Culture

Who will draft Trevor Connelly? Inside the NHL's evolving scrutiny of top prospects

Published

9 months ago

February 24, 2024

Who will draft Trevor Connelly? Inside the NHL's evolving scrutiny of top prospects

In late July, NHL scouts traveled to Central Europe for the Hlinka Gretzky Cup, an under-18 international tournament, to watch some of the best young players eligible for the 2024 NHL Draft.

Over six days, scouts bounced between the FOSFA Arena in Břeclav, Czech Republic, and the Pavol Demitra Ice Hockey Stadium in Trenčín, Slovakia, as they watched likely first-round picks Berkly Catton and Sam Dickinson from Team Canada and highly rated Czechia defenseman Adam Jiricek. But few prospects caught their attention as much as Trevor Connelly, a 17-year-old forward from Tustin, Calif.

Over five games, he scored five goals and had five assists and led Team USA to its first medal at the event since 2016. He displayed dynamic skating, puck skills and offensive creativity. In the bronze medal game, Connelly went end-to-end and chipped a shot over the shoulder of Finland’s goalie. One scout said of Connelly: “He looked like the best player here.”

His play was written about glowingly by several hockey publications, with The Hockey News calling his performance the “start of the hype train for him.” After playing well in the United States’ top junior league and shining in another international event in December, he moved up to No. 5 on one prominent list of North American prospects.

Connelly was known to scouts before the Hlinka Gretzky Cup, but his play forced teams to consider him anew. He was no longer just a prospect; he was a potential impact NHL player. But that made the evaluation of him thornier because, as one scout said, “Some stuff I’m just not willing to look the other way on.”

Many NHL evaluators were already aware that, in 2022, when he was 16, Connelly posted to Snapchat a picture of a teammate sitting on the floor of the children’s area of a library with building blocks assembled in the shape of a swastika. Connelly added the caption “creations.” He was removed from his team, the Long Island Gulls, after that incident. Connelly apologized for the posting of the swastika and said he didn’t understand how hurtful it would be to others. Some NHL people were also aware he had been accused of directing a racial slur at an opponent during a game in 2021, which he has denied. He was initially suspended after that allegation, though the suspension was not upheld, with the disciplinary committee for the California Amateur Hockey Association writing that the allegation could not be corroborated. Connelly told The Athletic he doesn’t use racial slurs. Some teams were also aware that Connelly had been involved with four amateur programs from 2020-22, an unusually vagabond career for a player with his talent; one of those stops, at Bishop Kearney, a high school in Rochester, N.Y., with a select hockey program, lasted less than two weeks.

Teams are also evaluating Connelly amidst a sea change in the level of scrutiny being applied to behavior by NHL executives, coaches and players. Actions that might have previously gone unnoticed or unexamined are being exposed and judged by the media and fans. That has led to the exile of several prominent hockey men over the last few years.

That scrutiny has trickled down to the draft process. In the 2020 and 2021 drafts, teams chose prospects they knew had committed misconduct and were fiercely criticized. One team — the Arizona Coyotes — quickly renounced the player’s rights. Another — the Montreal Canadiens — retained the player but endured a dressing down from Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, among others.

“You were always worried about the player’s character and how it could affect your team, but the external considerations are newer. How will your fans react? What will the feedback be on social media? Will people dig up anything on this player’s old social media posts? How will this pick reflect on your team and team ownership? These are all newer things we didn’t worry about as much before,” said one NHL executive.

Even teams that said they have already decided against drafting Connelly are grappling with the questions his evaluation raises, figuring it won’t be the last time they are put to this test. How much should an organization’s stated values figure in the draft process? How do teams weigh a prospect’s talent versus misdeeds from the past? Because prospects are often minors when troubling behavior occurs, teams are also trying to decipher what acts are byproducts of immaturity as opposed to signs of a larger concern. And when is a second chance warranted?

Said the NHL executive: “Before, we never would have met with our public relations department to discuss a potential draft pick.”

In a recent ranking of NHL Draft prospects, Trevor Connelly is No. 5 among North American skaters. (Courtesy of Tri-City Storm / USHL)

The due diligence teams do on prospects is, as one NHL executive termed it, largely a “word of mouth” system. “None of us are HR people. None of us know the questions to ask. We all have our network of people. We just call each other,” said an NHL executive, who like some others who spoke to The Athletic were granted anonymity because they were not authorized to speak about prospects or their team’s draft process. Some youth hockey sources were granted anonymity due to their fear of retribution.

As NHL scouts begin evaluating a prospect, their first call is typically to a coach who worked with the player. Some scouts might dig deeper, talking to parents, billets and teammates, but some evaluators don’t, relying almost entirely upon the opinion of a coach with whom they may have a relationship. Coaches can provide a great deal of information about their star players. But they also are not impartial. Coaching a high draft pick can lead to a better job for a coach and more ticket revenue for a junior team. The NHL also compensates Canadian Hockey League teams for drafted players who make the NHL with CHL eligibility remaining. “They are incentivized to promote that player,” said one former NHL executive.

Also, hockey is a parochial sport, and there is an ingrained reluctance by many of those who speak with NHL scouts to disclose information that could imperil a pro career. In hockey parlance: No one wants to be the guy who “buries” a kid.

There are surely dozens of current NHL players, if not more, who have benefited from this system. “There are good players out there who have done bad stuff that have already been drafted, they just haven’t been caught,” said one NHL team official.

But even when the wrongdoing is widely known, it hasn’t stopped teams from drafting a talented prospect.

At the 2014 draft, the Tampa Bay Lightning used the No. 19 overall pick on Tony DeAngelo, an 18-year-old defenseman from the Sarnia (Ontario) Sting who was twice suspended for violating the league’s harassment and abuse policy for the use of a slur. Al Murray, Tampa Bay’s director of amateur scouting, said at the time of the draft that some of the incidents involving DeAngelo were “blown out of proportion.” Most critically, the Lightning faced little to no criticism for selecting DeAngelo.

DeAngelo was traded to the Arizona Coyotes after only two years in the Tampa Bay organization, never playing for the NHL team, amidst a report of “attitude issues.” In total, he has played for five organizations over nine seasons and faced team and league discipline for, among other issues, a physical altercation with his own team’s goaltender, for what his coach called a “maturity issue” and for physical abuse of an official.

Fast forward to the 2020 draft.

The Coyotes drafted Mitchell Miller, a defenseman from Sylvania, Ohio, in the fourth round. Miller was at one point projected to be selected much higher, but then NHL teams learned that when Miller was 14 years old he was convicted of assault after he kicked and punched a developmentally disabled classmate, called him a racial slur and convinced him to eat a piece of candy that had been dragged through a urinal.

Like DeAngelo, NHL teams knew about Miller’s past; some teams took him off their draft board, meaning they would not select him no matter how far he fell. After the draft, Coyotes president Xavier Gutierrez said the team would help Miller learn from his past misconduct. But Coyotes fans weren’t having it. Social media backlash was fierce. Mitchell’s victim said how hurt he was by the pick; his mother told the Coyotes her son never received an apology from Miller.

A few weeks after the draft, the Coyotes renounced Miller’s rights.

In November 2022, the Boston Bruins signed Miller, who was coming off an 83-point campaign with the Tri-City Storm of the USHL. Boston fans flooded the Bruins’ inbox and posted seething comments on the team’s Instagram page. Respected Boston veterans Patrice Bergeron, Nick Foligno and Brad Marchand voiced their disapproval.

The Bruins promptly released Miller. Team president Cam Neely apologized to the victim’s family and said the Bruins would be “re-evaluating” internal processes. Miller now plays in Russia.

