Kelvin Sampson Reacts to Bruce Pearl’s Retirement
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In college basketball, great coaches take on a larger-than-life personality. Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski, UCLA’s John Wooden, Tennessee’s Pat Summitt, Houston’s Kelvin Sampson, St. John’s Rick Pitino, Indiana’s Bob Knight, Tennessee’s Rick Barnes and Auburn’s Bruce Pearl have all put their respective programs on the map through noteworthy leadership and innovation.
In a recent bombshell, Pearl announced he would be retiring as head coach of the Auburn Tigers basketball team and that his son, assistant coach Steven Pearl, would be taking over the program on Monday.
After practice on Wednesday, Houston’s Sampson shared his praise for the now-retired coach.
University of Houston coach Kelvin Sampson on Bruce Pearl retiring at Auburn: "The one thing I'll say about Bruce is he did it his way. At the end of the day, that's the way it should be.The way I coach my team for instance, I have very little interest in anybody's opinion on it" pic.twitter.com/a5qM5pksjo
— Chris Baldwin (@ChrisYBaldwin) September 25, 2025
Kelvin Sampson’s Opinion of Bruce Pearl
”65 or older, these jobs aren’t easy,” Sampson said. “The one thing I’ll say about Bruce: he did it his way. At the end of the day, that’s the way it should be. The way I coach my team, for instance, I have very little interest in anybody’s opinion on how I should do it. I think Bruce was like that too.”
From the 1960s through the 1980s, the Houston Cougars basketball program was nothing short of a powerhouse before falling dormant. When coach Kelvin Sampson took over the team in 2014, he was embarrassed about what he saw out of the once-great program. Ever since, Sampson has rebuilt the squad’s reputation, talent, and facilities from the ground up, similar to what Pearl has done at Auburn.
”He took a school that didn’t really have a national identity for basketball and he made it into a powerhouse,” Sampson said. “We’ve been to two Final Fours in five years. So have they. They had a team that could have won it all this year.”
On top of recognizing the Tigers’ on-court success under Pearl, Sampson praised Pearl’s personal career path.
“Kudos to Bruce,” Sampson said. “He worked his way up from a manager, to a Division II schoo,l to coaching a team that could have had a national championship. He had a pretty good career.”
Pearl has been impressive as a head coach in his career, amassing an impressive 477-224 Division I record (.680) and earning Associated Press National Coach of the Year honors in 2025.
"For me, it's time," Pearl said in a farewell video shared by Auburn. "I've been a part of college basketball for almost 50 years. And the truth is, it's time. I told myself that when I got to the point where I could not give it my all, where I wasn't necessarily 100% or I couldn't be the relentless competitor that you expected of me, that it was going to be time.
Dear Auburn Family, I truly love you.@CoachBrucePearl x #WarEagle pic.twitter.com/xFJAEetMLv
— Auburn Basketball (@AuburnMBB) September 22, 2025
