Kelvin Sampson Breaks Down Houston Cougars' Shot Selection Against BYU
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Over the weekend, the No. 3 Houston Cougars picked up a massive road win over the BYU Cougars by a score of 77-66. Not only did it mark Houston's third win this season over a top-20 opponent, but the win also vaulted the Cougars five spots to No. 3 in the AP Poll.
After the double-digit win in Provo, Houston head coach Kelvin Sampson met with the media to discuss the game. During the press conference, Sampson emphasized the fact that Houston was able to pull away due to their shot selection.
The head coach even revealed that he had to pull freshman guard Kingston Flemings aside, noting that the shots Flemings took early weren't ones he created himself — they were the shots BYU wanted him to take.
Where Houston Took Control of the Game
When going into more depth on Houston's shot selection against BYU, Sampson told the media thta he asked Flemings whether or not he had noticed the fact that he was wide open from the three-point line. After telling the head coach that he had noticed it, Sampson told the freshman guard exactly why their opponent was giving him that much room to shoot.
"That's not on accident, son," Sampson told Flemings. "Their not guarding you. You can either take the shots they want you to take, or you can take the shots we want you to take, and if you want to win, get the ball to the paint. If you get it on the rim, if you make it, fine, if not, we got a good chance to rebound it and then we'll kick it back out and we'll start another possession."
By the final buzzer in Provo, Houston would outscore BYU 30 to 24 in the paint. While six points wouldn't have necessarily mad it a one-possession game, Houston scored 17 points after missing their first shot. BYU scored just 11 points after missing their first shot.
"Our spacing was really good tonight," Sampson said. "Our execution was really good, but also our shot selection. To win on the road, you've got to play with high basketball IQ. You've got to understand the importance of discipline and get the ball to the right people at the right time in the right spots, and we always fall back on that."
While Flemings may have lead Houston in scoring (19), it was clearly the right decision to allow his teammates to put shots up as well. Houston had four athletes reach the double-digit mark, including Chris Cenac Jr. (16), Joseph Tugler (10), and Emanuel Sharp (14), resulting in a more balanced version of Sampson's offense.
