‘We’re not going anywhere’ | Fans welcome Coogs back home after Elite Eight run

HOUSTON — The College of Houston requested followers to come back out in full power for the NCAA Match, and so they did.

The celebration lasted all weekend in San Antonio because the Houston Cougars took down the Arizona Wildcats within the Candy Sixteen on Thursday night time.

Regardless of dropping to the Villanova Wildcats within the Elite Eight Saturday night, followers refused to have it dampen their spirits.

“For Houston, that is the most individuals I’ve seen assist U of H,” one fan stated after Saturday’s recreation.

For these followers, Cougar pink does not run.

“We imagine in this system. The athletes imagine in this system,” one other fan stated. “They preserve growing it and finally we’ll go forward and convey a championship residence.”

And the followers take after their coach. Cougars coach Kelvin Sampson has already promised as a lot.

“We’re not going anyplace,” Sampson stated. “We’ll be again.”

With a Remaining 4 look final season and a rebuilt lineup that almost bought them there once more, Sampson’s program has greater than revived the recollections of the Phi Slama Jama period of Clyde Drexler and Hakeem Olajuwan.

Saturday’s 50-44 loss to Villanova in within the South Area remaining will sting for some time, particularly given the way it performed out in a slugfest that left a boisterous “residence” crowd dissatisfied. However there are new expectations and new vitality surrounding this system that will probably be seeking to produce nationwide title contenders yearly.

Sampson stated this week he needed his gamers and followers to respect the previous, as superb because it was below Corridor of Fame coach Man Lewis and the abilities of Drexler and Olajuwan, however to reside within the current and look to the long run. Olajuwan was on the recreation Saturday.

Houston fought exhausting to first rekindle these recollections earlier than it might construct new ones. The college was left within the chilly when the outdated Southwest Convention broke up and historic rivals left for the Massive 12 and the Southeastern Convention. A succession of coaches and outdated amenities left it floundering.

The 66-year-old Sampson has modified that. He is revived this system and his personal profession. He led Oklahoma to the Remaining 4 in 2002 earlier than taking on at Indiana, the place he was fired, then finally landed in Houston.

The regular rise over eight seasons with Sampson first bought the Cougars to the Candy 16 in 2019, then final season’s Remaining 4. However final yr’s group misplaced 4 starters and Sampson needed to rebuild his lineup, solely to lose two of this season’s high gamers to harm.

The Cougars bought again to the Elite Eight behind younger guard Jamal Shead and transfers Taze Moore, Kyler Edwards and Josh Carlton. They challenged greater opponents all season with grinding protection and refused to again down from faculty basketball’s blueblood applications within the NCAA Match.

The defensive effort saved Houston within the recreation towards Villanova when no photographs have been falling. The Cougars twice rallied from double-digit deficits and pulled inside two factors late.

However they have been doomed by a 29.8% taking pictures effort general, together with 1 of 20 from 3-point vary.

“We have been simply lacking wide-open photographs, lacking layups, lacking free throws,” senior ahead Fabian White Jr. stated. “Struggles we’ve had all yr bit us on the finish.”

The Cougars received the American Athletic Convention regular-season and match championships, then powered by their first three NCAA video games. One other Remaining 4 was there for the taking in entrance of an enormous part of followers sporting Houston pink who had made the 200-mile drive to the AT&T Heart in San Antonio.

“Simply actually happy with this group, all the things they achieved. Ten years from now, 20 years from now, they’re going to come again with their households and present their youngsters these banners on the wall, and so they’ll keep in mind this with fondness and satisfaction,” Sampson stated.

“Once we first bought to Houston, we couldn’t get anybody to come back to our video games, college students, anyone,” he stated. “Now take a look at us at this time.”

KHOU 11 on social media: Fb | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube