For 33 years, Jim Nantz served as the lead play-by-play announcer for CBS during the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament, meaning that the University of Houston alum could never express his rooting interest in the Cougars, at least publicly. That changed last year, when Nantz stepped away from his longtime role at CBS and spent the season embracing his new role as a “Cougar Fan.”
Still a prominent and well-respected member of the sports media, Jim Nantz is making the rounds heading into the 2024-25 college basketball season, and when given the opportunity to talk about the Houston basketball program, Nantz is making it perfectly clear that he's high on his alma mater for one specific reason:
“What makes me optimistic? Kelvin, Kelvin and Kelvin,” Nantz told Greg Rajan of the Houston Chronicle. “The commitment that these kids have to want to come back and win a championship, L.J. (Cryer) and J’Wan (Roberts), it’s impressive. To think that Houston went into the conference last year and won the regular by a couple games, reached No. 1 status in the AP poll, it’s amazing. It’s just great to see where we are with the program and what Kelvin has done. He’s the best.”
Houston (No. 4) is one of five Big 12 teams ranked in the top ten of the preseason AP Top 25 Poll, joining Kansas (No. 1), Iowa State (No. 5), Baylor (No. 8), and Arizona (No. 10). This is the 3rd consecutive year that the Cougars have been ranked in the preseason top ten. The last time the University of Houston achieved this was over fifty years ago, when the Cougs were ranked in the preseason top ten each year between 1966 and 1968.
Kelvin Sampson has spearheaded basketball revival at Houston
Last season, in their first year in the Big 12, Kelvin Sampson led the Houston Cougars to the Big 12 regular season title, proving that their dominance over the AAC over the previous six years was no fluke, nor was it a byproduct of playing in a lower-tier conference. In fact, you could make the case that Sampson's recent run at Houston's been the third “Golden Age” of Cougars basketball.
The first Golden Age of Houston basketball occurred during a run from the mid-60s into the mid-70s, when in a nine-year stretch, the Cougars made eight NCAA Tournament appearances, and twice lost in the Final Four. The next Golden Age came in the early 80s, when head coach Guy Lewis and stars Akeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler transformed the school into Phi Slamma Jama. The Cougars made three consecutive Final Fours from 1982 to 1984, and lost in the Championship Game twice.
Over the last five NCAA Tournaments, Houston has been to one Final Four, two Elite Eight's and two Sweet Sixteen's. This year, however, may be Kelvin Sampson's best opportunity to bring the school their first National Title.
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