[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 37 (Monday, March 15, 2010)]
[House]
[Page H1411]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1930
    CONGRATULATING THE UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON ON ITS NCAA BASKETBALL 
                          TOURNAMENT SELECTION

  (Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute.)
  Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor both my 
alma mater and hometown school, the University of Houston, and its 
men's basketball team, for being selected for the NCAA tournament for 
the first time in 18 years. The Cougars secured a bid to the tournament 
by winning the Conference USA championship game. Houston goes to the 
tournament with the Nation's leading scorer, Aubrey Coleman, and a 
solid team surrounding him. The team faces the University of Maryland 
on Friday in the opening round of the tournament.
  While it's been some time since Houston has made an appearance in the 
NCAA tournament, we have a long history of success in the NCAA 
tournament, most notably in the early eighties. It was during this 
time, from 1982 to 1984, that Phi Slama Jama became the nickname of the 
University of Houston Cougars men's basketball team. The phrase was 
coined by a local sportswriter, Thomas Bonk, and the nickname was 
quickly adopted by the players and even appeared on team warm-up suits. 
Phi Slama Jama was coached by Guy Lewis and featured NBA Hall of Fame 
players Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler. ``Texas' Tallest 
Fraternity'' was known for its dunking and explosive, fast-breaking 
style of play. While the 2009-2010 team has a different style of play, 
they're exciting to watch, and we'll be rooting for an upset on the 
number four seed on Friday.

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