After leading the Houston Cougars to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2010, head coach Kelvin Sampson could be making the jump to the NBA to coach the Orlando Magic.
According to the Orlando Sentinel, the Magic may have some interest in Sampson, to replace Frank Vogel who was fired after last season.
U of Houston coach Kelvin Sampson drawing interest from #Magic, per report. #NBA https://t.co/RPZB6bDTNA
— Sam Amico (@AmicoHoops) May 18, 2018
Sampson has never been a head coach in the NBA, but has been an assistant coach for the Milwaukee Bucks and the Houston Rockets.
He has always been regarded as a good coach, but his college coaching career has been filled with controversy. Eric Gordon had committed early to Bruce Weber at the University of Illinois. After Sampson was hired as the head coach of Indiana, he hired Gordon's family friend Jeff Meyer to be an assistant coach. Gordon ended up flipping, and a lot around college basketball thought that the recruiting of Gordon was unethical.
Sampson also made phone calls to other recruits, when it wasn't allowed by NCAA rules, and that led to him being charged with committing five major rules infractions. He was forced to resign from Indiana and was given a five-year show clause. The clause basically made hiring Sampson unrealistic for five years. During that time is when he jumped up to the NBA and was an assistant coach.
The Magic are still conducting interviews, and haven't reached a final decision, but it looks like Sampson is well in the running to become their next head coach, and according to some he is the favorite.
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