DALLAS — Kelvin Sampson and the Houston Cougars spend a lot of time talking about culture.
They spend even more time building it.
What they have put together isn’t easily shaken.
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Culture never takes a day off. Culture doesn’t graduate. And culture can’t transfer to another school for a better NIL deal.
UH’s basketball culture — a permanent fixture of toughness and grit — was on full display against the Duke Blue Devils on Friday night at the American Airlines Center.
But that culture couldn’t overcome a sprained ankle to the Cougars’ most important player.
Point guard Jamal Shead went down in a heap after a drive to the basket in the first half with the Cougars in control.
UH wasn’t the same team without him. So much of this its identity was tied into Shead’s talent and leadership. His ability to take away an opponent’s will on either end of the floor.
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All of that sat on the bench — literally, as Shead could barely stand up to clap when teammates made good plays — as the Cougars came up short, losing to the Blue Devils 54-51 in an NCAA Tournament South Regional semifinal.
Dozens of UH faithful — family, friends and fans — sat in the stands well after the game was lost, stunned that the season of promise was over. A team on the short list of those capable of winning a national championship was felled by injury as much as anything.
It is a cruel twist that has befell the Cougars a couple times in recent years. This one was particularly painful.
The No. 1-seeded Cougars held Duke to a season-low point total, by a whopping 10 points, and it might have been worse had Shead not left the game.
Shead limped off the court after turning his right ankle with UH leading16-10 and 6:38 left in the first half. Duke caught up and took a one-point lead by halftime.
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UH fans were hoping against hope that Shead could come back and save the day. He couldn’t. His is a four- to six-week injury.
“I tried everything,” a solemn Shead told me afterward. “I couldn’t stand without a shoe on. I couldn’t get on my tippy-toes with a shoe on. I couldn’t run or jump, period.
“I was in pain at all times.”
The 6-foot-1 senior from Manor then put his head in his hands, agonizing over what could have been.
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Sampson would not answer the question of whether he believed UH would have won had Shead not been injured.
He didn’t have to.
The answer is a resounding yes.
It took the Blue Devils 13 ½ minutes to score 10 points with Shead on the floor. It took them 3 ½ minutes to top that total when he went down.
Shead is irreplaceable. The Cougars don’t have an extra consensus All-American on the roster.
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There is only one Big 12 Player of the Year. Only one Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year.
Yet, UH hung around. The Cougars never led in the second half, but didn’t allow the Blue Devils to pull away. Duke’s largest lead in the half was six points and the Cougars didn’t allow Duke to score more than four points in a row.
UH had the ball several times with a chance to tie the score or take the lead, but failed to score. The Cougars hurt themselves by making only 9 of 17 free throws, and turning the ball over 10 times, including twice in the final three minutes.
The Cougars had a last chance to tie the game on Emanuel Sharp’s step-back 3-pointer with four seconds left.
It came up just short.
“It was a good look,” Sharp said. “It was a good look.”
Percentages: FG .408, FT .667.
3-Point Goals: 6-17, .353 (Filipowski 3-5, McCain 1-4, Proctor 1-4, Roach 1-4).
Team Rebounds: 5. Team Turnovers: 2.
Blocked Shots: None.
Turnovers: 12 (McCain 4, Roach 4, Filipowski 2, Mitchell, Proctor).
Steals: 4 (Proctor 3, Young).
Technical Fouls: None.
Percentages: FG .408, FT .529.
3-Point Goals: 2-8, .250 (Cryer 1-3, Walker 1-3, Sharp 0-2).
Team Rebounds: 3. Team Turnovers: None.
Blocked Shots: 4 (Francis 2, Roberts, Sharp).
Turnovers: 10 (Cryer 4, Francis 2, Roberts, Shead, Walker, Wilson).
Steals: 4 (Shead 2, Roberts, Sharp).
Technical Fouls: None.
A_18,751 (19,200).
As was the Cougars’ overall performance, particularly down their superstar for more than 26 minutes of a 40-minute game.
Duke coach Jon Schuyer and several Blue Devils spoke about UH’s culture, as if it were an actual player.
“Their culture, their toughness, I think showed throughout the whole game,” Schuyer said.
The Blue Devils were proud of the fight they showed in holding off the Cougars, and rightfully so. Then again, they were in the ring against a team with its best hand tied behind its back.
On another night, without that bad luck …
“It was just not our time,” Sampson said. “Our time is coming.
“Houston is not going anywhere.”
UH lost, but its culture stood strong, on a badly sprained ankle.
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