NCAA Basketball: 10 candidates to replace Chris Beard as Texas HC
By Joey Loose
Kelvin Sampson
If there’s such a thing as a home run hire that would actually pick up the phone and potentially accept the job, then Sampson is that coach. However, there’s no guarantee the 67-year-old Sampson would take the job, no matter what kind of resources were leveraged his way.
He’s been in the coaching business for a long time, having success at Montana Tech, Washington State, and Oklahoma (taking them to a Final Four two decades ago). After scandal at Indiana, he spent time regrouping as an NBA assistant before taking the Houston job in 2014. These past nine years have seen him do nothing less than completely rebuild a dead program. His Cougars have become the AAC’s premier program, were recently in the Final Four, and were just ranked #1 earlier this season.
What he’s done at Houston has been incredible. The Cougars are joining the Big 12 very soon and will be one of the league’s better programs with the way they’ve played in recent years. Would Sampson abandon his progress with the Cougars when he may be on the precipice of greatness in Houston? It all depends on how big the check would be, but don’t forget that the turned down the Arkansas job that Eric Musselman took four seasons ago.