The Kelvin Sampson Effect: How One Man Changed Houston Basketball Forever
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From the 1960s through the 1980s, the Houston Cougars basketball program was nothing short of a powerhouse. Phi Slama Jama was a household name, and with it came massive expectations for the program.
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.
Sampson reflected on what the program was like upon his arrival and compared it to what it is now in a recent interview with Paper City Magazine.
The Kelvin Sampson Effect
When Sampson arrived in Houston, the Cougars were fresh off a 17-16 record and were coached by James Dickey, who would step down after the season for personal reasons. Dickey led the team for four seasons and left with a 64-62 record. The Cougars were also in a massive postseason drought that lasted from the 1990s to 2018, with a lone appearance in 2010.
“It’s hard for me to describe; nobody would understand unless you were here,” Sampson said. "I hear somebody say about building a program that would be like men's basketball. You'd have to go back to when this place was tumbleweeds. You can’t compare it to where it is now. We have a beautiful program for men’s and women’s basketball. When I got here, we didn’t have one for either one.”
Kelvin Sampson tells @PaperCityMag he's happy no coach will have to do a rebuild at University of Houston again like one he faced: "I hear somebody say about building a program that would be like men's basketball. You'd have to go back to when this place was tumbleweeds." pic.twitter.com/sRNPB5FjOp
— Chris Baldwin (@ChrisYBaldwin) September 16, 2025
It took Sampson a couple of years to build the Cougars up, but once he did, they became a force to be reckoned with. Houston has made it to at least the postseason every year since 2021, and made it in 2018 and 2019.
Under Sampson, the Cougars have become an NBA talent-producing powerhouse as well. Since 2017, Houston has put Dameyan Dotson, Quentin Grimes, Jarace Walker, Marcus Sasser and Jamal Shead into the NBA, the team’s first NBA players selected through the draft since 2001.
This past season, the Cougars were close to accomplishing what every head basketball coach and player dreams of. The No. 1 Coogs went on a tear in the 2025 NCAA Basketball Tournament. They blew through SIU Edwardsville, Gonzaga, Purdue, Tennessee and Duke to make it all the way to the National Championship. Once there, Houston lost a nail-biter to the Florida Gators, something that will fuel the program heading into next season.
“Just proud of the University of Houston,” Sampson said. “Proud of where we are and where we are heading.”
