NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: FIRST ROUND - UAB BLAZERS VS HOUSTON COUGARS

March 17, 2022

Kelvin Sampson

Josh Carlton

Kyler Edwards

Fabian White

PPG Paints Arena

Houston Cougars

Media Conference

Q. Did Kelvin have a message for you heading into this tournament? What was sort of the theme or the approach the last few days?

FABIAN WHITE JR.: Just take it one game at a time, take every game like we've been taking it. Just play the culture, play defense, play as hard as we can, and rebound the ball.

KYLER EDWARDS: I'll just add on to that a say just play Cougar basketball and just be ourselves and we'll be okay.

JOSH CARLTON: Just play to our culture and survive and advance.

Q. Josh and Kyler, you came to this program hoping to have great things happen. You've already won the regular season title, now a tournament title. Fabian has told you about how much fun the NCAA run can be. Is it as much fun as you had hoped for? Is it more?

JOSH CARLTON: We've been here for a day so far, but so far it's just been practice and our pickups. We haven't start playing games, but so far it's been everything I expected.

Q. Being in the U of H program --

JOSH CARLTON: Oh, yeah, in terms of the program, just coming in and knowing how these guys work, I played against them being in the American, so just being in it, knowing that these guys work and it pays off in the end. Just got to stay with it.

KYLER EDWARDS: I always had an idea of what UH culture and basketball was because at Texas Tech, we always scrimmaged them every year and last year we actually got to play them. I always had an idea so I knew where I wanted to go as soon as I transferred. Being here has been a great experience for me.

Q. Fabian, with last year's run, what can you take from that, and is there a lesson or two, something you can apply from that experience to this one?

FABIAN WHITE JR.: Really just got to play as hard as you can every minute of the game because it could be your last game. Just seeing Deje, Justin, Brison, how locked in they were to film, little details like that, you've just got to stay focused. You can't have any slip-ups when it comes to scouting report.

Q. We talked to Coach a few days and he mentioned one of the strengths is this team's ability to go on big runs and sort of take control or take command when you need to. How much of a difference is that when you guys know that you can reel off 10 or 12 points in a row or sort of go on a run like that to give yourselves some space?

FABIAN WHITE JR.: I feel like we only go on those runs because we pride ourselves on defense and offensive rebounding which helps us get easier baskets if we get a clean defensive rebound and we're on the fast break. I feel like that's the reason why we're able to go on the runs.

KYLER EDWARDS: Yeah, I think the defense starts off the moment on our runs because we like to be aggressive on that side of the court, and if we're aggressive on that side we can get easy baskets on the offensive end.

Q. Since you've been on Final Four runs, how much does it make your trip and your approach this year?

FABIAN WHITE JR.: I would never say it's easy because it's different things at each tournament. But we just know what it takes to get to that point, so we've got to hold our teammates and hold ourselves accountable.

KYLER EDWARDS: I'd say being experienced in this tournament, you learn a lot of things and you benefit from past experiences. I just think we can just bring our experience to this team.

Q. Fabian, you came out with a skill set and it's been expanded so much at Houston. Can you put into words what this has been like going through this journey?

FABIAN WHITE JR.: Yeah, came to Houston just a back to the basket player, but Coach Kellen has been working with me all five years. I feel like my injuries helped because while I'm sitting out, I'm working on something else like shooting the ball or ball handling.

Everything I've been through here has been a blessing. Coach Sampson is always keeping me confident. It's just a lot of hard work with Coach Kellen.

Q. What does Taze's energy do for this team and how have you seen him grow through the years? He came from a smaller program than maybe you guys did, but how have you seen him grow?

JOSH CARLTON: You know, Taze is just a spark plug out there for us anytime. He just brings energy for a big time dunk, big time block. He has great vision. He's just a complete player. I think he's misunderstood and people think he's a dunker and energy guy. Taze is a complete player, he's grown over the years.

KYLER EDWARDS: I think Taze brings us a lot of energy with his athletic plays, being able to block shots and have his dunks. But like Josh said, he is a complete player. He isn't just a dunker. Having him is a big part of our success.

