Go Coogs, go!
For a pandemic-weary city, UH reaching the Final Four is a reason to stand up and cheer.
It’s been a rough year for Houston sports. The Texans tanked, the Rockets lost their Beard and even an Astros home run doesn’t seem to fly as high after the sign-stealing scandal. Enter the Coogs, who have managed to extend our March Madness into April and have given a pandemic-weary city a reason to stand up and cheer.
The University of Houston Cougars are in the Final Four of the men’s NCAA championship. They are two wins away from making school history and from capturing a trophy that has eluded a Texas team for more than 50 years. They deserve our praise for coming this far and our support as they take on Baylor on Saturday.
“I’m proud of these kids, proud of the heart, proud of battling through so many things this year, whether it was injuries or transfers or a tough loss here or there,” said Coach Kelvin Sampson. “For this team to be 28-3 and going to the Final Four, this is one of the greatest accomplishments I’ve been around.”
That is not an empty boast, but inspiring words from a coach who celebrated his 1,000th career game with a win over Oregon State last week that sent the team to the national semifinals. The Cougars — led by starters Quentin Grimes, Marcus Sasser, DeJon Jarreau, Justin Gorham and Reggie Chaney — are energetic and resilient, full of hustle and heart. No wonder Houston is paying attention. Game recognizes game.
The team’s success did not come overnight. Under Sampson, they’ve been steadily working to get where they are, with one of the stingiest defenses in the country, allowing fewer than 58 points per game and out-rebounding opponents by an average 11 boards a game. This is the Cougars’ third appearance in the Big Dance in as many years — with a Sweet Sixteen bow in 2019 — and represents a return to form after a decades-long drought.
For almost 20 years, the Coogs were in the national spotlight. Under legendary coach Guy Lewis, the team made 14 trips to the NCAA tournament, reached the Final Four five times and played in the championship game twice. The team’s final appearance was in 1984, which marked the end of Houston’s Phi Slama Jama heyday — spurred by future NBA Hall of Famers Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler — and the start of a long slide into roundball irrelevance.
Sampson was hired in 2014 in what turned out to be the perfect match between a disgraced coach looking for redemption and a school searching for a savior. At the time, Sampson was an assistant coach with the Rockets. He had been a winning head college coach at Oklahoma and Indiana before he ran afoul of NCAA regulations — which were later changed — and was practically banned for five years over repeated recruiting violations. Five years ago, Sampson could be found in the UH Student Center, sitting with students over their Chick-fil-A, passing out swag and urging them to come to games at the then-Hofheinz Pavilion. Proof that redemption is available for those who seek it, now he’s restored our faith in Houston sports.
If the Cougars can beat Baylor, it will mean a first-time championship game for Sampson and hopefully, a third-time lucky try for Houston. But the Final Four clash with the Waco-based powerhouse is already one for the books. Since 1939, only five times have teams from the same state faced off in the semifinals and no two Texas teams have ever come this far in the same season.
Only one team from the Lone Star State — Texas Western, now the University of Texas at El Paso — has ever won it all, back in a historic run in 1966 against Kentucky.
Baylor is a formidable opponent and oddsmakers pick the Bears to win, but there’s more to sports than statistics and we’re happy to root for the undercat. Especially when the team’s turnaround and championship dreams come with a hashtag: For the City.
The Cougars are giving it their all for all of us. A city that is used to facing challenges and defying the odds should return the favor.
Saturday can’t come soon enough.