NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: REGIONAL SEMIFINAL - HOUSTON VS ARIZONA

March 23, 2022

Kelvin Sampson

Fabian White

Josh Carlton

Kyler Edwards

AT&T Center

Houston Cougars

Sweet 16 Media Conference

THE MODERATOR: We are joined by Houston head coach Kelvin Sampson. Houston plays Arizona tomorrow following the conclusion of the Michigan-Villanova game on TBS here in San Antonio. We'll get started with questions.

Q. Coach, how impressed have you been with Taze Moore's development, not just as a player, as a person, all the things he went through before he got here, just entering this culture you've built, the way he's established himself as the player he's become?

KELVIN SAMPSON: Obviously with the rules, you can't contact kids until after they put their name in the portal. I had no idea who he was. Because the success of certain positions, like Quentin Grimes transferring from Kansas, developing and becoming a first round draft choice, guys look at that. So you get a lot of calls from intermediaries about our interest in certain kids.

Taze just kind of popped out of nowhere. We needed to replace DeJon Jarreau's athleticism. We were looking for an athlete. But one of the things that helped us with Taze was his coach. It's not a comfortable -- you've got to have a relationship with the coach at the school the kid's leaving. If I had a kid leave that had another year of eligibility, I think that's probably a tough conversation, talking to another coach, because you'd like to have him back and he's asking questions.

But I had a great relationship with Rod Barnes, and Rod said, hey, if he's going to leave, I'd rather have him play for somebody that I know and respect.

Taze is a Mississippi kid -- humble, down to earth, courteous, respectful, nice, great teammate. It's been a blessing to have him in our program. Sometimes you've got to get lucky. We didn't make him the kind of kid he was. We got that when we recruited him.

Taze just needed to become a better basketball player. He was a ping-ping kid, he was just all over the place. Pretty good at some things, but not really good at anything, but dunking after practice. He put on a show. I call it the NABC guys have a dunk contest at the Final Four. I called a few weeks ago to make sure he got in it. Shouldn't have a dunk contest unless that kid's in it.

But he's become a really good basketball player. He's become somebody we trust. And I think his greatest strength is not his athleticism, it's his fearlessness. He's not afraid. He's not afraid of the moment.

Playing at this level was hard for him early. Playing Virginia, playing Oregon, playing Butler -- who else? Oklahoma State. We played a lot of really good teams in nonconference, but every time he went out there, he got more comfortable. And we've been able to marry his athleticism with him becoming a better basketball player, and now he's really taken off here in the last month or so.

Q. I'm wondering if being back in this building has brought back any memories for you, and how important was that time in your career that you spent here with Pop?

KELVIN SAMPSON: Yesterday I went over to the Spurs practice facility. Of course, Pop left me a bottle of wine, really, really nice note, and a bunch of Spurs gear. I felt like a camper. Except you wouldn't give wine to a camper, would you?

But after the Illinois game, I looked at my phone, and I had a text from Bud, Mike Budenholzer. Pop has really enjoyed watching this team. We played Memphis in the conference championship game, however many games ago that was, and he sent me this extended, long text. Of course your phone starts blowing up, but R.C. called as soon as he found out we were going to be in San Antonio. He called me yesterday. He called me this morning.

Once you're in the Spurs family, you're family for life. Those are great friends, and I'm so appreciative of Pop for so many things. But when I went out on the court today, you think back to that time. What a great experience it was for me. So just really blessed.

Q. Kelvin, a lot has been said throughout this season, after losing Sasser, after losing Mark, how this team responds. You've been asked this many times, now that you're here in the Sweet 16 and the job you and your staff have done and how the kids responded, can you put that in perspective for losing two stars and how it's kind of the next man up mentality?

KELVIN SAMPSON: Yeah, I think all coaches go through that. I don't think that makes us special or unique. We all have to deal with injuries. I guess the blessing was it happened early in conference season.

Marcus was having one of those -- Quentin was an All-American last year, first round draft choice, but Quentin didn't play like Marcus did his first 12 games. It took a long time for someone to catch him. I think he made 45 or 46 threes his first 12 games. But his defense, his leadership, that's what we miss with Marcus.

I remember playing Alcorn State, and he graded out higher than anybody we had ever in one of those kind of games. He had six steals. I don't think his man got a clean shot off. He had multiple defensive rebounds, leadership. Just could count on him.

Averaging 18 points a game, we'll find a way to get 18. He wasn't averaging 40, he was averaging 18. But four or five guys getting three or four more points, we'll figure that out. But you can't replace his leadership and confidence. He was the guy our kids looked up to.

Tramon, earlier in the season, Tramon was playing great. Then his shoulder took a hit. So he was in and out. We had kind of moved on with our starting lineup of Marcus, Kyler. Even Jamal wasn't Jamal then. He was still a freshman in a lot of ways.

