Houston Cougars head coach Kelvin Sampson reacts after a play against the Duke Blue Devils Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

Houston Cougars Coach Kelvin Sampson Opens Up About Past NBA Experience

Originally posted on Houston Cougars on SI
By Ylver Deleon-Rios | Last updated Aug 18, 2025 8:00 AM ET

Before head coach Kelvin Sampson took over the Houston Cougars basketball program in 2014, Sampson was a part of three different NBA franchises over the span of six years, starting with the San Antonio Spurs in March of 2008, then with the Milwaukee Bucks from May of 2008 to 2011, and finally with the Houston Rockets from 2011 to 2014.

In his time away from college basketball, Sampson learned under legendary head coach Greg Popovich and long-time NBA coaches Scott Skiles and Kevin McHale. Recently, on an appearance on The Two Cents Podcast with four-time NBA All-Star and current Memphis Tigers head coach Penny Hardaway, Sampson opened up about what he learned during his years in the NBA.

"It opened my eyes up," Sampson said. "I got better at a lot of things that really helped me when I went back to college at Houston. My NBA experience, I think, has been the single best thing ever to happen to me in coaching."

How has Kelvin Sampson Constructed Houston Basketball into a Powerhouse

Prior to Sampson's arrival in 2014, Houston had finished its inaugural season as a member of the American Athletic Conference, finishing just one game above .500 with a 17-16 record and an 8-10 conference record.

Sampson's first year at the helm in 2013 was not smooth sailing, finishing with a 13-19 record and 4-14 in the conference. However, the turning point of his tenure as the Cougars' head man was the 2017-2018 season after winning 27 games, earning their first NCAA Tournament victory since 1984. The season that followed was just as good, improving to 33 wins on the season and Houston's first Sweet 16 appearance since 1984.

Until the Cougars move to the Big 12 for the 2023-2024 season, Houston was the team to beat in the AAC in the late 2010s and early 2020s. Under Sampson and as members of the AAC, the Cougars appeared in six NCAA Tournaments, winning the regular season title four times and the AAC tournament championship twice, and Houston's first appearance in the Final Four since 1984 in the 2020-2021 season.

Houston's move to a strong basketball conference in the Big 12 brought up questions surrounding if the Cougars could compete with the jump in conferences. And in their two seasons so far in the Big 12, Houston has answered those questions tenfold.

With a regular-season title in their inaugural season and in year two, Houston swept both regular-season and tournament crowns. Houston also played for a national title a season ago for the first time in over forty years, falling just short to the Florida Gators.

Now heading into his twelfth season as the head coach at Houston, Sampson has transformed the Cougars into a perennial national championship contender year in and year out with the ultimate goal in their sights heading into the 2025-2026 season.

This article first appeared on Houston Cougars on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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