Another test for NHL teams came at the 2021 draft. Logan Mailloux, an 18-year-old from Ontario, tantalized scouts as a blueliner with size and skill. But at least nine teams told The Athletic that Mailloux had been removed from their board as a result of his criminal conviction in Sweden roughly seven months earlier for disseminating a photograph of himself and a young woman, taken without her consent, engaged in a sexual act. Prior to the draft, Mailloux called the conduct a “stupid, childish mistake,” but in interviews with some NHL teams Mailloux allegedly portrayed the woman as vindictive.

Three days before the draft, the young woman told The Athletic that all she wanted was a “heartfelt apology” from Mailloux. An hour after the publication of that story, Mailloux announced that he was asking teams not to draft him because he had not “demonstrated strong enough maturity or character to earn that privilege.” Mailloux’s announcement prompted many NHL executives to assume he’d go undrafted.

The draft was held virtually that year, with teams videoconferencing in to make selections. When it came time for the Montreal Canadiens to make the No. 31 overall pick, general manager Marc Bergevin announced that the Habs “were proud to select … the Knights de London défenseur Logan Mailloux.” The pick was followed by several seconds of dead air before host John Buccigross said: “All right, well, this is something the league probably wishes didn’t happen.” Draft analyst Sam Cosentino added during the broadcast: “The most polarizing pick I’ve ever seen, maybe in the history of the draft.”

Canadiens assistant general manager Trevor Timmins struggled to come up with an answer when asked about the pick the following day. Trudeau, the Canadian prime minister and a lifelong Habs fan, said he was “deeply disappointed.” Montreal subsequently announced Mailloux wouldn’t attend development camp or training camp.

But he remains in the Habs organization and was an all-star for the Laval Rocket of the American Hockey League. The two men responsible for picking him, however, are no longer with the Habs. Bergevin and Timmins were ousted within months of drafting Mailloux. The team was struggling when they were let go, but drafting Mailloux remains part of their legacy in Montreal.

Miller and Mailloux were convicted of criminal acts. What Connelly did or has been accused of doing is harder to categorize and that makes his evaluation different. For some teams, that gray space could provide the room needed to take a chance on Connelly. For others, that gray space, the unknown, heightens the concern. “He’s a hell of a player and could play in the league for a long time,” said one NHL executive. “(But) you may not keep your job after picking him.”

Connelly, his mother and his representatives have worked hard to make the case that Connelly is guilty of only a single youthful mistake: the posting of the offensive photo to Snapchat. And when discussing that incident, they highlight the outreach he has done to better understand the hurtful nature of the photo he posted and the community service he’s completed.

“We determined that he’s not a hateful kid. He’s an ignorant kid. And my position is you don’t punish ignorance, you punish hatred. You educate ignorance,” said John Osei-Tutu, an NHL agent advising the Connelly family.

But Connelly’s frequent moves and short tenures at prominent hockey programs have also been flagged by teams. While it is not unusual for top prospects to move to a new program in search of a better situation, Connelly’s well-traveled career stands out. Between the ages of roughly 13 and 17, he was a member of seven different programs, and that included two stops where he stayed less than a month. To understand what might be behind those frequent moves, The Athletic spoke to more than 40 people (players, parents, coaches and others) who interacted with Connelly during his playing career.

Connelly played six seasons for the Anaheim (Calif.) Jr. Ducks, ending with the 2018-19 season when Connelly was around 13, and The Athletic interviewed more than a dozen parents who had a child who was a teammate of Connelly’s during at least one of those seasons. Ten of those parents said they witnessed behavior by Connelly that they considered troubling, and eight of those 10 parents described Connelly’s actions as bullying.

Four parents said they saw Connelly punch a teammate during practice; three of those parents said they saw it happen multiple times. It was usually in response to Connelly getting frustrated, those three parents say, such as when he lost a puck battle or a teammate wouldn’t allow him to cut in line during a drill. Five parents said he would slash teammates with his stick out of frustration. Four of those five parents said they also saw him slew-foot players — trip an opponent from behind with a leg or foot.

Individually, those incidents are not unheard of at the highest levels of youth hockey. And some parents chalked up Connelly’s behavior to the fact that he was intensively competitive. However, the incidents were frequent enough that eight parents said that at some point they felt concern for the well-being of their son or that of other players.

Parents said Connelly also picked on some teammates in the locker room and away from the rink. He seemed to focus on players who were small in stature and/or were among the less talented members of the team, according to eight parents. He would make fun of their appearance, tell them they were not good players and that they didn’t belong on the team, among other insults. “He wasn’t just a troublemaker; it wasn’t just that. He was mean,” said one parent.

One mother said her son avoided team activities, like bus rides or team meals, to avoid being around Connelly more than was necessary. Another mother said her son asked to not stay at the team hotel because he didn’t want to be around Connelly. Yet another parent said she went so far as to ask her son to assist a player Connelly repeatedly picked on. “It’s frustrating when you have to tell your kid to protect his teammate from another teammate,” she said. Two players left the Anaheim Jr. Ducks program prior to or during or the 2017-18 season in part because of how they were treated by Connelly, according to three parents associated with that program.

Connelly, in response to the above allegations, wrote in an email: “I am surprised and sad to hear these allegations. It is difficult to respond to anonymous allegations. I’m willing to sit down privately with anyone and listen to what they have to say. I wasn’t a perfect kid or teammate. It’s no secret I am highly competitive and there were definitely times when I let my competitiveness get the best of me but I never tried to intentionally injure anyone.

“Since I started playing travel hockey, I’ve had to listen to a lot of negative things yelled at me when I was on the ice, mostly by parents of other players. I know what that feels like and it’s one of the reasons I’ve committed myself to being a leader on and off the ice.”

Three parents said they complained to Jr. Ducks coach Eugene Kabanets about Connelly’s conduct at some point. (The Athletic reviewed one of those complaints, sent via email, when the players were around 11.) Others said they were reluctant to complain because Connelly was such a good player that they didn’t believe Kabanets would do anything.

Kabanets acknowledged that there was the “occasional conflict” on the team but described Connelly as a “good teammate.” He added in an email: “If and when I observed issues or when concerns were ever brought to my attention, I spoke to the players in question and to their parents and we would address it immediately at that time. The main thing that stands out to me when I think about bullying during that time period is what I observed Trevor endure personally. He was the victim of ridicule and extreme bullying from a young age, often from the parents of opposing players. It was very difficult to watch and I know that it was hard for him as a young child.”

For the 2019-20 season, then 13-year-old Connelly left the Jr. Ducks and played up an age group with the AA San Diego Saints. Coaches Josh Robinson and Rob Overman said they were unaware of any specific issues involving Connelly during his one season with the team. Tanya Maxwell, who carpooled her son and Connelly to practice multiple times per week, said Connelly was a model teammate and added in an email that the fishbowl atmosphere of youth hockey in California can cause “a lot of jealousy and unwarranted gossip about the top players.”

In 2020, Connelly, then 14, enrolled at Bishop Kearney, which started a boys select hockey program during the pandemic, drawing top players from around the country. Almost immediately, the school suspended Connelly, but he left Bishop Kearney shortly thereafter. A public relations official working with the family said that all that should be written about Connelly’s short stint at the school is: “He was there for a week and he left.”

Sources involved in the school’s hockey program said that Connelly was suspended after urinating on another student’s belongings, among other alleged acts. One source said Connelly was acting in response to hazing that Connelly had received earlier. That source said he witnessed the hazing Connelly endured and also saw students tease Connelly about being hazed.

Steve Salluzzo, Bishop Kearney’s president, wrote in an email: “We do not discuss student matters with anyone beyond students and their families.”