Looking back, I don't know if I'm prepared to put it in perspective right now. Maybe when the season's over. But we just kind of prepare for the moment. Our next game was Temple on the road. We didn't have Marcus. We didn't have Tramon, and we didn't have Kyler. Our first guard was Fabian. That was just what we had to deal with.

We found a way to win the game and then the next one and then the next -- I think we started off 9-0 with five of those wins on the road. Because we were down those two guys, we just kind of just locked in a cocoon and just got ready for the next game and just tried to figure out how we were going to navigate this.

Then we had a stretch there where we lost two in a row. We're up 15 at SMU, and I think we had three guys with four fouls. Foul trouble is one of our things that we have to -- we fear. We just don't have the depth in the backcourt. And then fatigue. But we've been dealing with that all year. Every coach has to deal with this stuff, so I don't think we're unique or special.

Q. I'd just like to know your thoughts on Arizona's Bennedict Mathurin and what kind of challenge he poses to you guys.

KELVIN SAMPSON: I haven't seen a lot of a lot of teams like the guard from Kansas. I've read about him. I've never really watched him. I've watched Bennedict. What do they call him? Ben -- like he doesn't have a like Big Ben or B Money, none of that stuff? Just Bennedict? You guys have nicknames, right? Let's just call him Ben.

But whatever you call him, he's the best guard we've seen. That's not coach speak, that's the truth. I was in the NBA for six seas ones, and he's an NBA guy. He's not going to go in and be a role player. He'll start. He's going to get drafted so high that they're going to start him.

That will be good for his development. I mean, he's a first-day starter for an NBA team. He has everything you need. He can create a shot, tremendous defender. He's got next level acceleration, and he can really shoot.

I was reading a quote that Coach Tommy Lloyd said that he's got the clutch gene. That's a great quote. He does. Those plays he made at the end of the TCU game -- some guys are afraid of those moments. It shows you what he's made out of. So he's a really impressive young man.

Q. I remember the early 2000s when you were the president of the NABC. You were a real advocate for San Antonio as a Final Four host city. In fact, I think you said the Final Four should be in San Antonio every year. So I just wanted to get your thoughts about when you found out you were going to be in this regional this year, if you still feel that way.

KELVIN SAMPSON: I think for people who have not been to San Antonio, this is a destination place. We're staying at the Hilton right by the River Walk, and my wife and two grandkids and my daughter-in-law went out walking on the River Walk.

The reason I like it for NCAA is young coaches can bring their families. If you've got young kids, bring your family. Bring your wife. Bring your kids. Let them enjoy because the weather's going to be good. There's a million things to do. You've got the aquarium. You've got the zoos. You've got stuff to do here. And it's not 20 degrees.

San Antonio is -- I was telling one of my assistant coaches that San Antonio is one of the ten most populated cities in America. He didn't know that. But the proximity of the Alamodome to downtown, the hotel, the airport.

Then once you get all the coaches here, there's something for the older coaches and then the younger coaches. I always encourage younger coaches, when you come to these events, to bring your wife, bring your kids. Let me see what you do. Let them see you interact with the other coaches and the relationships you build because these careers go fast. You think back to when you started. Obviously, I'm rounding third somewhere. I don't know if I'm two steps by it or two steps from home plate, I don't know, but I'm somewhere between home and third.

I just was talking to Jay Wright. I've known Jay for 30 years. The greatest thing about coaching is not the wins and losses, but the relationships you build along the way. And the more you can involve your family in those situations, I think the more solid a career you can have.

THE MODERATOR: We are joined by Houston players Fabian White Jr., Josh Carlton, Kyler Edwards.

Q. Fabian, do you appreciate -- I know you're in the moment right now, can you appreciate the type of impact that you've left and these groups that you've been a part of have left on a school that is pretty proud of its basketball tradition that goes back a long ways?

FABIAN WHITE JR.: Yeah, when I committed here, I always wanted to help UH basketball get back on the map as long as anyone else that came here. As first, you never really saw anybody wearing UH basketball shirts or really even coming to the games. Now everybody is wearing UH basketball shirts, and we see that almost every single game. There's a lot of support behind us, and we love it really.

Q. Fabian and Josh, y'all are coming off a game where you just faced Kofi Cockburn, and now you're facing an Arizona team. I think they're one of the tallest teams in college basketball. Can you talk about the challenges their bigs present and the keys to shutting them down?

JOSH CARLTON: A lot of teams in the tournament are going to have size. That's the factor this far in the season. Just being physical and keeping out of the paint, having a body on them, boxing out, and making sure you work on them. They've got to keep us from getting to the boards and defend us, so just keep them active and keep being physical.

FABIAN WHITE JR.: Same thing Josh said. You've just got to stay physical really. Just try to play harder than them, play to the culture, and hopefully we come out with the win.

Q. This question is for Josh. I know you spent time at DeMatha down there in the D.C. area. What's it like playing high school basketball in the D.C. area?

JOSH CARLTON: It's great. WBAC is one of the best high school leagues in the country. So just that competition you face in high school really prepares players to take the next jump into college. So just that competition and playing the area with the hoops culture out there, it really prepares you for the next level.

