Kelvin Sampson’s Text to Jamal Shead After His Viral Play in NBA Playoffs

Houston Cougars basketball is now a program that offers a genuine path to the NBA. Some of the greatest to ever play the sport came through Houston such as Hakeem Olajuwon and Elvin Hayes,

While UH went through some tough times, the pipeline to the NBA has now reopened. CoachKelvin Sampson has brought the program back to life over the past decade and Houston is now represented at the highest level. It took a few years, but the Cougars started bringing in more talent each season.

Guard Damyean Dotson became the first Houston player to be taken in the NBA Draft after 16 years, Dotson was selected in the second round of the 2017 draft.

After Houston went to the Final Four in 2021, guard Quentin Grimes became the first UH player to be taken in the first round of NBA Draft in 31 years. Houston's name has since been announced in 2023 and 2024.

While LJ Cryer signed with the Golden State Warriors in 2025, he was not drafted. The last Houston player to get his name called in the NBA Draft was point guard Jamal Shead in 2024. Shead went in the second round at 45th overall to the Toronto Raptors.

He's now turned into an important player for the Raptors in their playoff run in his second season. Shead played in all 82 games this season and even got his first two playoff starts of his career in Game 1 and Game 2 of the first round against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Shead put the Houston brand of basketball and defense on full display for the world to see in Game 4 of the series in Toronto. With the game on the line down one with roughly 40 seconds to go, Shead forced an incredible eight-second violation on Donovan MItchell. That was the key turnover that flipped the result of that game and ultimately tied the series.

In a league where defense is lacking at times these days, Jamal Shead doing exactly what he did every day as a Houston Cougar playing UH defense has now blown the NBA world’s minds on defensive effort. Look how pumped he gets on defense. It’s a culture. pic.twitter.com/AQ56CjP452
— Maanav Gupta (@MGSportsTalk) April 28, 2026

Shead dove head first to the ball and perfectly timed it up to knock the ball out of Mitchell's hands in the back court.

One of the greatest players in recent Houston history got a special text message from his college coach in Kelvin Sampson after the game.

Houston's Culture in the NBA Playoffs

Mar 9, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Cougars guard Jamal Shead (1) embraces Houston Cougars head coach Kelvin Sampson after coming out of the game during the second half against the Kansas Jayhawks at Fertitta Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

"Samp texted me. It was cool," Shead revealed in a press conference after being asked about it from Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports.

"He said he was proud of me and we both said culture. That was something that was engrained in me for four years there, so just getting that text from him letting me know he was proud of me was awesome," Shead said.

Shead got a text from his college coach Kelvin Sampson after forcing the 8s violation in Game 4: "He said he was proud of me and we both said culture. That's something that was engrained in me in 4 years there... Diving on the floor is not negotiable at the University of Houston” https://t.co/4JjzEpjR9o pic.twitter.com/n7eKIU1J84
— Josh Lewenberg (@JLew1050) April 28, 2026

The former National Defensive Player of the Year in 2024 was further questioned if he had a play like that before in his career in terms of diving on the floor. The truth is that it was nothing new for Shead. If anyone follows Houston basketball, they'll know that as well.

"Diving on the floor is not negotiable at the University of Houston. We get taken out for that, lose playing time for that," Shead said.

It's just the kind of hustle that Sampson expects out of his players all the time. That kind of defensive effort isn't seen in the NBA anymore, but a former Houston Cougar will bring that intensity. Shead scored just two points and was 1/6 from the field in Game 4, but also had four assists and four rebounds besides his award-winning defense.

The 6-foot-1, 200 pound point guard isn't the biggest out there, but is a force on that end of the ball. Shead was the Big 12 Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year in his senior season of 2023-24. He also became the first player in conference history to accomplish that feat in the same season.

Shead was also a consensus First-Team All-American and was a finalist for the Naismith and Wooden Award that season. Houston's ultimate leader finished as the only student-athlete in school history to record 100+ wins, 1,300-points, 600+ assists and 200+ steals during his career.

Shead currently averages 6.6 points and 5.4 assists per game in almost 23 minutes.

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