Trevor Connelly said in a statement: “At 14 years old, I was the victim of a humiliating hazing incident in my dorm room and then harassed about it afterwards. I reacted poorly to the situation with an immature act. While I took responsibility at the time, I regret and am embarrassed by how I handled myself.”

Connelly next joined the North Jersey Avalanche of the Atlantic Youth Hockey League. Avalanche coach Donny Kane said Connelly left the program after approximately two weeks because it became too difficult to travel between California and the East Coast regularly because of travel and quarantine policies during the pandemic. Matt Zocco, a coach and father in the program, said Connelly was “well mannered” in all his dealings with him.

Connelly returned to Southern California but did not rejoin the Jr. Ducks. “At that time we did not feel he was a good fit for our program,” the organization said in a statement.

Connelly instead joined Anaheim’s Jr. Ice Dogs, and in April 2021, when he was 15 and playing for that team versus the L.A. Jr. Kings, he was accused of directing a racial slur at an opponent. What happened remains in dispute. The player came off the ice “so visibly shaken and upset with tears streaming down his face after the incident that I had to sit him for the remainder of the first period so he could collect himself,” according to an email his coach, Brett Beebe, sent to Pacific District official Wayne Sawchuk, which was viewed by The Athletic.

Video footage of that game shows the player leaving the ice in the first period and flagging his coach’s attention. The two move behind the bench and speak for approximately one minute, with the coach consoling the player. The player then walks to a nearby vestibule and bends over with his hands on his knees, where he remains until the period ends.

Beebe asked in his email to Sawchuk that the incident be reported to members of the Pacific District tournament disciplinary committee. He later testified before that committee, which suspended Connelly.

The matter was then taken up by the disciplinary hearing committee of the California Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA). After a hearing before that group, the panel found that “the alleged incident as described by the Pacific District Tournament Disciplinary Committee may have occurred, however, there was no supporting documentation presented by the (Pacific District Tournament Disciplinary Committee) that corroborated the allegation against the player, and the player maintained that he at no time uttered any racial slurs against his opponent,” according to its written decision. In closing, the CAHA committee stated that Connelly had not violated the USA Hockey rule covering misconduct.

Connelly attended the hearing, conducted via videoconference, as did his parents and Osei-Tutu, his adviser. Beebe and the player who alleged Connelly used the slur were not in attendance, according to the committee’s written decision. Beebe said in an interview he was not made aware that the hearing was taking place, and no one from CAHA alerted him that the allegation was under further review. The player who made the initial allegation was not contacted about the hearing, either, nor were his parents or the player’s adviser.

CAHA president Tom Hancock declined to comment, citing CAHA’s policy not to discuss disciplinary matters involving minors. Sawchuk also declined to comment. Connelly wrote in an email: “I don’t use racial slurs. I have stood up for teammates when they have been called racial slurs and I understand this is a problem in our sport. This is why I’m so committed to my work as a coach and mentor with Hockey Players of Color.”

Colleen Connelly, during a two-hour interview in Nebraska, where Trevor Connelly currently plays for the Tri-City Storm of the USHL, said: “There is a significant history with (the LA Jr. Kings) and my son. Parents on that team have been extremely abusive to Trevor for many years.”

Connelly returned to the East Coast for the 2021-22 season, joining the Long Island Gulls. In March 2022, Connelly, then 16, posted the photo on Snapchat of a teammate sitting next to the building blocks assembled in the shape of a swastika. The photo was quickly taken down, but screenshots circulated and team officials and parents learned of the photo. (The Athletic has reviewed a screenshot.)

The two players were not immediately disciplined — they played in a regional tournament days later — but after consulting with the U.S. Center for SafeSport, USA Hockey, New York’s state governing body and the club’s attorney, who conducted an internal investigation, the Gulls removed both players from the organization.

The incident came at a time when Connelly was able to be recruited by college programs, though some schools had already decided not to pursue him. “Because of everything that went with him, we just didn’t (recruit him),” said a coach at one perennial powerhouse.

Connelly called the incident an “awful mistake” in an email and added: “While I was not in the photo and did not participate in building the symbol, I understand and recognize how ignorant I was in sharing it. I did not appreciate how offensive and hurtful the post would be in the moment and I still feel terrible about it.

“Over the last year and a half, I’ve dedicated a lot of time and energy to educating myself, completing diversity trainings, doing volunteer community service work, and to coaching and mentoring other hockey players. I am also very grateful to be working with a Rabbi and Cantor. They have been very kind to me and I’m learning a lot from them.”

In an interview with RinkLive, which came after Connelly’s play at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup, Connelly said he had visited the L.A. Holocaust Museum and read the book “Night” by Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel, and that he was undergoing diversity, equity and inclusion courses and performing community service.

Jazmine Miley, the founder of the Hockey Players of Color program where Connelly volunteered following the swastika incident, said: “Trevor is an amazing young man who just made a dumb mistake and is working his way to fixing that.”

Trevor Connelly said he has “dedicated a lot of time and energy to educating myself.” (Courtesy of Tri-City Storm / USHL)

Osei-Tutu, who began advising the Connelly family around the time Trevor left Bishop Kearney, has been lobbying NHL teams on Connelly’s behalf. In defense of his client, he tends to push back on or deny all but the swastika incident. The other allegations are untrue, misconstrued or lack context, he said. He considers Connelly to be mostly “a victim of the game of telephone.”

This runs contrary to how some NHL teams view Connelly. “We’re willing to forgive and take a chance on a kid who just makes one mistake, the issue for teams comes when there is a pattern and you’re worried it is representative of a real issue with the player and not just immaturity,” said a scout.

In September, Osei-Tutu sent a flurry of direct messages defending Connelly to a prospects writer after that writer posted on social media a quote about Connelly from an unnamed scout: “He’s got top 10 skill, but bottom 10 character.” Osei-Tutu repeatedly expressed concern that The Athletic was trying to “destroy” or “cancel” Connelly. He also offered in an interview the name of another prospect who was previously disciplined for using racist language and suggested The Athletic look into that player. On multiple occasions he attempted to draw a distinction between Connelly and Mitchell Miller, saying only his client showed accountability.

After the Connelly family became aware The Athletic was working on this story, they engaged an attorney who previously was involved in a lawsuit against The Athletic. (That lawsuit has since been dropped.) That attorney sent an eight-page letter that, among other assertions over more than 3,500 words, attacked the journalistic integrity of one of the writers working on this story. The family also engaged a Los Angeles-based public relations person who includes “reputation management” among her areas of expertise in her company bio.

Connelly recently began meeting with NHL teams, and evaluators have asked him direct questions about the swastika incident and his stop at Bishop Kearney and other issues, parsing his responses. One evaluator described Connelly as upfront and transparent in his meeting with him, another said Connelly was eager to deflect blame onto others and showed little accountability. But even that parsing is unlikely to bring true clarity for teams debating whether they should select Connelly at the June 28 draft in Las Vegas. When a prospect’s misconduct falls into a different category than, say, Mitchell Miller, when the wrongdoing takes place during a prospect’s teenage years (or younger), when teams are trying to decipher whether wrongdoing is a sign of a real behavioral problem, a clean evaluation of Connelly and players like him in the future may not be possible. Especially as teams factor in what adding a player of his talent can mean for a franchise.

“I believe in a path to redemption but it’s not my job to provide it,” said one scouting director. But another evaluator predicted Connelly will be chosen, just not as early as the rankings portend. “At one point the difference between him and the next guy will be too big,” said the scout. “All it takes is one team.”

