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Houston presser with Kelvin Sampson, L.J. Cryer, J'Wan Robers and Emmanuel Sharp #Duke
Apr 6, 2025
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0:00
Congrats, coach. Thanks. Appreciate it.
0:06
Congrats.
0:08
Congrats.
0:10
Congrats. Nice to see you.
0:17
Next to you, brother.
0:20
Once again, the Houston locker room is
0:22
open till about 11:43. We're joined now
0:25
by LJ Crier, Jawan Roberts, Emanuel
0:28
Sharp, and head coach Kelvin Samson.
0:30
Coach, we'll ask for a statement, then
0:31
we'll take questions first for the
0:33
student athletes. Coach, yeah, I mean,
0:35
it's a awesome win uh
0:38
uh for my kids. Um, I mean, obviously we
0:42
have great respect for, um, Duke and,
0:46
um, their team, uh, their tradition, uh,
0:50
what Coach K and and, uh, Duke has meant
0:54
to this game for so long. So, you know,
0:59
it's is what I said the same same thing
1:02
after we beat uh, uh, Gonzaga. you know,
1:04
you're not just beating a good team,
1:06
you're beating a unbelievable, um,
1:09
program. But,
1:10
[Music]
1:12
um, yeah, you know,
1:15
uh, I I knew that Duke's defense was
1:18
going to give us some problems because
1:20
of their length. We spent a lot of time
1:22
matchup hunting, uh, in the second half
1:26
trying to get the right matchup. Um, the
1:29
guy got Uhoh. That's a By the way,
1:32
that's a downing back for the old ball
1:34
coach.
1:38
I would not put up with that. I can't
1:39
believe I have that. It's in my
1:41
pocket. Uh, sorry about that.
1:46
The um
1:49
um when they got when they got up to 14,
1:52
you know, that's where um we had a
1:54
couple things go right for us. Emanuel
1:56
hit a three. Um, we got an offensive
2:00
rebound. They they missed a a couple
2:03
tough ones.
2:05
Um, but, you know, we held them to 37%
2:09
the second half, you know, and we we
2:11
held that team to 67 points. So, that
2:14
was a tempo we could live with. We we
2:16
could not win this game in the 80s. Uh,
2:19
they we we we we can't we couldn't score
2:22
80. But um I felt like we could win the
2:25
game in the high 60s or low 70s. I felt
2:28
that way uh going in.
2:30
[Music]
2:32
Um we have to depend on unscripted
2:35
points a lot of nights.
2:38
Um you know unscripted points for us is
2:41
second chance points. Um I think in the
2:45
uh we had 19 second chance points.
2:48
What's the difference in that running
2:49
the most beautiful play in the world and
2:50
somebody comes off a screening and go
2:52
bravo great play? That's two points. I
2:55
mean, that's us. We're probably more of
2:57
a offensive rebound, put it in for two
3:00
than a, you know, run the greatest play
3:02
ever and have everybody uh go crazy
3:05
because you executed something. Um, but
3:09
we had 19 second chance points. Uh we
3:12
scored eight points off their turnovers
3:14
and uh we were under 10 on um turnovers.
3:18
I didn't I knew we weren't going to turn
3:20
Duke over much because they don't turn
3:22
it over. I mean they're they're so
3:24
disciplined. Um
3:27
Flag Flag got 27. Canoa made some shots,
3:32
but we we were really focused on those
3:35
other guys. We did a great job of not
3:37
allowing Proctor to turn the corner and
3:39
get into the paint off pin downs. He's
3:41
so good at that. Uh we stayed down on
3:44
every shot fake that he had. He shot
3:47
face and gets in the paint. When we ran
3:49
at him, we stayed down on shot fakes.
3:51
When he would come off a pin down, the
3:52
guy guarding the ball would jump to the
3:54
ball and make him pass it. So, we did a
3:57
great job on all the other guys. Kipo,
4:00
you know, he made some tough threes.
4:02
Cooper flag, but Cooper was not going to
4:04
beat us by himself. Um, and and I felt
4:08
like if we could just hang in there,
4:09
even we're down 14. I think that's these
4:12
guys will tell you what I was talking
4:13
about in the huddle was um just hang in
4:16
there. Hang in there. And I thought if
4:18
we get it down to single digits, get it
4:20
down to around five. Jojo had the uh um
4:24
just boneheaded uh uh play. You know, I
4:29
he was so apologetic, almost in tears. I
4:31
couldn't even get on him. Um he knew
4:34
what he did wrong. That's one of those
4:35
dudes. Just leave him alone. You'll
4:36
learn from that. But with that, it put
4:40
him up six and then um we got a rebound,
4:43
go down and bang a three. Now, once you
4:44
get to three, now there's game pressure.
