University of Houston head coach Kelvin Sampson interviewed with the Bucks about their coaching vacancy, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Sampson has an NBA background, spending six years in the league as an assistant coach, including three in Milwaukee. He left for the NCAA in 2014 and has turned the Cougars into one of college basketball’s best programs, making four straight trips to the Sweet 16.
Wojnarowski notes that Sampson has worked with general manager Jon Horst, who was part of the Bucks front office while Sampson was an assistant under Scott Skiles from 2008-11.
Milwaukee has been conducting an extensive search since Mike Budenholzer was fired following a first-round playoff loss, but Sampson is the first college coach to get an interview, sources tell Wojnarowski. The process has mainly focused on current NBA assistants such as Charles Lee, Kenny Atkinson, Scott Brooks, Adrian Griffin, Chris Quinn and Kevin Young, along with former Hornets head coach James Borrego. The Bucks are also reported to have interest in Monty Williams, who was fired by the Suns over the weekend.
Wizards assistant Joseph Blair also recently had an interview in Milwaukee, Wojnarowski notes. Blair won a G League championship with Rio Grande Valley in 2019 before becoming an assistant with Philadelphia, Minnesota and Washington.
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