Kelvin Sampson sarcastically responds to reporter’s question concerning offense vs. Florida
Kelvin Sampson was not in the mood for one reporter’s question after Houston lost to Florida in the national championship Monday evening. As the Cougars coach sat at the podium following a heartbreaking 65-63 defeat, analytics expert Evan Miya asked about the team’s assist total.
Houston finished the contest with a season-low five assists, which was also its fewest 2020. But Sampson quipped back with a sarcastic response that was reminiscent of that of Taurean Prince when he was asked about rebounds following Baylor‘s 2016 March Madness loss. You can view the moment below.
“Let me explain to you how an assist works, Evan,” Sampson said. “When you throw the ball to somebody and they score, that’s an assist. Well, we threw the ball a lot to J’Wan (Roberts) in the post and he missed some shots that he normally makes. So those were possible, potential assists that we had a lot. We just didn’t make a lot of shots.”
It seemed to be all in good fun for Sampson, though, who made a more lighthearted joke toward the end of his statement to Miya. With a smile on his face, he further poked fun at the reporter.
“You’re the stat guy, right?” Sampson said.
Roberts finished the game 3-of-13 from the floor, but he wasn’t the only Houston player to struggle offensively. The Cougars finished just 24-of-69 (34.8%) as a team with LJ Cryer being the only player to score double figures.
Houston did not make a 3-pointer until the 5:44 mark in the first half yet managed to still hold a lead for most of that time thanks to a swarming defensive effort. The Cougars took a 31-28 lead into halftime after holding Florida star Walter Clayton Jr. scoreless.
The lead expanded to as many as 12 points in the second half as Houston continued to play suffocating defense. Yet its inability to match that consistently with points on the other end allowed Florida to hang around.
Finally, the Gators came all the way back to take their first lead of the second half after Alijah Martin was fouled and made both shots with 46 seconds remaining. Another free throw later on would make it a 65-63 lead for Florida, but Houston had the ball and a chance to tie or win the game with 19 seconds left.
It would be another offensive failure that cost the Cougars the game, however, as they failed to get a shot off. Instead, Emmanuel Sharp was smothered on the potential game-winning 3-pointer and bounced the ball on the ground as he went up in the air, resulting in Florida pouncing on the ball as time expired.
The loss marked the third time in program history that Houston fell short in the national championship game. Kelvin Sampson knows it came down to his team’s ineffectiveness on offense, but at least he was still able to joke moments after the disappointing result.
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