-Mazara may be well traveled, but he has landed in a good place at Auburn.

To him, it doesn’t matter if he’s the Main Guy or the Glue Guy, so long as he has a place to play. Pearl knows more than anyone that Auburn probably would not had the season it had, capped off by an SEC tournament title, without him. “He’s hungry and humble,” Pearl said. “He is passionate. He is emotional. He is very appreciative of the opportunity here at Auburn.”

HONORABLE MENTION: Kylan Boswell, Arizona; Stephon Castle, UConn; Harrison Ingram, North Carolina; Cam Matthews, Mississippi State; Adou Thiero, Kentucky; Richie Saunders, BYU; Brandon Weatherspoon, FAU; Latrell Wrightsell, Alabama

PAST ALL-GLUE TEAMS

2023: Kevin McCullar, Kansas (captain); Trey Galloway, Indiana; Andre Jackson, UConn; Stevie Mitchell, Marquette; Jamal Shead, Houston; Anton Watson, Gonzaga

2022: Dalen Terry, Arizona (captain); Justin Minaya, Providence; Paul Mulcahy, Rutgers; Tyler Wahl, Wisconsin; Da’Monte Williams, Illinois; Jaylin Williams, Arkansas

2021: Herb Jones, Alabama (captain); Trent Frazier, Illinois; Marcus Garrett, Kansas; DeJon Jarreau, Houston; Justin Smith, Arkansas; Mark Vital, Baylor

2020: Mark Vital, Baylor (captain); K.J. Feagin, San Diego State; Andres Feliz, Illinois; Marcus Garrett, Kansas; Trey Landers, Dayton; Darryl Morsell, Maryland

2019: Zavier Simpson, Michigan, and Matisse Thybulle, Washington (co-captains); Zylan Cheatham, Arizona State; Nojel Eastern, Purdue; Trent Forrest, Florida State; Ashton Hagans, Kentucky; Galen Robinson, Houston

2018: Theo Pinson, North Carolina (captain); Isaiah Wilkins, Virginia; Rashard Kelly, Wichita State; Rawle Alkins, Arizona; Dakota Mathias, Purdue; Silas Melson, Gonzaga

2017: Jordan Bell, Oregon (captain); Landen Lucas, Kansas; Dakota Mathias, Purdue; Ben Moore, SMU; Nathan Adrian, West Virginia; Isaiah Briscoe, Kentucky

2016: Matt Costello, Michigan State (captain); James Farr, Xavier; Landen Lucas, Kansas; Kaleb Tarczewski, Arizona; Raphael Davis, Purdue; Marshall Plumlee, Duke

2015: Rico Gathers, Baylor (captain); Alex Barlow, Butler; Josh Gasser, Wisconsin; Dustin Hogue, Iowa State; Tekele Cotton, Wichita State; Raphael Davis, Purdue; Briante Weber, VCU (honorary member)=

2014: Patric Young, Florida (captain); Tekele Cotton, Wichita State; Josh Gasser, Wisconsin; Justin Jackson, Cincinnati; T.J. McConnell, Arizona; Akil Mitchell, Virginia

2013: Mike Hart, Gonzaga (captain); Kyle Anderson, UCLA; Melvin Ejim, Iowa State; Roosevelt Jones, Butler; Nate Lubick, Georgetown; Travis Releford, Kansas

2012: Darius Miller, Kentucky (captain); Quincy Acy, Baylor; Travis Releford, Kansas; Toure’ Murry, Wichita State; Anthony Marshall, UNLV; Jorge Gutierrez, Cal; Zack Novak, Michigan

2011: Tyrone Nash and Carleton Scott, Notre Dame (co-captains); Terrell Bell, Virginia Tech; Brady Morningstar, Kansas; Draymond Green, Michigan State; Zack Novak, Michigan

2010: David Lighty, Ohio State (captain); Chris Kramer, Purdue; Reggie Redding, Villanova; Willie Veasley, Butler; Rick Jackson, Syracuse

2009: J.T. Tiller, Missouri (captain); Taylor Griffin, Oklahoma; Jermaine Dixon, Pitt; Garrett Temple, LSU; Travis Walton, Michigan State

2008: Stanley Burrell, Xavier (captain); Tory Jackson, Notre Dame; Dave Pendergraft, Gonzaga; Derrick Jasper, Kentucky; Justin Mason, Texas; Wisconsin Badgers (team)

2007: Dane Bradshaw, Tennessee (captain); Kyle Shiloh, Nevada; Dominique Kirk, Texas A&M; Othello Hunter, Ohio State; Marcus Landry, Wisconsin

2006: Sean Dockery, Duke (captain); Dane Bradshaw, Tennessee; Mike Hall, George Washington; Sean Marshall, Boston College; Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, UCLA; Kenton Paulino, Texas

2005: Jamaal Levy, Wake Forest (captain); Louis Hinnant, Boston College; Erroll Knight, Gonzaga; Christian Moody, Kansas; Ellis Myles, Louisville; Roger Powell, Illinois

2004: Jaron Brown, Pittsburgh (captain); Tyrone Barley, Saint Joseph’s; Erroll Knight, Gonzaga; Roger Powell, Illinois; Nick Robinson, Stanford; Robert Tomaszek, Texas Tech

2003: Rick Anderson, Arizona (captain); Jaron Brown, Pittsburgh; Justin Hamilton, Florida; Chuck Hayes, Kentucky; Robert Johnson, Oregon; Ellis Myles, Louisville; Tony Robertson, Connecticut

2002: Gerald Fitch, Kentucky (captain); Dahntay Jones, Duke; Billy Knight, UCLA; Byron Mouton, Maryland; Jarrad Odle, Indiana; Antoine Pettway, Alabama

2001: Sergio McClain, Illinois (captain); Nate James, Duke; Luke Walton, Arizona; Justin Hamilton, Florida; Marcus Toney-El, Seton Hall; Jason Capel, North Carolina

2000: Lavor Postell, St. John’s (captain); Alex Jensen, Utah; Nate James, Duke; Brian Beshara, LSU; Stevie Johnson, Iowa State