FABIAN WHITE JR.: Having him adds another play maker with Kyler and Mal, and he's not afraid to take big shots or make tough plays. He does more than just dunking and blocking shots, but he definitely brings energy just like y'all saw that at Cincinnati and ended up winning by a lot because of how it started.

Q. Josh and Fabian, how has Jamal Shead evolved to the point where he is now, over 200 assists. A lot of those look like they go to you for easy baskets inside. How has he improved and evolved?

FABIAN WHITE JR.: Last year he was just sitting on the bench watching Deje and Q, seeing how they operate in the game. I feel like he learned a lot from that, and him always working with Coach Q, countless hours in the gym, three, four hours before practice they were in the gym working. It just comes out to light now.

JOSH CARLTON: Just playing Mal it's great having a point guard able to distribute the ball as well as he is. I just know every time I set a roll, he's driving, I just got my hands ready and be ready to finish because he's looking.

Q. Rarely does a team come back to the tournament with a completely new starting five, which is what you're doing. Fabian was hurt, he did come off the bench last year, but what did that mean to you guys, what you've accomplished, all three of you this season, having a totally different starting five?

FABIAN WHITE JR.: I think we accomplished everything that we set out to accomplish really in the off-season. We have a lot of experience. J.C. has played in countless big games, Taze has played in a lot of big games. We did use our experience and that helps us out in the long run.

Q. This week Kelvin has spoken very highly of Jordan Walker. As a team who takes pride in defense, how much do you look forward to the challenge of one of the better scorers in the country?

KYLER EDWARDS: We always look forward to competing against the other team's best players, and we know that he's a very competitive guard and very gifted scorer. We have to just play our brand of basketball and we'll be good.

FABIAN WHITE JR.: Yeah, he had 27 in the tournament so we know he's an elite scorer, but they've also got Ertel, the same leading scorer the past couple games. We've got a lot of things to worry about, but as long as we take away the three, I think we'll be all right.

Q. Does Walker look a lot different from when you saw him at Tulane the last two years in terms of what he's done?

FABIAN WHITE JR.: Yeah, he's a lot more confident. He doesn't have like a leash around him anymore. He thinks of himself as the best player, so that's how he plays.

Q. Could all of you comment on the new starting five from last year's NCAA team?

KYLER EDWARDS: It was just our goal from July, just coming in, meeting new players we haven't even met before. I met Fabian in high school, but that was about it. I mean, just gelling with these guys throughout the year, and then just seeing it come to fruition, it was just great for us.

JOSH CARLTON: Just I think like he said, we're all older players, we're experienced. We know what it takes to win. We've all won at some level, so just knowing that we're all unselfish players, so just knowing that with the ultimate goal is to win games. It's been easier than probably in another situation where you've got younger players, but just having everybody experienced and having won at some level helps.

Q. Josh and Kyler, you guys came from other big programs, played for other coaches. What makes Kelvin Sampson different? What does he do that's different or how does he approach things that is different from what you've seen before?

JOSH CARLTON: I think Coach Sampson's attention to detail, his ability to break things down in practice into different drills and being able to rep it out until everybody understands it. Probably the thing that stands out to me the most is how he's able to really lock in on the details and get everybody to lock in.

KYLER EDWARDS: To me Coach has been around this game longer than we've been born. He knows everything about this game, and he just wants the best for his players. At the end of the day you have nothing but respect for him.

KELVIN SAMPSON: We're excited to be here. Congratulations to the 68 teams that made this tournament. I've never lost sight of how hard it is to navigate the challenges of a season, at the end of the year being one of the teams chosen.

We've got a great bunch of kids, got four seniors, three have already graduated. Enjoy working with this bunch. That's about it.

Q. Your dad was a coach, different level, different era. What do you think he would think of this pageantry and all this attention? How much do you still use lessons he taught coaching-wise today?

