Despite having to replace two NBA Draft picks and another starter from last season, Kelvin Sampson led Houston to a 14-0 record through early January.
Then the Cougars started playing Big 12 road games.
Despite a raging Midwestern winter storm, 14,267 fans showed up at Iowa State’s Hilton Coliseum on Jan. 9 to watch the Cyclones pull off a 57-53 upset over Houston in the Cougars’ first conference road game.
“There was like four or five inches of snow, and it was packed,” Sampson told the Star at the Final Four after he was given AP Coach of the Year honors. “I remember coaching in the Pac-10, and not every school sold out in basketball. But they do in this league. I know Arizona has a great following in Tucson. So whatever they see in Tucson, they’re gonna see that every night this conference.”
Sampson hasn’t been in the Pac since he last coached Washington State in 1994, but his comparison may still be valid. What was known as the Pac-12 through this season didn’t sell out just about anything, except most of Arizona’s home games.
Houston head coach Kelvin Sampson, left, talks with Damian Dunn (11) during the first half of the Cougars' Sweet 16 matchup against Duke on March 29.
Transitioning the Cougars from the American Athletic Conference this season, Sampson found the Big 12 different not only in Ames that night but also just about everywhere else in the now-far-flung conference.
After the Cougars lost at Iowa State they also dropped two others among their first five conference road games, at TCU and at Kansas. Their only wins over those five road games were a seven-point escape at BYU and an overtime win at Texas.
“The thing jumped out to me was how great the visiting arenas were, at Kansas, at Iowa State, and our place is awesome,” Sampson said. “Everywhere you go, it’s an unbelievable experience, packed, the game management, the cohesion between the fan bases, the fans, the cheerleaders, the video boards.
“At BYU, it was just incredible. And some of the new places like Cincinnati and Central Florida, their places were awesome even there.”
Arizona will be one of those new places next season, along with ASU, Colorado and Utah, while Texas and Oklahoma are leaving for the SEC.
Houston head coach Kelvin Sampson talks to center Cedric Lath (2) as he comes off the court during the second half of the Cougars' Big 12 Conference Tournament matchup with Iowa State on March 16, in Kansas City, Missouri.
But while the Wildcats may both give and receive tougher environments in their new conference – and won’t have the thousands of West Coast-based UA fans that have traditionally turned out to cheer them on at Washington and California Pac-12 schools – that may not matter all that much, the way Sampson sees it.
Having coached in the Pac-10-12(WSU), Big 8-12 (Oklahoma), Big Ten (Indiana) and AAC (Houston), Sampson said conference affiliation really doesn’t matter for elite teams such as Houston and Arizona.
“We went to the Final Four and Elite Eight from the American, so I think you can go as far as you want,” Sampson said. “This conference certainly prepares you to play against other good teams. But the year that we went to the Elite Eight (2022), we beat Arizona and Illinois, their conference champions. The year we went to the Final Four (2021), we beat Syracuse and Oregon State.
“I mean, Arizona can get to the Final Four from the Pac-12 or the Big 12. They’re good enough to do that.”
With 16 Big 12 teams next season, Sampson said he expected conference schedules would be 20 games. Each team could play five opponents twice and the other 10 once, though the Big 12 has not announced how the 2024-25 schedule will be structured.
Ballo taking visits
Departing UA center Oumar Ballo is scheduled to visit Indiana this weekend, followed by stops in Louisville and Kansas next week, according to 24/7 High School Hoops. He then is scheduled to visit North Carolina and Florida the following week.
Ballo announced he was transferring from Arizona on Monday after playing one season at Gonzaga and three at Arizona. He has his “COVID” year left to play.
Officiating consortium merges
The Wildcats are likely to have many of the same officials next season in the Big 12 now that the Western Officiating Consortium has now aligned with the Big 12 and Missouri Valley Conferences to form the Collegiate Officiating Consortium.
Former Final Four official John Higgins, who oversaw the Western Consortium this season, will oversee the new organization. It will include the Big 12, MVC, Big Sky, Big West, Western Athletic, and West Coast conferences
Bryant returns to ‘Generals’
Incoming Arizona forward Carter Bryant is joining the “Portland Generals” team again this week to practice against Team USA in preparation for its game Saturday against the the World Team.
Bryant played with the Generals before last season’s Hoop Summit game and told Sports Illustrated’s Fan Nation that it was a great opportunity.
“To come out here and play against these guys that are top-ranked in their class … this is an opportunity you don’t want to miss,” Bryant said last year.
UA recruiting target Brayden Burries, a five-star class of 2025 guard, is also playing for the Generals.
