NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL FOUR: HOUSTON VS BAYLOR

April 3, 2021

Kelvin Sampson

Lucas Oil Stadium - Unity Court (South)

Houston Cougars

Semi-Final Postgame Media Conference

Baylor - 78, Houston - 59

COACH SAMPSON: We'll now begin with an opening statement from coach Kelvin Sampson.

COACH SAMPSON: It's always going to be emotional when the season ends. Somebody's going to lose the next game. Somebody's going to lose the game Monday night. You start the season off as one of 355 hoping, hoping that you're one of 68.

Then you go from 68 trying to get to 32, 32 to 16, and if you're really, really fortunate and you have a really good team, you go from 16 to eight. And then the same thing, eight to four.

This team went from 355 to four. I told those guys how appreciative I was for their commitment to team in probably the toughest year for any of us -- not just the bubble here, but COVID challenges, isolation, being sequestered, quarantined, social distancing, masks. It was quite a year.

But you know, the sting of this will leave them. Days will turn into weeks and weeks to months and months to years. But what they'll remember is the memories and realize that being 28-4, cutting down two nets -- conference tournament champions, Midwest regional champions and going to a Final Four -- that's a heck of an accomplishment for this group of kids. So proud of them.

The locker room was really emotional. Those guys invested a lot in this. We ran into a really good team tonight. Didn't play well and that team we played had a lot to do with it.

Q. What does it mean for this program, with everything that you're building and the previous teams, for you guys to reach this stage to be one of four teams left in the NCAA Tournament, because there's this season but there's also what you were building the last few years what you're going to continue to build and what this can do for the University of Houston basketball?

COACH SAMPSON: I think we needed to get further. This potentially could have been the third straight year of a Sweet 16. If the kid doesn't hit that great shot that he made, fortunate shot against Michigan, that could have been a Sweet 16. The next year against Kentucky, a Sweet 16. And then this year a Sweet 16.

We're getting the next step. Once we got to the Elite Eight, that's where you want your program to be. You want it to improve, to get better. I know how difficult it is to get to a Final Four.

One of my really, really good friends is Gene Keady from Purdue. He had a hall of fame coaching career. He never went to one Final Four. It shows you how difficult it is. John Chaney, Temple, hall of famer, never went to one Final Four.

You just say, well, just make sure you can get back to the Final Four. May never go to a Final Four. Those are hard to get to. Look at all the teams that have never been to one. You don't ever think those things are -- that they owe you. Well, we got to one; we can get to another one. Maybe, maybe not.

That's why you focus on the things you can control and keep recruiting good kids, work on improving your roster, establishing chemistry, keep creating the right kind of culture with the right kind of kids. And who knows? You may.

But this was an important year for us because we had a good team. The team we had this year was capable of getting to the next step. You know, the teams we beat -- Rutgers, Syracuse, Oregon State -- those teams beat good teams. Oregon State beat Oklahoma State. Oregon State beat Tennessee. And Loyola Chicago, Loyola Chicago beat Illinois. But we beat the team that beat all of them. That gave us great credibility.

So I understand your question, Brian, but getting to the Elite Eight was a great accomplishment. That's what I wanted for this program, for this group of kids, I wanted them to get to the next step.

Getting to the Final Four you don't ever plan on that. If you did, the four 1 seeds would get there. Michigan had a heck of a year. Illinois was outstanding. They were 1 seeds but they didn't make the Final Four because you never know. You've got to be good. You've got to play good on that night.

But so impressed with Baylor. I keep going back to them -- Butler, Mitchell, Teague, Flagler, Mayer. I don't think I've seen a team with five guards at that level. No drop off. And they're good at both ends.

That's why I was so excited for our team on both ends. I get why people rationalize why we came back the second half. I get that. But we did. It wasn't easy to do. That was an emotional locker room at halftime. And we came out of the locker room and our kids competed.

But Baylor is clearly the best team that we've played. They may be the best team we've played in the seven years I've been here. I'm trying to think who has been better than them. I don't want to slight anybody, but I can't remember. We've beaten a lot of good teams -- Oregon, LSU, Arkansas, Ohio State, a lot of teams. That's the best team that I've seen in the seven years I've been at Houston. They're really, really good.

Q. Defense and rebounding have been the things that have driven you guys to where you are, and the first half you were getting beat on the boards couldn't get stops. You just credited how good Baylor was. Was there anything else you could explain why those calling cards weren't coming together like you needed today?