(Illustration: Eamonn Dalton / The Athletic. Main photo courtesy Dan Hickling / USHL; other photos courtesy Tri-City Storm / USHL)

Culture

The Steelers’ offense has two quarterbacks … and a slew of unanswered questions

Published

6 hours ago

November 23, 2024

Press Room

The Steelers’ offense has two quarterbacks … and a slew of unanswered questions

CLEVELAND — As the flakes tumbled from the night sky, turning Huntington Bank Field into a snow globe, Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson dropped back and let it fly.

The pass, thrown with anticipation, found receiver Calvin Austin III on time and on target in the end zone for the go-ahead, 23-yard touchdown. After failing to score a touchdown for more than seven consecutive quarters dating to Week 10 against the Washington Commanders, Pittsburgh had scored two in less than two minutes to take a one-point lead over the Cleveland Browns with 6:15 remaining.

.@DangeRussWilson ➡️ @CalvinAustinIII for six!!!!
📲 Stream on NFL+: https://t.co/COxKRnr6Mc pic.twitter.com/ucLP4kE2cM
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) November 22, 2024

It was a miraculous comeback. Until it wasn’t.

“The game is never won until you get on the bus,” Austin said after the game. “So it was definitely an emotional moment (after the touchdown). We were all hype and stuff. But we knew we had an inspired team that was about to get the ball back.”

As it turned out, the Browns got the ball back not once, but twice.

The Steelers’ defense did its job the first time, forcing backup quarterback Jameis Winston into an errant pass that cornerback Donte Jackson intercepted with 4:22 to go. But after Pittsburgh went three-and-out — with Justin Fields in for Wilson at quarterback on second and third down — and Corliss Waitman shanked a punt for the first time as a Steeler, the defense couldn’t get off the field again.

Cleveland got the ball back with 3:22 remaining and drove 45 yards in nine plays. The Browns capped the sequence with a 2-yard Nick Chubb touchdown with 57 seconds remaining, then batted down Wilson’s Hail Mary as time expired to stun the Steelers, 24-19.

GO DEEPER

Browns stun Steelers 24-19 in snow as Chubb scores late TD: Takeaways

A team that made a statement by beating the Baltimore Ravens just four days earlier dropped to 8-3, leaving the door open in the competitive AFC North.

“Missed opportunities,” defensive co-captain Cameron Hayward said. “We have to eat it. They made more plays at the end. Some of that stuff we can have some head-scratching about what was on display. Just take it, move on. I know everybody is pretty pissed off about the loss.”

The weighty moments at the end of the game loom large: coach Mike Tomlin’s decision to accept an illegal touching penalty that gave the Browns a second crack at third down on the final drive, then spending a timeout that would be needed later; the coverage on the ensuing third-and-6 conversion; the decision to tackle Chubb on the 2-yard line with more than 90 seconds remaining instead of letting him score to preserve time and get the ball back.

But the reality is this game was lost much earlier, on the other side of the ball.

“We beat ourselves with a lot of mistakes,” Austin said. “That takes all 11 looking in the mirror and just continuing to push details. They’re a good team. Got to give them credit. But at the end of the day, we just got to perform better.”

Two weeks ago, when Wilson erased a 10-point, second-half deficit against the Commanders, it appeared the offense had finally figured it out after years of instability and inconsistency. At the time, the veteran signal caller had led the Steelers to 31.7 points and 382 total yards per game through three starts. If the offense continued along the same trajectory, it was reasonable to consider the Steelers legitimate Super Bowl contenders that could stand toe-to-toe with Patrick Mahomes or Josh Allen.

But it hasn’t continued.

If those first three games showed the explosive upside of Wilson’s moonball, his veteran presence and his ability to make checks at the line of scrimmage, the past two have revealed many of the Steelers’ offensive warts.

It’s certainly not all on Wilson. However, sacks are becoming problematic, putting the offense behind the chains. This was an obvious area of concern the minute the Steelers signed Wilson, considering he led the NFL in sacks taken in two of the previous five seasons. Initially, when he took over for Fields in Week 7, the Steelers did well enough to protect Wilson that it wasn’t a major red flag.

However, in the first half alone on Thursday, Wilson was sacked four times, as the Browns kept the Steelers’ offensive line off balance with stunts and games up front. Three of those sacks came from Myles Garrett, including a strip-sack that set the Browns up on a short field.

Myles strips the ball and we recover it 🙌😤 #PITvsCLE | @NFLonPrime pic.twitter.com/36WalR8R8h
— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) November 22, 2024

Even beyond the negative plays, Pittsburgh’s offense has become too boom or bust. Yes, once again, Wilson’s deep shot was a catalyst. He connected with Austin on a 46-yard bomb up the seam, hit Van Jefferson on a 35-yard gain and found George Pickens for 31 yards. Those big plays helped bolster what was a solid stat line from Wilson, as he completed 21 of 28 passes for 270 yards and a touchdown with no interceptions for a 116.7 passer rating.

The problem is, when the Steelers aren’t producing touchdowns on these deep shots, they’re having a hard time finishing drives. The issues emerged on the opening drive. On third down, Wilson took an 8-yard sack on third-and-2, turning a potential 50-yard field goal attempt into a 58-yarder that the reliable Chris Boswell missed.

The Steelers, who rank 26th in success rate (37.2 percent, per TruMedia) since Wilson took over, tried to use every resource available to keep the offense going. However, another first-half drive was halted on the 40-yard line. This time, they deployed Fields on a fourth-and-2 QB keeper, failing and turning the ball over on downs. The offense also fizzled at the 30 (made field goal), its own 46 (failed fourth-and-1 run by Jaylen Warren) and the Cleveland 9-yard line (made field goal).

“We had some really good, explosive plays down the field, throwing the ball with Van (Jefferson) — he made some great catches — and Calvin (Austin),” Wilson said. “And then we got stalled for whatever reasons. We’ve got to watch the film and see what that was. … We needed one or two more plays.”

Complicating matters is the unique quarterback dynamic. After utilizing the Fields package for three plays on Sunday against the Ravens, the Steelers featured their mobile QB on seven snaps (plus an eighth that didn’t happen because of a false start) on Thursday.

The results were mixed. After coming up short on fourth down early in the game, Fields provided a second-half spark when he kept the ball on a zone read and raced 30 yards along the right sideline. That played helped jump-start the offense, and later in the same drive, the threat of Fields keeping the ball on the zone read helped Warren burst into the end zone to snap the Steelers’ touchdown-less skid and kindle the rally.

Jaylen Warren in for the TD! The @Steelers answer right back.#PITvsCLE on Prime Video
Also streaming on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/aDPce0i8CM
— NFL (@NFL) November 22, 2024

The Steelers also put the ball in Fields’ hands in a four-minute situation with the lead. It was a reasonable time to play the running quarterback, with the Steelers trying to burn the clock. However, on third-and-4, his deep shot for Pickens sailed incomplete, stopping the clock and giving the Browns plenty of time to score the go-ahead touchdown.

Asked if he would have liked to be in the game in that critical moment, Wilson was somewhat transparent.

“Listen, I always want to be in there,” he said. “That’s just the competitor in me. But at the same time, we have great trust in Justin, our team, our coaches and everything we’re doing.”

It’s also not the easiest challenge for Fields. He said after the game that he felt “kind of stiff” on his 30-yard run after standing on the sideline for the entirety of the second and third quarters, adding he felt he could have scored on the play. Asked if it’s difficult to enter the game mid-stream and virtually without warning, Fields admitted it is.

“But at the end of the day, that’s what my job is,” he said. “So you can’t complain. Anytime I get a chance and an opportunity to go on the field and help my team, I’m happy to do it.”