KELVIN SAMPSON: Well, what year was our first year in the tournament here? '17-' 18 season, right? So 2018 was the first NCAA Tournament game that I coached that he didn't see. He saw every one. He saw every game up to that point, he and my mother. They were constants.

He would be amazed at it. Of course he coached in segregation back in the '50s. His first year as a high school coach was 1950. I think he graduated from college in '52-'53 season for the old Pembroke State College Braves PSC. Oh, he would be amazed at this. He'd fold his arms.

Guys from that era wasn't overly effusive with praise, so if I could get a "your team played good today, fella," out of him, that was as good as it got. That was a good day.

Q. When Kyler was in the portal, what intrigued you most about him and why did you really want him in your program?

KELVIN SAMPSON: Well, actually we had recruited Kyler out of high school, Arlington Bowie. He actually went to the same high school as Cade Cunningham in Arlington. Then he went to Findlay Prep where he actually played with Reggie off of our team.

But you know, we'd scrimmaged -- every year we'd scrimmage Texas Tech while Kyler was there. I think we were just comfortable with each other. I don't even know if Kyler even talked to any other schools. They made contact with us about interest, and I think before we even left Indianapolis last year during the isolation, I think we knew he was coming. He just had to figure out when he wanted to do it. Same thing with Josh Carlton.

I think the fit was that Kyler doesn't really have any great strengths, but he doesn't have a lot of weaknesses, either. He's pretty good at everything. He can make a basket, he can guard you, pass it, can play multiple positions. Really good defensive rebounder, excellent defensive rebounder at the guard position.

I think everything he does just screams solid, dependable. When you get to this time of the year, I think the greatest ability one of your players can have is dependability, and Kyler has that.

Q. Kelvin, if I'm not mistaken, I think you lost your first five NCAA Tournaments. What was the takeaway from that in terms of maybe as a coach, it was just making the tournament in those early days that sort of -- the takeaway that you could build off of once you got to Oklahoma and then you made the Sweet 16 and the Final Four and stuff?

KELVIN SAMPSON: Well, we were lucky to win the one we won. It could have easily been six. We were a 13 seed that year.

I think the team, they were all hurt most of the year, and I got them all back healthy at the end of the year. Eduardo Nájera who was the first Mexican-born player drafted in the NBA, I think he was 32nd or 33rd. He was drafted the same year as Dirk Nowitzki with the Mavericks, and Ryan Humphrey who transferred and went on to Notre Dame.

I had a tough team. That team barely made the tournament, as most of our teams did. We didn't have any 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 seeds back then. We were all teams picked at the bottom of the leagues last year and we'd have a great year to make the tournament, and then we'd lose in the first round and people didn't know what happened. I thought it was great that we made it.

But the game we won was the turning point. Arizona had Jason Terry, they had Richard Jefferson, they had Michael Wright, A.J. Bramlett, and I can't remember all of them. I remember their best players.

We trailed most of the game. We never press, but after one of our last baskets, we jumped in a press, the kid from Arizona didn't realize we were pressing so he stepped in bounds. And Nájera had just hit a three, we were down four with under a minute to go. We had a three, got them turned over. We tipped the ball in. Wouldn't you know it, we had an offensive rebound with a tip-in. And then Jason Terry went down and missed a shot, Richard Jefferson got the rebound, missed a shot, the horn blew. And I went, did we just win? I'm not sure how to act around here.

We've done this five times, we're 0 for 5. He wasn't sure I had -- I do remember running over to where any family was, the family cheering and just waving at them. After a while, you know how it is, it doesn't become the players anymore, it becomes the coach can't win. So I was happy for that.

But there's other games, the first year was the big 8. I remember that. We were picked to finish seventh or eighth in the league, and lo and behold, I think Oklahoma State went to the -- we beat Kansas that year, they were No. 1 in the nation. Pollard and Ostertag, Vaughn, that was the Kansas team we beat, and we barely made it. And then we lost to Fran Fraschilla's team. He had some transfers from Western Kentucky and somewhere else. They were really good.

