Kevin Sampson Has High Praise For Cedric Lath
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The Houston Cougars basketball program has found another keeper that coach Kelvin Sampson has worked on developing each and every practice since the 6-foot-10 junior Cedric Lath joined the school.
Listed as a center, the Abidjan, Ivory Coast, native has been a player that Sampson saw something in that knew could go to work and thrive in the organization. He shared how much he’s seen in the star, which is still blossoming and has a big future wherever it might take him next.
“I pull Ced aside probably once a week since he’s been here to tell him how proud of him I am and how much I appreciate his courage,” Sampson said. “His attitude. His toughness. Because a lot of his work doesn’t get recognized during the games.”
Work Ethic
Noticing development.
“He’s exactly what we thought we were going to get,” Sampson said. “He’s exactly what I want. He comes in every day. He works 9 a.m. every day.”
Behind the scenes, Sampson has noticed that, over the three years Lath has been on his roster, there have been areas of growth and development that are all part of being a team contributor.
“Guys that can practice every day, they’re going to be going against your first team guys,” Sampson said. “In the background, you notice their development.”
Lath has been that athlete during practice and in the game that has not gone unseen.
“Most people’s knowledge of basketball is to tell you what’s wrong with you or whether the guy can play or not—— that’s not the way coaches look at kids,” Sampson said. “They look at their improvement. They look at their attitude. They look at their acceptance of who they are. Are they willing to come in here every day, go through all the stuff they’re going to have to go through? Putting that work in every day and come game time. They need feedback. They need to know that you love them as much as you love the other guys, because without them, our team would not be where it is, because of how hard they go at practice. He’s physical. He’s tough. He’s much better than he was.”
Management
Although Lath hasn’t been able to check into a ton of games, with only one game this season, he has gained double-digit minutes. Sampson acknowledged the highs and lows of basketball but discussed how it has shaped basketball players.
“Basketball is not always going to go the way you want it to when you’re a high school senior,” Sampson said. “It’s going to have severe highs, and it’s going to have severe lows. The guys that can manage the lows and understand why you have them and be able to use that low experience and that high experience, it helps shape you because you have both of them.”
Lath has worked around earning an average of 7.7 minutes, 1.3 rebounds, and 0.9 points, but the numbers don’t necessarily show how hard behind the scenes he has put in to be in the position he is with Houston.
“We all have great successes, but we also all have great failures,” Sampson said. “You have to have both. You have to manage both, and you have to put them all together and say, because of all these failures and successes, I’m the person I am. There’s nobody that defines that better than a guy like Ced.”
Kolton Becker is a journalist for Texas A&M Aggies and Houston Cougars On SI from Port Lavaca, Texas. He is a graduate from Texas A&M University with a degree in agricultural communications and journalism and a minor in sport management. As a former sports reporter with TexAgs and The Battalion, he has covered Texas A&M football, basketball, baseball, softball, volleyball, track & field, cross country, swim & dive and equestrian. In his spare time, he loves to hunt, fish, cook, do play-by-play announcing at high school sporting events, spend time with family/friends as well as be involved with his local church.
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