Sitting behind a keyboard and watching the game from the press box, it’s honestly hard to say what the right balance should be. Fields has often been the Steelers’ best offensive weapon, and his mobility might be able to help them rectify their red zone woes. Using both quarterbacks allows the Steelers to adjust on the fly if the offense needs a jolt or if the opposing pass rush is becoming too big of a factor. On the other hand, it does seem that, at times, rotating quarterbacks can disrupt the passers’ rhythm and timing.

Still, it’s important to remember that the Steelers got to 8-2 thanks to the contributions of both players. If they’re going to prove that this two-game stretch of offensive woes was a blip on the radar, and that this offense can in fact provide an edge in the postseason, they’re probably going to need to continue to use both.

Finding that right balance and rediscovering a way to finish drives will help determine how far this offense — and the team as a whole — goes.

“We’ve got a lot of football left,” Wilson said. “We’ve got a lot of opportunities to respond in the highest way, highest level. I think that everything that we want is still in front of us.”

(Photo of Russell Wilson: Kevin Sabitus / Getty Images)

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Culture

Each NBA team’s biggest concern a month into the 2024-25 regular season

Published

14 hours ago

November 22, 2024

Press Room

Each NBA team’s biggest concern a month into the 2024-25 regular season

We’re about a month into the NBA season, and while the injury bug has bitten nearly every team in one way or another, there are other worries that are worth … well, worrying about.

The Athletic asked its NBA staff for each team’s biggest concern at this point. The responses covered the full spectrum, from free-throw shooting and poor depth to well-known names not yet producing at the levels we’ve come to expect in recent years. (Stats and records are through Wednesday’s games.)

Atlantic Division

Boston Celtics

Rim protection: This is a fresh concern. It might be a short-term one since the Celtics ranked near the league leaders in rim protection last season and should soon welcome back 7-foot-2 shot blocker Kristaps Porziņģis. But Boston has been gashed for layups and dunks recently, especially in a loss to the Atlanta Hawks and an all-too-close win against the Toronto Raptors. Joe Mazzulla said his team needs to improve its individual defense and rebounding. The Celtics might just be suffering symptoms of a mild championship hangover. — Jay King

Brooklyn Nets

Nic Claxton’s back issue: The Nets got off to a surprisingly solid start, even as Claxton slowly worked his way into the rotation after a preseason hamstring injury. But now he is out again with a lingering back strain. The team wants to build an identity while the front office ideally wants to get the top pick in the draft. They’re achieving both at the moment, and there is a lot to be excited about if Cam Thomas is making a leap. But Claxton is one of the Nets’ cornerstones, and they need him to stay healthy and keep improving if this rebuild is going anywhere down the road. — Jared Weiss

New York Knicks

Lack of free throws: I could go with the defense here, but I think that’ll improve with more time and the eventual return of Mitchell Robinson. The Knicks rank 29th in the NBA in free-throw attempts per game (19.1). For a team that shoots a lot of 2-pointers — efficiently, I should add — and has a head coach who emphasizes shooting 3s, getting to the rim and free-throw attempts, it’s a bit concerning New York doesn’t visit the charity stripe more. Mikal Bridges has only taken 11 free throws this season, despite the majority of his shot attempts coming from inside the arc. — James L. Edwards III

Philadelphia 76ers

Can they get healthy and on the same page?: The Sixers are stuck in a spiral that seems inescapable at the moment. Joel Embiid, Paul George and Tyrese Maxey shared the floor together for the first time Wednesday, a game that George left early because of an injury to the same knee he hurt in the preseason. Their only two wins came in overtime, so they are a few bounces away from being completely winless. They’re already at the team meeting stage of the season. The supporting cast has struggled to shoot and rebound. There simply has not been the spark to overcome adversity that defines a season. — Jared Weiss

GO DEEPER

‘Feels like negativity keeps following me’: Joel Embiid on Sixers’ team meeting, criticisms

Toronto Raptors

No chance to build chemistry: RJ Barrett had an AC joint injury. Pelvic and elbow injuries have kept Immanuel Quickley to two and a half games. Scottie Barnes suffered an orbital bone fracture early in the second week of the season. The Raptors schedule was always going to be tough to start the year. However, the presumptive starting lineup, which also features Jakob Poeltl and emerging sophomore Gradey Dick, has played zero minutes. Even if you are rebuilding, you want your core pieces to get big minutes against good teams. The Raptors are missing out on that opportunity. — Eric Koreen

Central Division

Chicago Bulls

Team defense: After trading Alex Caruso this offseason, the Bulls knew their defense would suffer, but Chicago is on the cusp of ranking among the bottom-three teams in defense. Without a single elite defender, and absent appropriate size, Chicago knows its fortunes will be difficult to change. The Bulls are attempting to overcome their defensive limitations by playing faster and launching more 3-pointers. But they’ve compounded their issues with turnovers and cold shooting nights. — Darnell Mayberry

Cleveland Cavaliers

How about … none?: Seriously, they deserve this moment. Only a few teams have done what the Cavs did — win their first 15 games — and historically speaking, those teams wound up in the NBA Finals. It’s OK to say this team has no glaring concerns. Take a bow. If you insist, there are some issues to keep an eye on, like wing depth (the Cavs have a bunch of them, but will they hold up in the playoffs?), defensive rebounding and serviceable bigs off the bench. We just can’t, with a straight face, call any of these items concerns right now. — Joe Vardon

Detroit Pistons

Turnovers: The Pistons entered Thursday tied with the Bulls for 20th in the NBA in turnovers per game. Cade Cunningham is Detroit’s primary ballhandler and fourth in the league in assists per game, but he leads the NBA in total turnovers. Turnovers are to be expected with a team this young, but Cunningham is the head of the snake. Once he and the Pistons value the basketball on each possession, there should be fewer close games that keep Detroit fans on the edge of their seats. — Hunter Patterson

Indiana Pacers

Tyrese Haliburton: My guy can’t shoot right now. Haliburton is making just 37.5 percent of his shots overall and is chucking it at an abysmal 28.4 percent from 3-point range. These are both, easily, career lows, and for what it’s worth, his 82 percent shooting at the foul line also is a career worst. The Pacers have better players and more depth, and Haliburton’s ability to push the pace and find the open man are still paramount (his assists are down too). But for the Pacers to be good, he has to play at his usual All-Star level. — Joe Vardon

Tyrese Haliburton has struggled shooting in the first month of the season. (Trevor Ruszkowski / Imagn Images)

Milwaukee Bucks

Khris Middleton’s health: During training camp, Middleton told The Athletic that he needed to play in at least 70 games to consider this a successful season for himself. The Bucks are 15 games through their schedule and he has still not felt confident enough to get on the floor for five-on-five activities. The Bucks have rebounded well from their 2-8 start by winning four of their past five games, but it will be difficult to compete for a championship without a healthy Middleton. — Eric Nehm

Southeast Division

Atlanta Hawks

Trae Young: You can nitpick about Atlanta’s defense or the shooting on the wings or the backup point guard situation, but none of that matters if Young isn’t playing at an All-Star level. And while he’s leading the league in assists, he’s also struggled mightily to score, shooting just 38 percent on the season and failing to get off a shot in two last-shot situations that both ended in Hawks losses. While Young historically has been a slow starter, his Achilles tendinitis to begin the season adds to the concern level this time around. — John Hollinger

Charlotte Hornets

When will Mark Williams play again?: The Hornets are reaching an anniversary they don’t want: Dec. 8 will mark a year since Williams last played in a game. The 15th pick in the 2022 draft has played in just 62 games in his career. He missed most of last season with a back injury. This year, it’s been a left foot issue. Williams has been productive when he has played and could be a key piece for Charlotte in its rebuild, but the Hornets need to see him back on the floor to know that. — Mike Vorkunov

