Houston guard Jamal Shead exits Sweet 16 game vs. Duke with apparent ankle injury

With 6:38 left in the first half of Houston’s Sweet Sixteen showdown against Duke, Cougars standout Jamal Shead went down with an apparent right ankle injury. Shead suffered the injury when he went up for a fast break layup against the Blue Devils.

Shead averages 13.2 points, 3.8 rebounds and a team-high 6.4 assists per game. He’s also a headache for opponents on defense, averaging 2.2 steals per contest. Shead was helped off the court by Houston’s staff and headed directly to the locker room.

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Shead recorded two points and three assists while shooting 1-5 from the field before leaving the game with his injury. He is questionable to return for the game and will not return before halftime, per the broadcast.

Jamal Shead appears to be in some pain pic.twitter.com/ckqxTQphf8

— CBS Sports College Basketball 🏀 (@CBSSportsCBB) March 30, 2024

Jamal Shead inks NIL deal with ExxonMobil

Shead isn’t only finding success on the court this season, but off it, too. In March, the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year inked an endorsement deal with the natural gas and oil company ExxonMobil, becoming the first college athlete to work with the company.

Facilitated by the Houston-driven NIL collective LinkingCoogs, the deal will see Shead start in promotional material for the company headquartered in Space City. Full terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

“This is a personal collaboration, but to me, this is a testament to my coaching staff and teammates at the University of Houston. I would not have had this opportunity without them,” Shead said in a statement. “My values and ExxonMobil’s complement one another perfectly – we both work to support the communities where we live and work.”

LinkingCoogs is managed by TheLinkU, which has expanded to managing NIL entities at UCLA, Florida Atlantic, Texas State, North Texas and the College of Charleston.

Now the largest deal facilitator for Cougar athletics, Austin Elrod, Troy Kyle, Norman Stalarow and Greg Ralph founded the venture. Former Houston guard and grad assistant Landon Goesling helps run the day-to-day operations.

“We are thrilled to announce this NIL contract with ExxonMobil,” Goesling said. “To date, this is the first deal with an internationally recognized brand we have executed, and it’s a testament to our mission and goals at TheLinkU. What makes this even sweeter is that ExxonMobil is headquartered right here in Houston, the city we live, work, and play. This is for the city.”