Houston Basketball Has An Unprecedented Challenge Ahead of It This Season

CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein gave his thoughts on the new era of Cougars basketball.

Houston Cougars head coach Kelvin Sampson directs players during a practice session for the Final Four of the 2025 NCAA tournament at Alamodome. | Robert Deutsch-Imagn Images

Kelvin Sampson has turned the Houston Cougars around since taking over the program in 2014. He built the program from scratch and even put a team together that has been a mainstay in the postseason.

Following the team’s devastating three-point loss to the Florida Gators in last season’s National Championship game, the team looks completely different this season and has a ton of fresh faces, something Sampson has not had to navigate in years.

On Thursday’s episode of CBS Sports’ Inside College Basketball Now, Jon Rothstein shared his concern with the way that coach Sampson and the Cougars would respond to the challenge of having such a young team.

Jon Rothstein on the Houston Cougars

Houston Cougars guard Emanuel Sharp (21) and teammates walk off the court after losing to the Florida Gators in the national championship game of the Final Four of the 2025 NCAA Tournament at the Alamodome. | Robert Deutsch-Imagn Images

”Kelvin Sampson, pound-for-pound may be the best coach in college basketball, has always valued experience,” Rothstein said. “Kelvin Sampson, like many coaches in college basketball, has always done his best work with older, more experienced players.”

The most glaring major difference between this year’s squad and Houston teams of years past is the Coogs have always had a deep veteran presence. It felt like everyone on that team had been there for years. This season, outside of a couple of key veterans, it feels like a lot of the players on the squad will be seeing significant action for the first time in their careers.

”We have to think about the run that Houston is presently on, not just in the Big 12, but the last couple of seasons in general,” Rothstein said. ”2021: Final Four. 2022: Houston lost two key players for the season… still advanced to the Elite Eight, where it lost to Villanova. 2023: 1-seed in the NCAA Tournament. 2024: 1-seed in the NCAA Tournament, lost in the Sweet 16 both years and last year, Houston lost in the national title game to Florida."

"A major reason why Houston was able to be in those situations, and a major reason why Houston has been a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament in the last three years, is because Houston hasn’t just been exceptionally well-coached, not just because Houston has been the toughest team in the sport, it’s because Houston was old. It’s because Houston was seasoned. It’s because Houston was experienced.”

Luckily for Sampson and the Coogs, they get to ease into conference play with a relatively easy non-conference slate, perfect for allowing their young guys to mesh and work out any kinks that come with their new roles.