Miami Heat

Terry Rozier’s start: After their failed pursuit of Damian Lillard in the summer of 2023, Miami’s big move to bolster its backcourt was trading Kyle Lowry and a lottery-protected 2027 first-round pick to Charlotte for Terry Rozier. The 30-year-old got off to a decent start after his arrival in South Beach, but he missed the 2024 playoffs due to a neck injury, and he’s off to a rough start this season as the Heat have stumbled to a 6-7 mark. Rozier’s averaging 12.9 points and 3.7 assists on 38 percent shooting. Miami needs to be more explosive on offense to compete with teams such as Boston and Cleveland at the top of the Eastern Conference. Rozier has to play a key role in the offense taking another step. — Will Guillory

Orlando Magic

3-point shooting: Orlando has done an admirable job overcoming the absence of injured star Paolo Banchero. But the team still struggles to score in the half court and struggles to hit long-range shots. The Magic rank last in 3-point shooting percentage, making only 30.5 percent of their attempts. They remain competitive because of their outstanding defense, coaching, cohesiveness and home-court advantage. They have a lot of positives going for them. But as their shooting woes in last year’s playoffs demonstrated, their inability to convert from beyond the arc is an Achilles heel. — Josh Robbins

Washington Wizards

Can they keep players engaged?: Still early in their rebuild, the Wizards need to finish at or near the bottom of the NBA standings to enhance their 2025 draft lottery chances. It sounds ghoulish to say, but they’re on the right track with a 2-11 record. That said, for any team, losing a lot of games (and by wide margins too) can cause collateral damage, especially to veteran players who grow impatient with losing and potentially with young players who could fall into bad habits. Can coach Brian Keefe and the team leaders keep Washington’s older players positive and the young players on the right developmental track? — Josh Robbins

Northwest Division

Denver Nuggets

Same song: The Nuggets are going to win 50 games and be relevant come playoff time. But can they get over the hump this season? Do they have the quality depth to survive when all-everything Nikola Jokić is not on the floor? That’s what terminated their playoff run last season. Can it be different this time around? — Tony Jones

GO DEEPER

Without Nikola Jokić, the Nuggets have looked alarmingly helpless

Minnesota Timberwolves

Defense: The Timberwolves had the best defense in the NBA by a country mile last season, riding it all the way to the Western Conference finals. Rudy Gobert was Defensive Player of the Year and flanked by a trio of the best perimeter defenders in the league in Jaden McDaniels, Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Anthony Edwards. Of those four players, only Alexander-Walker has resembled what he was last season. Gobert has said he isn’t playing up to his standards at the rim, McDaniels hasn’t been anywhere close to the disrupter on the perimeter and Edwards has often looked inattentive and unfocused on that end. If the Wolves are going to overcome a sluggish start, those three guys have to get their defensive teeth back. — Jon Krawczynski

Oklahoma City Thunder

Alex Caruso’s shooting: Caruso scored a season-high 17 points during the recent win over the Trail Blazers. The Thunder are hoping that trend continues. For all the talk of the Caruso-for-Josh Giddey swap in Oklahoma City, neither side is seeing dividends yet. Giddey has struggled leading the Bulls offense and Caruso can’t find the net from beyond the 3-point arc, shooting just 21 percent from deep. And worse, defenders are straying all the way off him when he lines the perimeter. Caruso made more than 40 percent of his 3s in Chicago a season ago. If he continues to miss at this rate, he could become ill-fitting on a roster with shooting everywhere. But if he begins to look like himself again, at a bare minimum hitting open jumpers, the Thunder are in a better place. — Fred Katz

Alex Caruso puts up a jumper against the Hawks last month. (Joshua Gateley / Getty Images)

Portland Trail Blazers

Deni Avdija’s shot: The Blazers big offseason acquisition is off to a flat shooting start, which played a part in him losing his starting job 10 games into the season. After making a career-best 37.4 percent of his 3-pointers last season in Washington, Avdija has made only 13 of 50 in Portland (26 percent). With Shaedon Sharpe flourishing now that he is back from injury, Avdija’s minutes also have dipped slightly. He has provided value with his smarts, defense and passing, but when the Blazers gave up two first-round picks, two second-round picks and Malcolm Brogdon, they thought they were also getting a shooter on the rise. And maybe that is coming: Avdija in the last four games has made nearly half (7 of 15) of his 3-pointers. — Jason Quick

Utah Jazz

Will Hardy: The Jazz coach is so good at his job that, somehow, he still has a zombie roster competitive enough to only have the fourth-worst record in the league. It bodes well for when the Jazz have enough talent to win that Hardy will maximize that talent. He’s a phenomenal coach. But right now, the Utah front office needs about three more losses than the Jazz currently have. — Tony Jones

Southwest Division

Dallas Mavericks

Crunchtime conundrum: Who knew having too many closers could be this clunky? While the Luka Dončić-Kyrie Irving-Klay Thompson trio has mostly worked well, it’s still quite surprising to see these Mavs drop so many close games with all these elite shot-makers on the payroll. Six of their seven losses have been by seven points or fewer, including a stretch of four in a row (against Phoenix, Denver, Golden State and Utah) in which they lost by a combined eight points. While that’s counterintuitive, to be sure, it’s also a reminder there’s only one ball and their late-game chemistry will have to come over time. That process will be slowed a bit with Dončić sidelined for at least a week due to a wrist injury. The numbers, however, indicate Dallas has been better than its record. — Sam Amick

Houston Rockets

Murky offensive identity: There aren’t many concerns with an 11-5 Rockets team within striking distance of first place in the West, but Houston’s lack of an offensive hierarchy is puzzling. The Rockets want to control the glass, run the floor in transition and defend aggressively without fouling, but the absence of a true pecking order rears its head at the wrong times, especially in crunchtime. Four of their five losses have come in the clutch when their pace and ball movement grinds to a halt. It’s hard to be a pace-and-space unit when you’re 15th in pace and 27th in 3s made per game, and those issues could be fixed with an outlined structure. — Kelly Iko

Memphis Grizzlies

Health: The Grizzlies’ depth has vastly improved from a year ago, enabling Memphis to survive — and even thrive at times — without a full complement of players. That said, the core trio of Ja Morant, Desmond Bane and Jaren Jackson Jr. has played exactly one game together, with Morant’s most recent hip injury again raising the question of just how often the Grizzlies can unite their three stars. Morant only played nine games a year ago and just eight so far this year, while Bane has played 58 and 42 the past two campaigns and only seven so far this season. — John Hollinger

New Orleans Pelicans

Is it too late to make noise?: The Pelicans are going through an unprecedented stretch of bad injury luck that’s left the roster decimated the past few weeks. After starting the season 2-0, New Orleans only has two wins in its last 14 games. There will be a few key pieces getting back on the court in the next two weeks. There’s a good chance CJ McCollum, Jordan Hawkins and Herb Jones will all be back in the lineup before the end of November. The Pelicans may start turning things around very soon. But the West is so incredibly deep that it might not matter. This is the wrong season to be playing catch-up. — Will Guillory

GO DEEPER

Pelicans coach Willie Green faces crossroads as injured stars near their return

San Antonio Spurs

Lack of ball penetration: Nearly half of Victor Wembanyama’s shots are coming from the perimeter, up from just 30 percent as a rookie. The Spurs hoist the ninth-most 3s in the league, but to improve on their 20th-ranked offense, they’ll need to diversify their approach. Some of it is circumstantial: Rookie Stephon Castle, a physical downhill threat, is still learning; Tre Jones and Devin Vassell, San Antonio’s most frequent drivers last season, have only recently returned from injury; and Jeremy Sochan, who was fourth, has been sidelined since early November. Maybe reserve Keldon Johnson, who leads the way with 6.6 drives per game, gets more minutes, but it starts and ends with Wembanyama. The Frenchman needs to set the tone. — Kelly Iko