Then the next year we lost to Coach Chaney's Temple team. We weren't a very good shooting team and they were a really good zone defensive team, so that was a bad matchup.

Coach Knight and Indiana beat us in Washington. We had some close calls. We had a chance to win of some of those games but we didn't.

So the game we won, we got lucky. We got lucky and lost some of them, then we got lucky and won one. So I don't think that there's a recipe. Sometimes you've just got to get lucky. But sometimes you've got to not be unlucky.

That clarifies that, doesn't it?

Q. You're a lucky man.

KELVIN SAMPSON: I am lucky. Blessed and lucky.

Q. Kelvin, I was asking the guys, this is a totally different starting five than you had starting last year's tournament. They said, hey, ever since last summer, we started working together, we planned on being here, we believed we would be here. How did that -- just that belief drive them to get to this point through everything you've been through this season?

KELVIN SAMPSON: Well, I think the program's past experiences give the next team permission. I think last year's -- the year we lost to Michigan at the buzzer, that team felt the same way. I don't think we played a team all year that that team didn't feel like they could win. They thought they were better than Michigan, and nothing that happened that night convinced me otherwise.

Then the next year we went 33-4 and lost to Kentucky. We were up three with under a minute to go. Tyler Herro hit a hero's shot. That was a tough loss. Then the next year was COVID, then the next year was the Final Four, and here we are this year.

I think the common denominator with all those teams, I think every team lost four starters from the year before.

But the team the year before showed the other team how to do it. They had a blueprint. They were right, it started in June.

We've got a tremendous sports performance coach in Alan Bishop. I've got a great staff that focuses on player development. You know, hard work is our foundation, but because you work hard, you're not guaranteed to succeed. Just like if you don't work hard, if you're really talented, you can still have a level of success but not as much as if you would work hard.

Work hard is defined differently in different programs, though. It's like 30 degrees at Miami is different than 32 degrees in Nome, Alaska. Hard work here is different than hard work there. It's all relevant as to how that program goes about it.

I've been proud of our staff. Too often times we give the head coach way too much credit. I would slide a lot of credit for our program to our staff because we've been together a long time, and our players really respect our staff. They love our players and our players love them.

As a head coach, that makes my job so much easier. A lot of our success comes from having a great staff and great kids.

Q. I understand that every tournament is different, but how important is it to have guys like Kyler and Fabian who have been to the tournament and understand what it takes to win at this level?

KELVIN SAMPSON: I think that's overrated. Look how many teams depend on freshmen. They've never been. Look at the first time we beat San Diego State and a shoulda-coulda-woulda Michigan. Those teams had never been.

Some veteran guys don't handle it well. Some new guys are great at it. I think it just comes down to that kid's personality. It sounds good that you've got veterans back, but it's hard to make the tournament. I never lose sight.

I think most coaches would tell you -- like we went to the Final Four last year and immediately people said, we're going to go to the Final Four again. Are you nuts? The school hadn't been in 100 years. Now you think we're going to go twice in two years? There's a reason why they hadn't been or why most schools don't go.

When is the last time -- just pick a school that you think is great. When is the last time they went to back-to-back Final Fours? When is the last time they went to 10 consecutive NCAA tournaments or even five. It's because it's hard. It's really hard.

I look at the teams today that lost. They should be disappointed they lost, but they shouldn't be disappointed in their season. Whenever we lose -- and there's a good chance we will -- whenever we lose, I will not allow our kids to be disappointed in what they accomplished since June. We don't define our season on 40 minutes. Other people will but they've never played. They have no idea. Most people are cynical and skeptical as it is. That's their personalities.

But coaches, I know how hard these kids have worked. I know how hard it has been for us to get to this point. I know the trials and tribulations and challenges and things we had to get through just to get here.

So whenever that horn blows and the music stops and they tell us that we can't play anymore, everybody will be sad. The teams that lost today, a lot of tears and a lot of crying in that locker room, but eventually they'll go on and realize what a great accomplishment it was to play in March Madness, something they'll never forget the rest of their lives.