On the flip side, if he's not getting guaranteed 1st round money, he'll get better coaching and development with Sampson than he would in the G-League.
[The Athletic] Welcome to Phi Swarma Jama: defense carries Houston to Elite Eight, but questions remain. Dana O’Neil INDIANAPOLIS — Buddy Boeheim stood and waited, and waited a little longer. Finally, Boeheim cut through the lane and curved around to the wing, and in that split second he finally lost his shadow. DeJon Jarreau wound up sandwiched between two screeners, and in that sweet second of freedom, Boeheim rose up and finally swished a 3. It was the briefest of reprieves, Jarreau’s near neutralization of the Budd-ing darling of this NCAA Tournament epitomizing Houston’s squeezing of the Orange, 62-46, on Saturday night. Syracuse managed a measly 20 points in the first half and didn’t reach 40 until four minutes remained in the game. The Orange shot but 28 percent from the floor, 21 percent from the arc, turned it over 11 times, got outrebounded by nine, and were thoroughly rattled by Kelvin Sampson’s Phi Swarma Jama. The Cougars now sit 40 minutes from making their first Final Four since losing to Patrick Ewing and Georgetown in 1984, Sampson’s resurrection of the once-proud program near complete. But as Houston positions itself for the completion of its revival backed by a hearty group of devotees, it is dogged by a very simple question: Are the Cougars really that good? They’ve won 26 games and lost just three, but they’ve also played exactly one top-30 KenPom.com team all year, and that was in a win over No. 18 Texas Tech … in Game 3. The hardest part of their road here in Indy was the bus trip to Bloomington for the first game. Otherwise, it has been smooth sailing over 15th-seeded Cleveland State, a bare-knuckle brawler against 10th-seeded Rutgers, the uglying of 11th-seeded Syracuse, and now with just 12th-seeded Oregon State in the way of the national semifinals. That is not so much March as it is nonconference before December finals. This is not Houston’s fault, of course. You play the hand you’re dealt, and plenty of others have folded here. (Hello, Texas. Hello, Purdue.) It just makes it hard to figure out what’s real. The defense is real. There is no arguing that. Sampson has built a team out of his own granite, a group of underappreciated players who simply outwork everyone else. That always has been Sampson’s method. He is not a silver-spoon coach. More like a plastic spork. His one brush with the bright lights, at Indiana, ended with NCAA sanctions and eventually sent Sampson retreating back to the sort of place where he does his best work, at a school that needed someone to love it. Houston was like a washed-up celebrity long past its prime when he arrived in 2014, neglected and forgotten. Sampson went all-in on defense because, frankly, when you’re trying to jump-start a place that hasn’t been relevant since the 1980s, you don’t do it with gunners who play with flash. You do it with grinders who like to work, and give them a style that thrives off of that. Defense remains the great equalizer. “We have a great defensive team. We trust in ourselves,’’ Jarreau says. “We trust in the system that our coaches have built here and just going by the system. Once you do that, everything else will happen for itself. Just being in the right position, following the game plan.’’ Brison Gresham and Houston bothered Syracuse into 33.3 percent shooting on 2-point shots. (Aaron Doster / USA Today) Syracuse looked as uncomfortable as its opponents usually do playing against the zone. In the opening minutes, the Orange had more airballs (three) than made buckets, which, it turns out was an omen. Hounded by Jarreau, Boeheim shot just 3-of-13, including 1-of-9 from deep, and none of his teammates could pick up the slack, the Orange connecting on just 14 field goals in the game. But the goal of this game remains putting the ball in the peach basket, and Houston does not always excel at that. The Cougars got up against the Orange, 17-5, and then stopped scoring, allowing a 15-3 run that threatened to unhinge the game. That it didn’t was more a result of Syracuse’s struggles than Houston as juggernaut. This is a team that has put up 63 and 62 points in its last two games, and stands at the doorstep of the Final Four. The Cougars don’t seem to mind, unapologetic in their joy at mucking things up, and uncaring if their brand of basketball doesn’t pass the eye test. Others not dressed in Houston red might be less inclined to jump aboard the bandwagon for a team that can occasionally be allergic to scoring. If for no other reason than it dredges up painful memories of 2011, to the game that shall not be mentioned between UConn and Butler. This is the low bar Houston could crawl over … or under, depending on your point of view. To which, of course, Houston can happily reply: Deal with it. The NCAA Tournament has never promised to crown the best team in the country so much as the one that best survives, and that has been the rallying call across college basketball this season. At some point, every player on Houston’s team tested positive for COVID-19. The Cougars endured a December pause and were off two weeks, practicing with whoever was available. If people want to question are they good enough, the follow-up question also begs to be posited: Does it matter? In this year, of all years, all bets are off. Do we want to be picky about who makes the Final Four, or just be happy someone does? Some might put an asterisk next to this national champion, but in actuality, it should be an exclamation point. This is inarguably the hardest season to maneuver in college basketball history, teams asked to start late, stop midway, regroup and deal. Houston might not be the prettiest team to lace ’em up, but this year, pretty doesn’t matter. Surviving does.
Anyone know what the story is behind the creepy dancing guy on Twitter? Been seeing this gif for a few weeks.
If you asked me this time last year how our basketball team would look this year, my expectations were that our team was good enough to make a deep run in the tournament maybe even win the whole thing. The only thing that has changed are the cast of characters. I thought this years team would be led by Mills and Hinton. Mills no longer here for whatever reason. Wonder what must be going through his head right now. Hinton leaving early. Selfishly I wish he would have stayed one more year. Things happen for a reason. Maybe Grimes and Jarreau would not have had the incredible years they have had. No one knows for sure what would have happened if both Mills and Hinton would have stayed. One thing is for sure. Sampson has done an incredible job leading us through all we have been through in the past year to where we are now. The best is yet to come. Maybe even this year.
I wouldn’t let that guy within a mile of any woman I cared about. Way too alluring and confident. Looks dangerous too.
CKS downplayed how much we prepared for their zone in the post game presser. I think he just wanted the team to see defense is fist and foremost the #1 goal no matter who we play.
We are going to need one great offensive game at the end, but that's within the realm of possibilities for this team. We are what we look like what we are. But that's a good thing. Any of these teams could throw a great defense at us, and it doesn't change a thing, we will still collect our misses. But if we throw a great offense out there by mistake, You better buy a bus ticket home.
As it should be defense is out strength. Defense isn't ESPN highlight material but being a top 3 defense which I believe the Coogs are, can lead to a finals victory. Gonna be very difficult but this is actually possible. If they keep following coaches lead they might just win it all. Go Coogs
I agree. I hope he can delay the gratification and comeback for another run and get first round money.
Has anyone seen ESPN's reseeding of the remaining teams in the elite eight? They have us seeded sixth behind both USC and Oregon State. They just can't wait for us to stumble. Very little respect from them towards us. Other than a subpar performance except for the final five minutes of the game where it really counted against Rutgers, I think we have had a solid and at times outstanding tournament and have justified the two seed we were originally awarded. It's not our fault Illinois and other higher seeded teams in our bracket have been knocked out by lower seeded teams. Big game for us tonight. A win for us means we make the Final Four. That's all that really matters.
