Houston finished the regular season with an 82-75 victory over Oklahoma State on the road. Still, for the first time since joining the Big 12, Houston is not the regular-season champion, instead finishing in second place.
Now, Kelvin Sampson is speaking out about finishing second and the pride he still has for this group, despite not finishing with a regular-season title, according to Chris Baldwin over Paper City Magazine.
“What this team did is almost as impressive. Because we played 4 freshmen. This is by far the youngest team we've ever had,” Sampson said after the game.
The Big 12 has been one of the best conferences in the nation over the past three seasons, and has two first place finished and a second-place finish in the regular season. Samspson also spoke to Chris Baldwin in a one-on-one about his freshman, and finishing in second place.
“Are you kidding? Playing four freshmen? If you would have told me that. . . One of the big keys was JoJo (Tugler), Milos (Uzan) and Emanuel (Sharp) were steadying influences for this group right here. Kingston (Flemings') been up and down. Chris (Cenac Jr.'s) been up and down,” Samson said.
Kingston Flemings has been great in his freshman season for the Cougars. He leads the team with 16.5 points per game while also leading the team with 5.4 assists per game. He also has 3.9 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game, all as a freshman, which is rare at Houston.
“Just remember, they're freshmen. Jamal Shead didn't even get to play as a freshman. Marcus (Sasser) didn't get to start until later in the year. Most freshmen don't play here. Jarace (Walker) was up and down. He was pretty good late. But a guy like Chase (McCarty), he's just come on,” Sampson added.
Houston is now preparing for the Big 12 tournament. Houston will not play until March 12 in the Big 12 quarterfinals.
