Kelvin Sampson Calls Out NBA Teams for Doubting Jamal Shead
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Houston Cougars basketball coach Kelvin Sampson understands what it takes to be a good NBA player. After all, he was an assistant coach in the NBA from 2008-14 with the Milwaukee Bucks and Houston Rockets.
His Houston program has four players selected in the NBA Draft in a span of four seasons from 2021-24. Both star freshmen from last season, Kingston Flemings and Chris Cenac Jr., are also expected to go in the first round in the upcoming draft.
Houston is turned back into a pipeline into the NBA, and Sampson's former players all have skills that can translate to the next level. Jamal Shead was the last Houston player taken in the draft, 45th overall to the Toronto Raptors in 2024.
Shead has gone down as one of the greatest Houston Cougars of this recent era. He was a former Naismith Defensive Player of the Year and Big 12 Player of the Year while being a consensus First-Team All-American and finalist for the Wooden Award.
He was a true team leader and consistent point guard who averaged more than six assists per game. Shead finished as the only student-athlete in school history to record 100+ wins, 1,300 points, 600+ assists, and 200+ steals during his career.
While he ultimately was drafted and is now playing a big role for the Raptors, there was plenty of doubt from NBA teams on Shead. Those thoughts look to have been proven wrong, especially with what Shead demonstrated in the NBA Playoffs. His eight-second violation on Donovan Mitchell that flipped the game in Toronto's favor and impactful defense allowed the Raptors to force a Game 7.
Shead played all 82 games this season and got four starts in the seven-game first-round series. He put up 14 points, seven assists, and three rebounds in Game 7. The 23-year-old also had 18 points, seven assists, two steals and made four 3-pointers in Game 4.
Sampson was recently asked about Shead and he recalled just how fearful NBA front offices and scouts felt about Shead in that year's draft. The now 70-year-old coach has incredible confidence in Shead after everything he achieved at Houston.
The NBA Underrated Jamal Shead
"There's nothing that boy does that surprises me," Sampson said to Chris Baldwin of PaperCity Houston. "I just remember how fearful a lot of the teams were that were calling. Scared money don't make money, brother."
University of Houston coach Kelvin Sampson remembers how fearful NBA front offices acted when it came to Jamal Shead in the draft. ESPN Big 12 guru Fran Fraschilla tried to tell everyone he knew in the league what they were missing.
— Chris Baldwin (@ChrisYBaldwin) May 1, 2026
Now Shead, coming off an 18 point, 7 assist,… https://t.co/26kwvJ0mtN pic.twitter.com/YDcEUj8AfP
It's clear that the college basketball world and the NBA's thoughts about Shead didn't necessarily match. It's now proven that Shead's talents are a strong fit. After an incredible offensive rebound and put up a layup in Game 7, NBC analyst and legendary shooter Reggie Miller was impressed.
"Jamal Shead is putting on a show here in this first half. You see the athleticism to go back up and get his missed shot. . . He's head and shoulders above Jarrett Allen," Miller said on the broadcast.
Allen is 6-foot-9, just as a reference, while Shead is listed at 6-foot-1. As Sampson has said in the past, height doesn't make someone a good rebounder. The effort and amazing athleticism that Shead has shown have been just as special on the NBA stage.
"If you knew him as I knew him, you wouldn't be sitting there asking questions. But the questions you're asking me, you're trying to talk yourself into him. And I'm not going to do that," Sampson said.
NBA teams were overthinking Shead and Sampson wanted what was best for his former star point guard. A team that would fully appreciate him with no doubts about his talent. It seems like the Raptors are exactly that.
Shead averaged nine points, five assists, two rebounds, and 1.4 steals per game in his first NBA Playoffs experience.
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Maanav Gupta is a staff writer for Houston Cougars on SI. He graduated from the University of Houston in the summer of 2025 with his bachelor’s in journalism and a minor in Spanish. Gupta spent three years at the student newspaper, The Daily Cougar, and also covered the 2025 Final Four and National Championship as Houston beat writer for College Basketball Review. He also has his own YouTube channel, Maanav’s Sports Talk, where he has interviewed professional athletes and broadcasters like Jim Nantz, Jose Altuve, J.J. Watt, Rich Eisen, and Alperen Sengun. Gupta was also a contributor to the Houston athletic program as a student. You can find Gupta on X, Instagram and TikTok @MGSportsTalk.