Kelvin Sampson has UH in Sweet 16 for fifth consecutive tournament.
After being hired in 2014, Kelvin Sampson speaks with coach Guy V. Lewis.
Kelvin Sampson uses a lot of one-liners to make points.
His are not dad jokes either. Some are biting, some insightful, and many are downright hilarious.
He didn’t come up with most of them, but we’ll have to wait until a biography is written to determine which ones are his.
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(Note to self: The last book written about Sampson was at the turn of the century. His story is far more interesting now. Hmm.)
One quip Sampson has used over the years is “Sometimes you’re the pigeon, sometimes you’re the statue.”
Several Cougars fans on social media were so excited about UH’s win over Texas A&M on Sunday that they posted the school should build a Kelvin Sampon statue right now.
That has been the case following all of UH’s big wins in recent years, and there have been plenty for a program that is going to a school-record fifth straight Sweet 16.
Even my man Joseph Duarte jokingly asked the question just before the season began.
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Hold on, people.
I’m not saying Sampson doesn’t deserve a statue — if the Cougars win the national championship this year it won’t even be debatable — but we need to hurry up and get a Guy V. Lewis statue built.
Bill Yeoman was able to attend his statue ceremony outside TDECU Stadium, and it was glorious.
In hindsight, we should have done that for Guy V, who passed away in 2015. That’s OK.
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It’s never the wrong time to do the right thing.
One of my favorite pictures in my phone is of Lewis and Sampson posing together, just after the latter was hired 10 years ago. That special night has turned into a special run, with only one thing left to accomplish.
As good as they have been all year, the Cougars have a long way to go to win the national title.
Even Sampson admits that his team was more talented a year ago, but he loves their toughness and togetherness.
Lewis’ best teams would wipe the floor with today’s Cougars. That’s because the game has changed.
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But the Cougars don’t have to beat history. They’re not playing against ghosts.
They’re playing Duke on Friday, not Christian Laettner, Grant Hill, Bobby Hurley at al.
UH doesn’t have to be a great team to cut down the nets outside Phoenix two Mondays from now. The Cougars just have to be better than the teams they play on the day they meet.
The NCAA Tournament is tough, as we saw Sunday night in Memphis, when the Cougars blew a double-digit lead over Texas A&M in the final two minutes before winning in overtime.
I picked the Cougars as champions in my bracket, knowing that they are shorthanded and, frankly, short.
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The Duke squad that they face Friday has been labeled soft, but even with a whiny 7-footer and a young 6-9 big man, the Blue Devils have an inside advantage over UH on paper.
Texas A&M made the second-round game a game in large part due to rebounding. The Aggies led the country in offensive rebounds and showed why with 26 of them against the Cougars.
Duke, at 147th in the country on the offensive boards, is a lot less formidable. The Cougars just can’t afford to get into foul trouble as they did against the Aggies.
UH is a 4-point favorite because Sampson has pushed all the right buttons as his team ran through the toughest conference in the country.
If he pulls off a championship this year, it’ll be his best coaching job ever.
He’ll deserve a statue.
Solomon: Kelvin Sampson may deserve statue at UH but let's not forget Guy Lewis
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26.03.2024
Kelvin Sampson has UH in Sweet 16 for fifth consecutive tournament.
After being hired in 2014, Kelvin Sampson speaks with coach Guy V. Lewis.
Kelvin Sampson uses a lot of one-liners to make points.
His are not dad jokes either. Some are biting, some insightful, and many are downright hilarious.
He didn’t come up with most of them, but we’ll have to wait until a biography is written to determine which ones are his.
Advertisement
Article continues below this ad
(Note to self: The last book written about Sampson was at the turn of the century. His story is far more interesting now. Hmm.)
One quip Sampson has used over the years is “Sometimes you’re the pigeon, sometimes you’re the statue.”
Several Cougars fans on social media were so excited about UH’s win over Texas A&M on Sunday that they posted the school should build a Kelvin Sampon statue right now.
That has been the case following all of........
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