4:46
You know, it's it's it's it's a lot
4:50
easier to finish the game when you have
4:51
20. It's a lot harder when you got to
4:53
finish it up three or up four even up
4:56
six. And that's why I said don't foul.
4:58
It's a six possess. It's uh six points.
5:01
That's only two possessions. So, we
5:03
wanted to uh uh uh I put Jojo on the
5:06
ball and we tried to deny encourage him
5:09
to throw it long because Jojo's wingspan
5:11
76 and a half. So, I thought we could
5:14
take everything over the top and force
5:15
him to throw it east and west. And
5:17
that's where, you know, I the referee
5:20
was counting so slow a couple of times
5:22
that um um that's why I told him to go
5:25
check, but then when I was looking at
5:28
the replay, I said, "It's probably only
5:30
three as low as he was counting." And
5:32
then the
5:34
um but you know getting J1 to the free
5:38
throw line when we lost to Duke last
5:40
year in Dallas, I didn't think we lost
5:43
because we lost Jamal. I thought we lost
5:46
because we lost Jojo Tugler to a broken
5:49
foot at the end of February and Jamal.
5:52
But the real reason was the free throw
5:53
line. Um
5:56
uh Javier was two for seven and Jay was
5:59
three for eight. It's a three-point
6:01
game. And so when we got to uh June,
6:05
when our kids came to June, I gave a
6:07
very impassion uh talk about that. I
6:11
don't know if these guys remember, but I
6:13
got I told him I said, "We have got to
6:15
change our mentality at the free throw
6:17
line." Um and even though we only lost
6:20
four games all year, couple of those,
6:22
the free throw line impacted two of
6:24
those. Um so we had our kids make 150
6:28
free throws seven days a week. I don't
6:31
think Jay missed a day from June 2nd
6:34
till um we left on Wednesday. We left on
6:37
Wednesday, right? So Tuesday night, I
6:38
looked at how what he shot from the free
6:40
throw line with his 150 uh makes and he
6:43
shot
6:44
87%. That was his highest percentage
6:46
he's ever shot. He when he started this,
6:48
it was his 66. So on his own, he went
6:51
from 66 to 86. That wasn't the coaches.
6:56
Give all the credit to him. He went to
6:58
that free throw line every single day
7:01
and made himself so in that moment
7:03
tonight in the in the moment tonight
7:06
when everybody was watching he prepared
7:08
himself when nobody was watching for
7:11
that moment tonight. So God bless him,
7:14
proud of him. Um I told him last night
7:18
at midnight I loved him. So probably
7:21
almost midnight now. So, uh, just proud
7:24
proud of these proud of these guys for
7:26
what they've accomplished.
7:28
Thank you, coach. Both locker rooms are
7:30
open till 11:53. We're taking questions
7:32
for the Houston student athletes. We're
7:34
going to begin up front with Myron Myron
7:36
Metaf. Uh, ESPN for LJ and Jon. Uh, when
7:39
they went up 5945, I think a lot of
7:42
people thought it was over. Why wasn't
7:44
it over for you all? Um, LJ first. I
7:47
mean, it ain't over because they still
7:48
got time on the clock and as long as
7:50
there's time on the clock, we going to
7:51
go out there and give it our all. So,
7:53
uh, we've been in positions like that
7:55
before at
7:57
Kansas. I don't remember how much we was
7:59
down, but it was late in the game and
8:01
that game looked like it was pretty much
8:03
over, too, but somehow we ended up
8:05
winning it. Um, so, you know, we just
8:07
had to keep that belief and keep faith
8:09
and we got it done. Basically what he
8:12
said, uh, just believing that we can
8:14
win. You know, I feel like basketball is
8:16
a game of runs and, you know, they went
8:17
on their run. So, I feel like once we
8:20
started pressuring them defensively,
8:22
turn them over. I think that that that
8:25
triggers us offensively. So, looking at
8:27
the time and looking at the clock, you
8:29
know, I feel like we just believed in
8:30
oursel and uh we we like we had a
8:33
feeling that that we can still win the
8:34
game. So, coach always tells us just
8:36
keep playing, fight, and and never quit.
8:38
You know, if you lose the game, once you
8:40
don't quit, then you didn't really lose.
8:42
So just going into games like this, you
8:45
know, we never want to go down, but it
8:46
happens. But once you don't quit and you
8:48
believe, you know, anything can happen.
8:50
Second row in the center.
8:53
Uh Jaywan, how prepared were you for how
8:55
much you would have to guard Flag down
8:57
the stretch, especially when Jojo got
9:00
picked up three then I think four fouls.
