SAN ANTONIO – Houston basketball is headed to their seventh Final Four in program history this Saturday & the second in the last five seasons. What’s made this incredible run possible is the commitment to the program over the years by the players and the step-up in leadership from the veterans.
Head coach Kelvin Sampson has mentioned the fact that Houston had only had three out of their top 10 players transfer over the last 10 years, which is unheard of in this age of college basketball. These student-athletes commit to the program & almost all stay multiple years, if not four.
Whether that was Marcus Sasser or Jamal Shead, Houston has tremendously helped players on their journey to the NBA.
The commitment and dedication starts early.
“At 17 years old, this was my first visit & I didn’t take any visits, cause I felt like I was at home, the coaches treat you like their sons,” graduate forward J’Wan Roberts said.
The family factor plays a huge part in the decision to come to 3rd ward & makes the athletes feel welcomed.
With Kelvin’s son Kellen being an assistant coach & daughter Lauren managing external operations, this kind of family atmosphere isn’t seen everywhere & that stands out to players.
“This is Kellen’s 11th year. Hollis Price’s 11th year. Quannas’ 9th year, I think. K.C. Beard’s 11th year. Lauren’s 10th year. Our players look at our staff as family,” Sampson said. “All of my auxiliary staff that we have in our program were former managers. I don’t take résumés and I don’t take phone calls. I hire everything from within.”
There is a responsibility to win & that remains the focus.
Junior point guard Milos Uzan transferred to Houston from Oklahoma and mentioned the program’s commitment to winning, something that cannot be seen everywhere else.
“The first time I talked to Coach Kellen, he was saying how a lot of schools are trying to get into the tournament and what got me was he was saying how we’re trying to win it and that’s what really pulled me in,” Uzan said.
After Houston’s disappointing loss in the Sweet 16 last season where Shead got hurt, the Cougars started a run it back campaign where four starters returned. That included forward Ja’Vier Francis, Roberts, Cryer, Wilson and Sharp. They understood the opportunity of coming back and achieving something that this university has never done before.
“When J’Wan Roberts came to us, he was 17. Jamal Shead was 17. Ja’Vier Francis was 17. JoJo Tugler was 17. All our guys come in as freshmen and they stay,” Sampson said.
These players have stayed committed before they even became adults and a big reason has to be the unique family culture that the Sampsons and their staff bring.
“That’s why I came here in the first place, because of the family atmosphere. I hadn’t taken any other visits to any other schools, I got onto 1 zoom call with this staff & saw how family oriented they were I was sold,” junior Emanuel Sharp said.
Leadership
After program standout Jamal Shead got drafted, Houston was searching for a new leader through the first seven games where the Cougars lost three of them. When UH came back from Las Vegas after the loss to San Diego State, Sampson understood how important new leadership was and asked more of his most experienced players.
“I wasn’t going to undersell the need that we needed a leader. The guy I thought could step up & do more was LJ,” Sampson said. “No.1 he had everybody’s respect, you could tell basketball is important to him.”
Houston’s head man mentioned how he needed to get Cryer out of his comfort zone. Sampson explained it figuratively. A leader like Cryer can’t sit in the back of the bus with the players, he has to sit up front with the coaches.
“It was the failure we were having at the beginning of the year losing games, I feel like we didn’t have anybody step into that role, last year it was Jamal. It was a great opportunity for me to step up, & he pushed me to do it, so I thank him a lot,” Cryer said.
The losses were not something that bothered Sampson. It was the leadership that was initially missing and that developed throughout the early season, to where the experience and maturity of the team has a lot to do with Cryer’s maturity.
“LJ has become a great leader,” Sampson said. “LJ’s leadership style this year is just as good, as if not as important, as the way Jamal (Shead) did it…. LJ’s as good a leader as anybody we’ve had.”
Houston has won 17 straight games heading into the Final Four and has won both the Big 12 regular season title with a 19-1 record and then the Big 12 tournament title. Cryer stepping up to lead alongside Roberts has propelled this team to the final four in San Antonio and are now focused on one more final goal.
Jim Nantz with a statement
“This is a team America should throw its arms around and say, I like these kids because it’s a loyal bunch that’s really bonded,” Nantz said.
CBS sportscaster and legendary Houston alum Jim Nantz was in attendance for Houston’s elite eight win over Tennessee in Indianapolis and had a lot to say about Houston and their players’ dedication to the program over the years.
In an era of NIL and the transfer portal being used extensively, Houston is an exception. Yes, they use NIL and use the portal when necessary, but keep commitment at the top.
“When we get into the week, people will look at this team as a throwback to what college basketball used to be. Our guys stay. Nobody does that anymore,” Nantz said. “We’re the most committed team in college basketball. They stay and develop. These kids care about the school, and they care about one another.”
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