AAC Basketball: Top 10 head coaches of the century (2000-20)

By Joey Loose | Jul 10, 2020

ARLINGTON, TX - APRIL 07: Phillip Nolan #0, Shabazz Napier #13, his mother Carmen Velasquez, and head coach Kevin Ollie of the Connecticut Huskies look on after defeating the Kentucky Wildcats 60-54 in the NCAA Men's Final Four Championship at AT&T Stadium on April 7, 2014 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) /

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COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA – DECEMBER 08: Head coach Kelvin Sampson of the Houston Cougars (Photo by Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images) /

3. Kelvin Sampson – Houston (2014-2020)

Years before landing in Houston, Sampson had experienced phenomenal success as head coach at both Washington State and Oklahoma, leading the Sooners to the Final Four in 2002. We can talk about how things fell apart for him with Indiana, but instead, let’s focus on how he’s responded after receiving his show-cause penalty because he’s been a blessing for the Cougars in their new league.

Prior to Sampson’s arrival, Houston had made just one NCAA Tournament in the last twenty years. He’s already led them to a pair of appearances and would have had a third had this year’s Tournament not been canceled. His Cougars won the regular-season title each of the last two seasons and are 67-23 in the AAC since 2015.

Houston has been the best program in the conference these last few seasons and looks primed to continue that run. Sampson has done a great job not only transitioning Houston to a new league but actually making them champions in their new conference. He’s done plenty of good in his career, and these years in Houston stack up with some of the highlights.