9:02
It seemed like you really picked up your
9:04
responsibility and said that this is
9:06
mine to to to handle. Was that your
9:07
mentality going into the game? Was that
9:09
something that evolved as the game went
9:11
on? Uh, kind of 50-50 and not trying to
9:14
get too selfish, focusing on one player
9:16
because it's a team game. So, but
9:19
knowing going into that game, you know,
9:20
he's a player of the year, you know, um,
9:23
brought his team to the final four. So,
9:25
we know it was going to be challenging,
9:27
but the main thing was just to make him
9:29
shoot contested jump shots, you know,
9:31
make him as uncomfortable as ever. But,
9:33
I feel like it was a team effort cuz I
9:35
guarded him, Emanuel did, LJ did, Jojo
9:38
did. I think it was all a team effort to
9:40
to make him uncomfortable and just
9:41
trying to slow him down. On the left
9:44
side, take the microphone. Oh, I'm
9:47
sorry. Kevin Howell, Tan
9:49
TV, Jaywan, this is for you. Yesterday,
9:52
you shared one of the biggest things
9:54
you'll take from coach Samson was never
9:57
to have a fear of failure.
9:59
Going from three and eight in the last
10:02
game of last year, how excited were you
10:04
to step towards the free throw line to
10:07
put your team ahead?
10:09
To tell you the honest truth, um, going
10:12
up to the free throw line, I wasn't
10:13
really nervous at all just because of
10:15
the work that I put in and just
10:17
believing in it and trusting myself. And
10:19
I try not to get
10:20
sidetracked by how big the stage is or
10:23
the crowd getting into it. I just try to
10:26
trust myself. um focus on my my routine
10:29
and uh trust my work. Like Coach said, I
10:31
shoot 150 every night. So, I don't treat
10:33
those two free throws any different than
10:34
if I've been there by myself. So, just
10:37
stepping up to the line, just believing
10:39
in myself, and just trusting my work.
10:42
Second row in the center. Yeah, Mark
10:45
James, KJR, Seattle. It's for all you
10:47
guys. Um all week long here, I heard
10:50
about Duke, Auburn, Florida, and nobody
10:53
was talking about Houston. Were you guys
10:55
was that extra motivation for you guys?
10:57
Did you guys feel just a sort of a level
10:59
of disrespect that nobody was really
11:01
giving you the credit you deserve? Start
11:04
with LJ, then Jawan, then Emanuel. Uh,
11:06
nah. I mean, I don't really pay
11:09
attention to what other people say.
11:11
Honestly, I've been doing uh this whole
11:13
year I've been trying to stay off social
11:15
media and stuff like that. So, uh, I
11:17
really don't see those type of things. I
11:19
try to just listen to coach Samson and
11:22
um you know he believed we was we we
11:25
were the best team in the tournament. So
11:27
that's the only person I listen to.
11:30
I mean everyone has an opinion. They can
11:32
say what they want to say but um when
11:34
you put 40 minutes on the clock and you
11:36
put Houston against whoever um they
11:37
going to get our best shot. So we don't
11:40
have to be mentioned in the greats or
11:43
this and that. We we'll take the
11:44
underdog spot and we'll just do what we
11:47
do.
11:49
Uh yeah, pretty much the same thing, you
11:52
know, the whole year. Uh we've been
11:54
focusing on ourselves, uh not, you know,
11:57
focus on outside talk. Uh and we, you
12:00
know, that's how we operate. We just,
12:01
you know, keep within our circle in our
12:03
circle and, you know, try to keep a chip
12:05
on our shoulder and that's how we play.
12:07
in the back row on the right side.
12:10
Isaac Bourne with Major Madness. Jaywan,
12:13
you know, you've been at Houston, you've
12:15
been wearing that jersey for five years
12:18
now. What has kept you coming back and
12:21
now to this point, you've seen so many
12:23
things happen, and now you get to
12:25
finally play for the first national
12:26
championship game.
12:30
Family, that's number one. You know, I
12:32
call all these guys my brothers
12:36
and all these coaches, too. You know,
12:38
they take us under their wing and they
12:39
make sure we're good. And I feel like
12:42
when you come across, you know, a bunch
12:45
of people that's genuine and and love
12:48
you for you, I feel like you want to
12:49
keep those guys close to you as much as
12:51
you can. So, you know, if I could be
12:54
here for another three years, I would.
12:55
But eventually, you got to come to an
12:57
end. But I have a number of respect you
12:58
know for my coaches and players for even
13:01
giving me opportunity you know to play
13:02
at the University of Houston and just
13:04
know what comes with this and the
13:05
culture you know I I wouldn't trade this
13:08
for anything else in the world.
13:10
We want to thank LJ Jawan and Emanuel.
13:13
They're going to get up and head back
13:14
toward the locker room which is going to
13:16
remain open until somewhere in the
13:18
neighborhood of 11:44 11:53 depends on
13:21
whose watch you're looking at right now.
13:25
Thank you guys. Thank you. First
13:28
question for Coach Samson's going to go
13:30
to John Fanta. Let's see if we can get
13:31
him the microphone. He is four seats off
13:33
the aisle. There he is. John
13:36
Fanta.