COACH SAMPSON: I think the rebounding part is -- our guards have always -- our guards rebound. When you look at halftime, we've got two high-level rebounding guards in Grimes and Jarreau. At halftime they had the same amount as I did -- zero. That's a problem. When our guards aren't rebounding, we're going to struggle.

Then offensively it was just the pressure and the turnovers. And we had so many four-point possessions. DeJon would lose control and next thing you know they'd go down and a five-point possession; they were hitting 3s a lot. It went from four to 10 and then from 10 to 20 fast.

But a lot of that was them. A lot of it was us. Our turnovers. But they're good at that. They do that to everybody. They did it -- we watched them do it to Villanova. We watched them do it to Wisconsin. They're up 29-11 on Arkansas for that one reason. They turn you over and they go score.

And those three guards, those three guards are unique in that they can shoot 3s, make free throws and then get to the rim and finish. Teague is a great finisher, Mitchell is a good finisher and Butler is just a natural scorer.

So turnovers that led to easy baskets and then our guards not rebounding. When our guards don't rebound, it puts all the pressure on two positions and we can't rebound two positions against a team like Baylor.

Q. When it comes to this team, in particular, what's going to be the one thing that stands out the most about them as the years go on?

COACH SAMPSON: How much better they got as the season went on and the tough year. This loss stings today. It will sting tomorrow. But we'll get through this. Losing in the Final Four to one of the two best teams in the country, we're not going to hold our heads down or hang our heads over that.

This team can win a national championship. If you lose to the national champion, you're disappointed you lost, but you're not -- I was really happy with the way we came out the second half. Now I would like to have played better in the first half. But, again, Baylor had a lot to do with that.

But the growth of individual players off the court and on the court: DeJon Jarreau's maturity and leadership; Quentin Grimes becoming a warrior and a competitor; Brison Gresham being a great teammate and leader for this team in every aspect; Justin Gorham going from a kid that just didn't get a lot of opportunities last year playing behind Fabian to being one of the best players at his position in America and one of the best offensive rememberers in the country.

Those guys, and the leadership they showed for the younger guys. We got some really good players coming back -- Fabian White, Tramon Mark and Marcus Sasser, those three guys. And we've got good young players -- Kiyron Powell, Jamal Shead, J'Wan Roberts. And we have good players coming in. And obviously, like everyone else, we'll pick up some kids from the transfer portal as well. We'll be back. We'll be good again next year.

This team, the teams before this team were trailblazers. Rob Gray's team was a trailblazer, won the first NCAA Tournament game in how many years? I think 34, someone said. And the next year, we were going to go right -- the next year we went to the Sweet 16 and lost a heart breaker to Kentucky. Next year would have been right back in the tournament.

Then this year we were ground breakers. So we've had teams that were trailblazers and now we had a team that was ground breakers.

The people that care about our university and care about our teams, they'll never forget this group. I know I won't. I'll remember this team for a lot of reasons -- great kids, the love they had for each other, how tight knit the coaching staff was in supporting these kids. It was fun.

I'm disappointed the season is over because I don't get to coach them anymore. But what a run, what a ride. Final Four, 28-4. Two nets. We got a lot of memories. A lot of memories.

Q. I know it's tough to look ahead so quickly, but you still are a young team. You lose probably a couple of guards in Gorham and Gresham. But getting these guys an experience like this, how much does that maybe excel things or at least gives them that taste that they're no longer going to be next year star struck or having not been in this situation?

COACH SAMPSON: They have to play against those guys every day. Jamal Shead came a long way. It's like Justin, we've got some players that you're going to find out how good they are next year, just like Justin. We watched Justin every day last year. But I just didn't feel like I could go 20 and 20 with 40 minutes with him and Fabian.

If you're the starter, you're the starter. I don't have two starters, I have one.

Jamal Shead will stake his ground next year. He's going to be good. I watched him improve this whole year. Marcus Sasser is going to get better. Tramon Mark. J'Wan Roberts. He had 14 rebounds against Boise State -- 14. Kiyron Powell, those guys -- remember they didn't have a summer. They'll be able to, Coach Bishop and our staff -- June, July, August, September before we start practicing in October. And then we have the kids coming in.

But the perception of our program has changed. And our program has changed. I can't wait to play in front of sellouts next year. This is going to be exciting. But this team will never be forgotten. They broke the ground. They showed it can be done. And now it's up to these ensuing teams to stake their ground too. Looking forward to it.

COACH SAMPSON: Thank you, Coach.