Q. Fabian, you've known Coach a little bit longer than these guys, but for all three of you, is there a funny story, funny anecdote about Coach you'd be willing to share that people don't know, just a behind-the-scenes type deal about Coach?

FABIAN WHITE JR.: He don't really hide much. What you all see, we see. He says what's on his mind. His jokes may come off like a little rough, but he's really just playing with you.

The funniest thing I've experienced was last week he took his shirt off. So that's the first time I'd ever seen him do that. So that's the funniest thing I've seen.

KYLER EDWARDS: To me, he's a totally different person on the court than off the court. On the court, he's like more intense. He wants everything done his way, and like off the court he's more like relaxed, always cracking jokes.

Yeah, I can agree with Fabian about the shirt taking off. That was probably the funniest thing I've seen.

JOSH CARLTON: Yeah, just his sense of humor off the court, pretty serious guy, but he still has his moments where he cracks a joke or two. He'll catch you off guard with some of the things he does with the shirt thing. That really caught me off guard. He's interesting.

Q. Kyler, earlier last week Coach Sampson was very complimentary of your defense and called you the best defender in the American and talked about how you've been able to lock down some of your opponents' best guys. Do you embrace that challenge? What's it like going up against the Pac-12 Player of the Year in Bennedict Mathurin?

KYLER EDWARDS: I definitely embrace it. I take pride in defense like no other. Facing Arizona and their best player, he's a very good scorer. We've just got to put in our defense, and hopefully it will work out.

Q. When you guys lose Sasser and Mark at the beginning of the year, how are you guys just able to regroup and have the season you guys had?

FABIAN WHITE JR.: I just feel like we all have pride in what we do, just like you all have pride in what you all do. We're just going to play our best basketball, play as hard as we can, play together, and it just happened to come out with some wins and the conference championship.

I feel like we're good enough to win more games throughout March, but we've just got to take it one game at a time and keep playing hard.

Q. For all you guys, just wondering what kind of atmosphere you expect tomorrow. Does it feel like almost sort of a home court advantage?

KYLER EDWARDS: I think it should be because San Antonio and Houston are right there. So I think our fans should be in there. I think it should be loud for us.

JOSH CARLTON: Three-hour drive from home, we're expecting a big turnout, but we also know Arizona themselves has a big fan base. We know their fans travel well, but we're really expecting for our fans to show up. That's the big benefit of having this game so close to home, being able to have the fans be there and support.

Q. Covering Jamal in high school, he was always the loud, vocal, happy, smiling guy. Seems like he's like that with you guys too. What does his personality do for your team and do for kind of the camaraderie?

KYLER EDWARDS: He's always outgoing. He's like the energy bunny. He's always cracking jokes, putting smiles on people's faces. That's what a PG is supposed to do, so he's just doing his job.

JOSH CARLTON: Jamal, he's one of the younger guys. He still has that role as a leader on the team, being the point guard, being the guy he is. Real stand-up guy. He brings energy every day. So just having him there as a point guard, as the tip of our spear, he's really a presence that is needed.

Q. You guys are underdogs for just the second time since December of 2020, but I've also heard that you guys kind of always feel like you're the underdogs walking into the gym. Can you talk about the mentality going into tomorrow?

FABIAN WHITE JR.: I feel like our mentality is just same mentality we always go in for every game really. Play harder than our opponent, out tough our opponent, and play to the culture. We usually come out with the win.

But the underdog thing, we're always the underdog. We've been the underdog since December, since we lost Mark and T. Mark. So it's something we're used to.

Q. The offensive rebounding, has it become something you love? What is it about you guys? Is it drilled into you, or just naturally do a lot of you guys have that?

JOSH CARLTON: I feel like Coach kind of recruits a lot of guys naturally that want to rebound, but when you get here on campus, the first thing he does is he drills it into you. He puts a bubble up in the room, and we do a bubble drill. It's a battle. There is no made shots when the bubble's up there. Every board is up for grabs.

So it's definitely drilled into us, and I think it's something hard for teams to really guard against or scout because it's every possession. Every possession we've got four guys on the glass. We know that we're going to be able to have the opportunity to do that again against Arizona, so that's going to be a big emphasis for us.

Q. Any of you guys, the orange balls, I know you guys have been playing with them for a couple rounds, but obviously they're different. How much different are they to you guys? Do they catch your eye a little bit?

KYLER EDWARDS: Most definitely. They're kind of rougher than the ones we play with, kind of jam your finger a couple times. I mean, it's basketball. This is the game. We're going to adjust to it at the end of the day and try to go out there and play with it the best we can.

JOSH CARLTON: I was told he wanted to go away from the genuine leather and go with the synthetic. I feel like sometimes you can take the air out a little bit. It's got a bouncy feel to it. If it comes off the rim harder when somebody misses a shot, that's one more opportunity for an offensive rebound. So I'm not complaining.