Pulling together leads to UH’s turnaround

Sampson’s tenacity, big investment from school allow program to soar

Shortly after the NCAA Tournament bracket was announced Sunday, coach Kelvin Sampson was asked if the University of Houston’s being a No. 2 seed meant more considering where the program was when he arrived seven years ago.

“I knew how bad it was,’ Sampson said. “There was no guarantee this thing was going to get turned around, it was so bad. The thing that drove me — and I appreciate everybody on the wagon with us now — back then was the apathy.

“It doesn’t take much to motivate me. It doesn’t take much to activate this chip I have on my shoulder. You’re either with us or against us. If you want to be against us, we’re still going to do it anyway.”

Even when he heard “no” early from a UH administration that had turned its back on the basketball program for decades by firing coaches every few years and refusing to invest in facilities. After Guy V. Lewis retired, UH had more head coaches (five) than NCAA appearances (four) during the next 28 years before Sampson’s arrival in 2014.

“But I didn’t take no for an answer,” said Sampson, whose Cougars (24-3) play 15th-seeded Cleveland State (19-7) on Friday in Bloomington, Ind. “I put the onus on them. Here’s this list and this list. Which list are you on? If you’re going to be on this list, then I can work with you. If you want to be on this list, adios, I’ll go somewhere else. I want to win. You’re going to have to trust me.”

In seven seasons, Sampson has had three different bosses. Mack Rhoades “believed in me,” Sampson said, at a time his five-year NCAA show-cause for rule-breaking phone calls made to Indiana recruits was about to end. Hunter Yurachek was “in with two feet.” And current athletic director Chris Pezman? “He’s joined hands and said, ‘What do you need?’ That’s the only question he ever asks me.”

First came the Guy V. Lewis Development Facility. It was a non-negotiable must-have if the Cougars had any hopes to someday join the elite programs in the sport. Not only did the facility help the Cougars catch up (and in some ways surpass) some of the richer, more accomplished programs, it became a showpiece Sampson and his staff could sell to recruits who once were unlikely to sign here.

Next came the Fertitta Center, a $60 million upgrade on the former site of Hofheinz Pavilion, complete with all the bells and whistles of a modern arena. It’s become one of the top home-court advantages in the country.

None of that means anything if the Cougars don’t win. There’s a reason DJ Khaled’s “All I Do Is Win” is played after every home game. Since moving into the Fertitta Center in 2018, the Cougars are 44-3 at home. They’ve won two American Athletic Conference regular-season titles and one AAC tournament title and made three NCAA appearances (four if you count last year’s COVIDcanceled tournament for which they were a shooin).

They’ve advanced to the round of 32 (2018) and the Sweet Sixteen (2019). This year’s team has been mentioned as a Final Four contender — with a No. 2 seed to back it up.

“You earn it,” said Sampson, who this month signed a two-year extension that runs through the 2026-27 season. “It’s not like we bought it. Or that we got the most money so we can go buy it. We earned it. Nobody gave it to us. We earned it.”

Even after taking four schools — Washington State, Oklahoma, Indiana and Houston — to 16 NCAA Tournaments, Sampson said the moment “never gets old.” He also never takes it for granted.

“I know how hard it is to make this tournament. It is difficult,” Sampson said. “Look at the teams in our conference that didn’t make it this year. Look at teams in the Big 12 that didn’t make it. Look at the teams in the SEC that didn’t make it. There are teams that haven’t made it in four or five years, six, seven or eight years. They keep changing coaches, and they’ll never make it. I don’t take anything for granted. Neither should anyone else.”

The No. 2 seed validates what the Cougars are trying to accomplish, said

Quentin Grimes, a junior guard who has been named to three All-America teams.

“We know what type of team we are,” Grimes said. “I feel like this is a great opportunity to put Houston on the map and show that we are a powerhouse in college basketball.”

And just like he’s done the last three years, when this March run is over, Sampson will hang another banner on the wall inside the team’s practice court.

“We’ve been putting banners up and cutting nets down for three or four years,” Sampson said. “It’s nice to know this group will have a legacy. I told them 15, 20 years from now, they’ll be driving through Houston, and see if you can get in the building so you can show your son or daughter the banner that says ‘champion, NCAA Tournament,’ whatever it may say. You’re going to be proud of that.”