After the national championship loss by the Houston basketball team, there is no doubt that the emotions were high in the locker room after the fact. While the game could be haunting to Houston basketball head coach Kelvin Sampson, he revealed what he told the team after the loss, which is no doubt a hard task to get done.
Sampson would be interviewed by Jon Rothstein and was asked what he told the Cougars after the heartbreaking 65-63 loss to the Gators in the finals. The head coach would be candid in saying that it was not “the time to say anything” and how it was crucial to let the team let out the emotions they were feeling.
“Well, that wasn't the time to say anything, John, because you're competing with emotions,” Sampson said. “I was almost a nuisance in their lives at that moment, I didn't say anything; I just let the sounds of the crying, the sniffling, the wailing, the emotions, I just let that control the moment. I didn't want to break that. They needed that; nobody remembers what I said three days later.”
“Sometimes, you can say too much, sometimes, maybe you don't say enough,” Sampson continued. “But in that moment, I don't remember what I said, because I don't think I said anything, and if I did, it was along the lines, lines of ‘I just want to thank God for giving me the opportunity to allow us to be in each other's lives.' We helped each other.”
Kelvin Sampson intentionally didn’t say anything of substance to his team after Houston lost to Florida last April in the national title game.
🎧 https://t.co/c9JLel2QnF (Apple)
🎧 https://t.co/EsZxIkca32 (Spotify) pic.twitter.com/XLYdSl10Fo— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) August 28, 2025
Houston basketball's Kelvin Sampson on the journey of last season
While the Houston basketball team now competes for the 2026 championship, it is still an important reflection to make on how successful last season was, despite the end result of March Madness. Sampson would echo the same sentiments, expressing how the journey was rewarding and told the team how proud he was and the love for the team.
“And I hate it when people think a team that didn't win it is anything but a winner,” Sampson said. “You have a winner and a loser, but losing the game doesn't make you a loser; it just means you didn't win that game, but you won with the journey. And I've never lost sight of how important a journey is with kids, but I didn't say anything of any relevance.”
“I'm probably not smart enough to figure out what to say at that moment,” Sampson continued. “So I just intermittently told him I was proud of him, and I told him I loved them and was appreciative of having the opportunity to be for them to be in my life and vice versa.”
The Cougars look to redeem themselves as they open the upcoming season in exhibition play on Oct. 26 against Mississippi State.