Victor Wembanyama is shooting nearly 34 percent from 3 this season. (Daniel Dunn / Imagn Images)

Pacific Division

Golden State Warriors

Free-throw shooting: The last time an NBA team shot below 70 percent from the line for a season was five seasons ago when the Knicks did it. The last time a team with a winning record did it was nine seasons ago, when the Pistons did it. The 11-3 Warriors have made only 69.5 percent of their free throws. Andrew Wiggins, Jonathan Kuminga, Draymond Green, Trayce Jackson-Davis, Brandin Podziemski and Kevon Looney are all struggling from the line to varying degrees. They went 9 of 19 collectively in a three-point loss to the Clippers recently. In a conference where the standings margins are expected to be slim, a few free-throw-related losses in the middle months could be the difference between several seeding slots — the third to the seventh, for example — come April. — Anthony Slater

LA Clippers

Turnovers: One of the reasons the Clippers are hovering around .500 is because they donate possessions like a red kettle is on the floor. Only the Trail Blazers and Jazz average more turnovers per game. And it’s the wrong kind of turnovers, as opponents steal the ball from the Clippers more than any other team. The Clippers can be better than league average on offense if they take better care of the ball, especially in fourth quarters. — Law Murray

Los Angeles Lakers

Depth: The Lakers’ depth was a concern entering the season, and it has grown more problematic since training camp. Jarred Vanderbilt and Christian Wood have yet to return from offseason surgeries. Jaxson Hayes is out with an ankle injury. Anthony Davis is battling plantar fasciitis, an injury that has bothered him since last season. Gabe Vincent and Max Christie have underperformed preseason expectations. Los Angeles is winning enough to stay competitive in the West, but it’s largely been because of production from the starters and D’Angelo Russell. Longer term, the Lakers need to get healthy and/or improve their roster via trade(s). — Jovan Buha

GO DEEPER

Dalton Knecht is on fire — and so are the Lakers

Phoenix Suns

Staying healthy: Through nine games, Phoenix looked great. Then misfortune hit. Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal suffered calf strains, and a team that opened 8-1 dropped six of seven. Completely healthy, this team looked like a title contender. Durant played like an MVP candidate. Beal excelled in his role. A rebuilt bench contributed. But it’s not even Thanksgiving, and the Phoenix injury report has become a main storyline. The good news: The Suns showed what was possible. They weren’t perfect, but they had something solid from which to build. The bad: As the league’s second-oldest team at 28.26 years, per NBA.com, the health factor may not go away. — Doug Haller

Sacramento Kings

Star workload: De’Aaron Fox is averaging 37.4 minutes per game. Keegan Murray is at 36.7. Domantas Sabonis and DeMar DeRozan are both at 36.5. That gives the Kings’ four out of the NBA’s top 14 players in minutes per game. That’s a ton to ask over the course of an 82-game marathon, especially with Sabonis (in his ninth season) and DeRozan (in his 17th season) already missing time due to back injuries. But that’s the trouble for the Kings, who have injured bench players (Malik Monk, rookie Devin Carter), questionable depth and a voracious hunger from Mike Brown and the organization to wrestle away every possible regular-season win to avoid the Play-In Tournament. Fox, Murray, Sabonis and DeRozan have been very durable players historically. That will be tested. — Anthony Slater

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(Top photo of Paul George and Joel Embiid: Bill Streicher / Imagn Images)

Culture

VersaClimbers, Tiger Woods and Houston’s plan to get Kelvin Sampson a championship

Published

22 hours ago

November 22, 2024

Press Room

VersaClimbers, Tiger Woods and Houston’s plan to get Kelvin Sampson a championship

HOUSTON — Jamal Shead sat in his locker stall after Houston’s Sweet 16 loss to Duke with a towel draped over his head, trying to answer questions. The locker room felt like a wake: players talking in hushed tones, shocked their run had ended with their indestructible leader sidelined by a sprained ankle. Eventually, Shead couldn’t take it anymore and escaped to the coaches’ locker room.

Shead had grown up in this program, from an unplayable freshman to an All-American and Big 12 Player of the Year as a senior, and the injury forced him to watch the final 26 minutes of his college career from the sidelines as the Blue Devils ground out a 54-51 win.

“I always think about the investment those kids made and how hard I was on them and how hard I pushed them,” Houston head coach Kelvin Sampson said months later. “That was Jamal’s last time. I had him for four years, and maybe I’ll have another one, maybe I won’t, but he won’t have another one.”

That night in the coaches’ locker room, head-coach-in-waiting Kellen Sampson, Kelvin’s son, looked at Shead’s ankle and shook his head. “This just keeps happening to us,” he said.

Each of the last three Houston teams since the program’s 2021 Final Four appearance have looked capable of finally bringing Sampson the title that has eluded him in his decorated career. In KenPom.com’s adjusted efficiency margin rankings, the most popular statistical shorthand for measuring college basketball teams, the Cougars have finished No. 2 three years running; this year’s team opened at No. 1. But every NCAA Tournament run since 2021 has ended with what-ifs attached because of deflating injuries.

In 2021-22, leading scorer Marcus Sasser was playing like an All-American when he broke the fifth metatarsal in his foot right before Christmas, a day after starting wing Tramon Mark had season-ending shoulder surgery. The Cougars finished the ‘22-23 regular season ranked No. 1, but Sasser suffered a groin injury during the AAC tournament and aggravated it during the opening round of the NCAA Tournament, the same game in which Shead hyperextended his knee. Last March against Duke, when Shead rolled his right ankle going up for a layup, Houston was already playing without Jojo Tugler and Terrance Arceneaux, both lost to prior season-ending injuries. The Cougars were controlling the game before Shead’s injury, but they just weren’t the same after.

At 69, Kelvin Sampson is still one of the best coaches in the sport, validated by this late-career run of regular-season dominance.

“When you get to be my age, I think you look at it as, let’s keep doing what we’re doing,” Sampson said this fall. “We don’t need to change anything.”

But once the Sampsons returned home and started looking ahead, knowing they would have another team good enough to win a title — everyone of significance, minus Shead, was back — Kellen suggested to his dad they be proactive.

The formula obviously works, but it needed a tweak.

Shead’s sprained ankle left Houston short on firepower as Duke rallied to reach the Elite Eight. (Tim Heitman / USA Today)

Houston is the most physical team in college basketball for a reason. “You don’t practice soft and play tough,” is the line that defines Sampson’s program, and the preseason sets the tone. Rebounding drills with a bubble on the basket; brick slides, in which players have to hold up bricks while sliding from lane line to lane line; loose-ball drills that resemble a football fumble scrum; inclined sprints in a parking garage.

Last season, all those practices added up. The Cougars started earlier than usual because of a four-game exhibition tour of Australia in August, which granted them 10 official practices in July. By March, Kellen could see the mileage showing: “I thought that our needle got pretty close to empty, a little quicker than we would have wanted.”

How could a perennial contender be better longer into the spring? Kellen looked to LeBron James, who credits low-impact training for his staying power at the top of the basketball world. James has said if he had only one piece of equipment to train with for the rest of his life, it’d be the VersaClimber, an upright full-body workout machine.

This spring Houston purchased five VersaClimbers — specifically modified for taller users — and they arrived in time for summer school. The head coach was receptive to a change but a little worried it’d go against his mantra. “This ain’t cheer camp,” he would say.

Then he saw his players try the VersaClimber.

“And I go, I like the VersaClimber, because they hate it,” Kelvin Sampson said, flashing a big grin. “That thing is a problem. And our guys, it just puts them on their knees.”

