For Sampson, discipline leads to tenacious defense
University of Houston senior DeJon Jarreau rated coach Kelvin Sampson’s dancing skill as a 10 out of 10, even though he said Sampson has only two moves.
Opposed to possible perjury, Jarreau’s backcourt running mate Quentin Grimes pleaded the fifth to that question, hinting that a critical assessment could be self-defeating and lead to a punishment of running.
Grimes was joking. Sort of.
Like every player who has suited up for Sampson, Grimes asserts he has been made to run at practice for mistakes he didn’t make.
Sampson is a loving coach with a heart of gold but a no-nonsense taskmaster who holds players accountable to the highest level.
Sampson’s challenging
workouts — which are more about the discipline necessary to keep the basketball from going through the rim than they are about making that happen — are designed to build a tough defensive team.
A determined team. A tournament team.
A team that doesn’t panic when behind late in a game that could mean the end of its season, as was the case when the Cougars trailed Rutgers by nine points with five minutes to play Sunday night.
The come-from-behind win that lifted UH into the Sweet 16 was a testament to Sampson’s approach. Teams shouldn’t have many off nights defensively.
Sampson doesn’t expect players to be perfect necessarily, but when it comes to practice, being less than perfect is a punishable offense.
“It’s tough,” Grimes said. “He’s never going to let anything slip through the cracks.
“You might be mad when you’re running, but it all pays off in the end. That’s for sure.”
Sampson has always held strong to his philosophy of defense and discipline. As far back as almost 30 years ago, when he was coach at Washington State, Sampson risked his team’s NCAA Tournament chances by suspending a starting guard two games for skipping class, though his team was firmly on the bubble closing out the regular season.
“I have a greater responsibility to my players, even though I’m not judged that way,” Sampson said at the time.
The 665 wins on his ledger and his leading UH to its third straight NCAA Tournament for the first time since the 1980s says he knows what he’s doing.
It didn’t take long after UH’s stirring win over Rutgers for Sampson to turn his team’s focus to what was next: 11th-seeded Syracuse in the Sweet 16 on Saturday.
“We had our mini-celebration in the locker room, but then it was back to business as soon as we left the locker room,” Jarreau said. “No more celebrating. We know how important this is.”
Attention will grow, and pressure might intensify as teams get deeper into the NCAA Tournament, but Sampson won’t change.
“He comes in every day with the same intensity, the same vibe,” Jarreau said. “You have to match his intensity, and if you don’t, then you have to pay the consequences, whether it’s running or him yelling at you.
“It’s great that we have a coach like that. He’s not just stuck on one thing. He’s always looking forward to the future, and our guys feed off that.”
The immediate future is a difficult matchup against the Orange. But the No. 2-seeded Cougars are in position for UH’s best tournament since it advanced to the 1984 championship game. The UH-Syracuse winner will face either No. 8 Loyola-Chicago or 12thseeded Oregon State with the Final Four on the line.
If the Cougars are to thrive this weekend, defense will likely be the key. UH has been among the best defenses in the country throughout the season. Sampson demands it. “From day one, we go over a lot of defensive drills,” said Jarreau, the American Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year. “That’s one of the main things that he focuses on when we start practice. That’s one of the main things you have to do (well) in order to play for coach Sampson. That’s a great recipe for winning.
“He takes it very seriously. It’s very important to him and to the winning culture of this program. It’s a great recipe to have, and it’s gotten us this far.”
That is why Sampson’s team is still dancing.