SAN ANTONIO — Emanuel Sharp was “trying to keep it PG,” Javier Francis wanted to be “family friendly” and Ramon Walker Jr. rattled them off without hesitation.
“Like the sayings that he has? What’s my favorite one, man? He has so many,” Walker said inside Houston basketball’s locker room at the Alamodome on Thursday ahead of the Cougars’ matchup with Duke (35-3) in the Final Four on Saturday (8:49 p.m., CBS).
Walker is referring to Houston head coach Kelvin Sampson’s “Kelvinisms,” sayings the 69-year-old leader has used relentlessly around his players throughout 11 seasons with the Cougars (34-4).
Several players chimed in with their input, but one quote reigned supreme as the runaway winner.
“You’re soft as puppy (poop) in the rain,” Walker, a four-year player under Sampson, said with a smile.
Freshman guard Kordelius Jefferson and redshirt freshman center Jacob McFarland laughed and nodded in agreement from their locker stalls. That trio kept going back and forth, sharing their favorite one-liners from Sampson.
“Show me a man that’s not humble, I’ll show you a man that’s about to be humbled,” McFarland said.
Jefferson said: “When somebody has zero rebounds in a game, you and (assistant coach Quannas White) had the same amount of rebounds.”
Junior forward Emanuel Sharp had one that none of his other teammates mentioned.
“I like when he tells us we gotta play like the hair on (certain body parts) is on fire,” Sharp said. “That one really gets me going, for sure.”
From the other side of the room, senior Ja’Vier Francis confirmed the “puppy” line is “the one that (Sampson) says the most.”
Milos Uzan, who is in his first season at Houston after transferring from Oklahoma, said there are “so many choices … so many where I gotta watch my wording.” Like Francis, Uzan said Sampson’s “puppy” quote is “one of his go-tos” in practice and games.
“He’s just trying to get the best from you. … It may not come out the nicest way or the way that you want it to, but it’s his style,” Francis said.
Kelvin Sampson's coaching style produces winning culture for Houston basketball
A North Carolina native from Pembroke, Sampson is two wins shy of 800 in his 36-year career, closing in on 300 wins at Houston.
Shortly after taking the Houston job in 2014, Sampson said “every team is going to have an identity. Whether it’s good or bad, it’s incumbent upon you to establish that” culture.
“All of his stuff makes sense. … All of the kids he recruits want this,” Uzan said. “All of them want better for themselves and Coach Sampson’s gonna push you to that.”
Centered around toughness and development, Sampson’s Cougars have won the Big 12 in each of their first two seasons in the conference. Houston has a combined record of 131-19 in the last four ...