“It’s no fun,” senior L.J. Cryer said.

“It’s easily the worst thing I’ve ever done in my life,” J’Wan Roberts said. “Easily. I feel like it hurts more when you get off. When you’re on it, you’re pushing, you’re pushing. But when you get off, it’s like your legs burnt.”

The VersaClimber replaced incline runs in the parking garage. Houston stayed off pavement and spent a couple weeks training in the sand this summer. The staff also consulted with NBA teams on ankle testing protocols and bought a machine for isometrically testing ankle and Achilles strength.

Sampson also wielded time on the VersaClimber as a punishment for mistakes. One of the VersaClimbers has taken up permanent residence in the corner of the practice gym.

When the Cougars went through speed and agility tests this fall, this year’s group posted faster results than any of Sampson’s first 10 teams. With almost an identical roster to last year, it was obvious what the difference maker was.

Sometimes injuries happen, like Shead’s sprained ankle — “purely fate, luck, misfortune,” Kelvin Sampson said — but if these changes could help reduce the chances for injury by even a half a percentage point, then it was worth it.

Houston’s first heavyweight prizefight of the season ended in a 74-69 loss to Auburn, but more are on the way. (Troy Taormina / Imagn Images)

During halftime of an October exhibition game, Sampson narrowed his gaze toward Oklahoma transfer guard Milos Uzan and implored him not to be afraid to shoot. Sampson’s suggestion that Uzan not act like he’s stealing candy from a five-and-dime store got a chuckle from the older folks in the back of the locker room, but it’s doubtful his players were familiar with the old-timey establishments he was referencing.

“Milos from Vegas?” Kellen Sampson said. “No chance.”

Some of his humor might go over the heads of his players, but the elder Sampson does not have any issue connecting with young people, demonstrated by the fact that his late 60s have been the prime of his career.

Sampson is aging like there’s a blockage in the hourglass. At practice, he often has a player stand off to the side as he takes his place and demonstrates what he wants.

“He’s probably the most consistent person I’ve ever met in my life,” said Roberts, who has been at Houston for six years. “Screams like he’s 30. Might be a little slow when he’s walking, but that intensity and fire is still there.”

“I never really thought about coaching at 70 until I turned 69,” Sampson said, chuckling. “Then I realized the next number.”

In 2019 after Houston made its first Sweet 16 trip under Sampson, Kellen worried that his father’s coaching days were numbered because his hips had impacted his quality of life.

“He was starting to have some negative thoughts,” Kellen said. “My grandfather had battled a lot of health issues. He passed when I was 28 (Kellen is 39 now), and I don’t remember my grandfather not having physical health issues. And I think some of that started to worry my dad. Am I following a similar path?”

The pandemic-canceled 2020 postseason provided an opportunity. The forced time away from the gym convinced Sampson he had a window to get surgery and recover.

“That changed everything,” Kellen said.

Now, Sampson rides scooters and bikes when goes to Kellen’s to see his grandchildren. He’ll go down slides in the park. “If you spend any time with him,” Kellen said, “there’s nothing about him which makes you think he’s slowing down.”

As a graduate assistant at Michigan State In 1979, Sampson and Tom Izzo used to roll out baskets to a parking lot, get some string and erasable paint and line off courts for summer camp. Early in his head coaching career, Sampson did everything because he didn’t have much help. At Montana Tech, his assistant coach (a volunteer) couldn’t even travel to road games because there wasn’t room in the van, which Sampson drove. Once he landed in bigger jobs at Washington State, Oklahoma and finally Indiana, he still wanted to be involved with everything.

Kellen is convinced his father’s late-career ascent was a direct result of being forced out at Indiana in 2008 and landing in the NBA as an assistant coach.

“A six-year recharge,” Kellen said. “Away from the cauldron, away from being the governor. He got off the hamster wheel where everything was just this endless cycle of perpetual work. He got a chance to spend some time without all of the intense pressure and scrutiny all the time, and the daily beatdown of being in the top tier.”

When Sampson returned to college, he surrounded himself with people he knew and trusted — including his son and the backcourt from his 2002 Final Four team — and the staff has seen few changes in 11 years. Lamar coach Alvin Brooks is the only assistant coach who has left, and eight of the staffers on his original staff are still at Houston.

“One of the signs of him getting older is that he just doesn’t care about things he can’t control anymore,” Kellen said. “I’m choosing not to worry about that. I’m choosing happy every day.”

Sampson’s zen-ish approach has also allowed him not to let the recent bad injury luck consume him. He quotes an old Tiger Woods line: “Keep getting to the back nine with a chance to win, eventually things will go your way.”

The Cougars get to the back nine just about every March. Their 2018 tourney team, the first under Sampson, was the only one not to make the second weekend, and it lost on a buzzer beater to eventual national runner-up Michigan in the second round.

Sampson believes almost every team he’s had since has been good enough to win the title, with one exception: the 2021 team that actually made the Final Four.

“We weren’t better than Baylor,” he said. “They were different. Best team we’ve played against in the 10 years I’ve been here. But this team, if this team stays healthy…”

Sampson’s mind wandered off to his rotation and how he’s trying to get Arceneaux, working his way back into game action after an Achilles tear, to trust that he’s going to be OK.

“I’ve realized it’s not good enough to be good enough,” he said. “You’ve got to be good enough and fortune has to smile your way sometime.”

The question is: How many more shots does he have left?

Sampson won’t give a number. “I think at some point all coaches have to think about what’s best for the game,” he said. “I want to be a good coach. I don’t want to be an old coach.”

Kellen has been the coach-in-waiting since 2023, which has kept him from even considering other opportunities that have arisen in recent years.

“Regardless of what’s waiting for me when I become a head coach. I’m never going to get these years with my dad back,” Kellen said. “I’m wagering big and I’d do it 100 times over that I’m going to cherish and love these years I’m getting with my dad way more than whatever extra years I would have had sitting in the big chair. I’m getting to extend time with my hero.”

Kellen’s sister Lauren isn’t going to give a number either, but the one change she’s noticed in her dad is that he smiles easier now. She saw Rob Gray, the star of the 2018 team, as the first senior who started to savor every moment once February hit. “I would say dad’s the same way,” she said. “You feel things more acutely. The joy is bigger. The heartbreak.”

The pain Sampson felt last March was not for himself, he said; it’s always for the players, especially his seniors.

Sampson gets another chance, and he would love to win that elusive title, but thinking about it won’t help.

“Just do the best you can, but do the best you can,” he said. “Do not not do the best you can. That’s important that you do that, because I owe it to these kids. I owe it to them. And that’s why, if it happens, it happens. If it doesn’t, I’ve done everything I can to help them, put them in the best position so they can win.”

With an experienced and talented lineup returning, Sampson’s Cougars will again be a Big 12 and national championship factor. (Thomas B. Shea / Imagn Images)

This summer on a lazy Saturday afternoon, Sampson was at his office with his grandchildren when someone stopped by and told him that his former players in town training for The Basketball Tournament were playing at the arena.

Sampson and his grandchildren hustled over to the Fertita Center for what felt like a reunion.

“It was like a picture of what this program is about,” he said. “Because that doesn’t happen at every school. But in some ways that’s your championship is the program you built. I know what stage we’re on and our opportunities that we have and I hope we make it. I just know how hard it is.”

This year again promises to be a grind — Houston is one of six Big 12 teams in the Top 25 and will play at least two Final Four hopefuls before conference play begins. Kellen, meanwhile, does not shy away from the urgency that is felt to make sure his dad cuts down a net on the final Monday of the season before he turns in his whistle:

“Every second, every day. One VersaClimber at a time.”

(Top photo: Alex Slitz / Getty Images)