Houston Maintains 'Team First' Mentality When Attacking Preseason Practice

Since 2018, Houston has not finished its season before the Round of 32, and therefore, Sampson prefers to run a tight ship to maintain a standard of excellence. Veterans of the program are used to what's expected of them; however, some young bucks need a bit of corralling to stay in line.

On the @FullCourtNet podcast, Sampson detailed a recent moment in practice where guard Kordel Jefferson had a chippy moment with freshman newcomer guard Kingston Flemings.

“Everybody has a scrapbook. Leave your ego at the door; we don’t care about that. You’re on the team. The name on our jersey doesn’t say five-star freshman, the name on the front of our jersey says Houston.”

The Houston head coach went on to say how the team is far more than just stars in high school, and that everyone is expected to fall in as a member of the team. Once a player reaches college, their rating in high school no longer matters, as winning and delivering results become what is expected of them.

"That's what this program is all about," Sampson said. "That's what our culture is. Everyone talks about 'culture, culture, culture', it's not the culture. It's the standards." These standards that Sampson has instilled have been the ingredient in cooking up one of the toughest title contenders in the country.

Now going into the 2025-2026 season as national title runner-ups, the standards that have been established over the offseason and the years before will come into play to get the Cougars back into the Final Four, and with luck, bring home the program's first title in school history.