Kingston Flemings Takes Advice from Houston Cougars Basketball Legend
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The Houston Cougars basketball program has a storied history at the point guard position since head coach Kelvin Sampson took over back in 2014. The most recent transition was from program leader Jamal Shead in 2024 to now senior point guard Milos Uzan. This season, it’s been a bit different.
The Cougars are employing two point guards on the floor at the same time. Freshman point guard Kingston Flemings has looked incredible early, and Sampson knew this all along. There is a reason why the 18-year-old is starting for Houston. Sampson believes that playing together is better for both Uzan and Flemings.
While Uzan didn’t really receive too much help in his transition from Oklahoma with no other point guard on the roster as well as dealing with an injury, Sampson took it upon himself to coach him up to the level he needed to be.
Meanwhile, while Flemings is already exceptionally talented as a star freshman, he has Uzan to go to at all times. Additionally, Flemings has also developed a relationship with one of the best players in Houston basketball history in Shead, a former Big 12 player of the year in 2024.
The Cougar Family
Sampson has made sure to instill a true family atmosphere in the Houston basketball program, and that started with his son and daughter both employed by the Cougars as an assistant head coach and chief of staff, respectively. It also transfers over to the players.
All the former players constantly visit, and Shead is one of them. He was in attendance court-side at Fertitta Center on Wednesday night against Jackson State.
“The program is built on family,” Flemings said. He mentioned seeing those before him at the game, in the locker room, and reaching out. Shead, the former legendary Houston point guard, is someone that texts Flemings. This can be a very beneficial relationship that can take Flemings’ game to the next level, specifically on the defensive side.
Flemings watched Shead during his time at Houston, specifically the way he operates the game and how smooth the offense was. Turnovers are still a big issue for Flemings, and this can help him correct it. Shead had an elite assist-to-turnover ratio as a Cougar.
Houston freshman point guard Kingston Flemings to @PaperCityMag on texting with Jamal Shead, learning: "The way he operates the game. When he has the ball, the offense ran so smoothy..Pressuring the ball. That's kind of where i want to get to..Be like a pest on the ball." pic.twitter.com/H44H710w7A
— Chris Baldwin (@ChrisYBaldwin) December 14, 2025
“Getting to his floater and downhill, how he attacks angles, so I watched him a lot back then,” Flemings said.
More specifically, Flemings is taking his defensive principles and how to further improve on that side of the court.
“He’s doing great with the Raptors, pressuring the ball. That’s where I want to get to. Being a pest on the ball, playing defense. I look at him in those ways,” Flemings said.
Shead was arguably the best defender on the team as the point guard, and there is a lot for him to learn. During the summer when Shead visited Houston, the two played together. Shead stole the ball from Flemings six times. The Gatorade Player of the Year in Texas is excellent at stealing, and maybe that incident helped him out. Flemings most recently had eight steals against Florida State.
Shead said on Wednesday that he looks at this as a pass-the-torch moment. He mentions how the previous point guards at Houston also did the same thing, and he’s looking to pass on the tradition.
University of Houston's Big 12 Player of the Year turned NBA starter Jamal Shead @PaperCityMag on regularly reaching out to freshman point guard Kingston Flemings: "Deke did the same thing for me. Galen (Robinson) did the same for me. I look at it as a pass the torch moment."
— Chris Baldwin (@ChrisYBaldwin) December 11, 2025
Flemings hopes he can be the same way, in terms of coming back to Houston and always being a Cougar.
It will be interesting to see if Flemings does end up staying more than one year with all the higher-than-expected attention and recognition. The already multiple-time Big 12 player of the week is now projected to be a top 10 pick in next year’s NBA draft, averaging close to 15 points per game and five assists, along with shooting 61% from the field.
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.