13:38
Kelvin, to hear from your group that
13:41
they are so locked in on everything. I I
13:45
know you've referenced culture all week
13:49
long. Uh a culture otherwise than the
13:52
one you have does not win that
13:53
basketball game. What can you say about
13:57
this group's resolve and how much a
13:59
moment like when you won at Allen
14:01
Fieldhouse earlier this year you can
14:03
recall? Yeah, in these moments.
14:06
Well, we actually, you know, I don't
14:09
think we could play any worse and we
14:11
were down six at halftime. I mean, we um
14:16
we had some
14:18
uh our our bench wasn't very good the
14:20
first half, you know, and that's that's
14:22
something that we've been good at.
14:25
Um, you know, I'm not going to call out
14:28
who, but all three of those guys can
14:31
play better. So, instead of uh Rant and
14:34
Raven at halftime, I I I was probably
14:36
more um calm and positive. Um cuz I
14:42
thought that's what they needed, you
14:43
know. Um they played they know they
14:46
played poorly, but we're only down six.
14:49
And we're not down 16. We're down six.
14:52
We were down to Purdue the other night,
14:54
I think five. We were down to Arizona in
14:56
the Big 12 championship game, I think,
14:58
by five. I mean, being down, what's the
15:00
problem? You know, didn't matter to me
15:03
that we were down to the team we were
15:04
playing. We were down six. That's a stop
15:08
and a and a basket away from four. But,
15:11
um, and we started off, I mean, our
15:13
offense, we changed some things
15:15
offensively, uh, the second half.
15:18
[Music]
15:20
um and then started scoring. The problem
15:22
was we were stopping them. Their first
15:24
shot wasn't beating us. It was their
15:25
second shot. They kept tracking down
15:28
offensive rebounds. That's what was
15:30
hurting us. And I thought if we could
15:32
hold them to 30 something from the field
15:34
and we could be plus 10 on the boards, I
15:36
thought we would win. Now, call me
15:38
crazy, but I did. You know, we I think
15:41
we're top three or four in the nation in
15:44
field goal percentage defense and we've
15:46
always been a pretty good rebounding
15:48
team. It took us a while to become who
15:50
we are. But, uh, at some point, if you
15:53
have a culture, your kids aren't, you
15:55
know, quitting is not part of the deal.
15:57
We're not going to quit. Um, we're just
15:59
going to play better. So, what we did
16:02
was um um not foul. I think that was a a
16:07
big choice that that we had to make
16:09
there down the stretch was we were going
16:11
to put Jojo on the ball and and create
16:14
problems throwing it vertical. Uh so
16:16
they had to get east and west and those
16:18
are the easiest ones to deny cuz the
16:20
sideline at some points you can't go
16:22
past that. Um and then once they got the
16:25
ball in bounds if they caught it
16:27
anywhere near the corners now you got
16:28
Jojo coming to trap. Now if they got the
16:31
ball out of that then then we were
16:32
thinking about fouling then. Um um but
16:36
we came up with the turnover we needed
16:38
to Malik started. He dribbled out there
16:41
to hit that uh three. Um I can't
16:44
remember what the score what what were
16:45
we down when he How much time is left?
16:50
Yeah. And I said we don't need a three.
16:52
I mean thank god I had a timeout. So I
16:54
said let's just get a two. You know get
16:57
a two. Get two free throws. We don't
16:58
need a three there. You know a three
17:00
just reeks of desperation. a two means,
17:03
okay, we got an idea how we want to win
17:05
the game. Um and then
17:09
um and then obviously when John called
17:12
timeout, you know, everybody knows who's
17:13
going to get it and when he turned his
17:15
back um you know, we were going to
17:18
actually go double him with uh Johto and
17:22
which means that uh Emanuel would have
17:24
to crack back and take out um um
17:28
Mulawatch, not get the rebound, just
17:30
make sure he does not get the rebound.
17:33
But um one I thought did an awesome job
17:36
of getting his hands up high enough that
17:39
it was not an easy look. Um but you
17:42
know, he hit some tough shots all night.
17:45
Um um you know, when you're there's no
17:49
such thing as a dagger shot when there's
17:51
eight minutes to go. That Jay's free
17:55
throws were daggers. you know, he he has
17:58
some big threes uh under 10, under nine,
18:03
but that put it up to 14. Um you know,
18:07
just keep fighting. Um LJ and um I I
18:12
think the one thing we did that that
18:14
helped and you know, as a coach, you're
18:15
always looking for something, we put the
18:18
ball in Emanuel's hands cuz he had the
18:20
matchup we wanted in the pick and roll.
18:23
And so we took the ball out of um their
18:26
best defenders were on um LJ and uh
18:30
Milos and we thought that Emanuel had
18:32
the best chance to get the ball in the
18:34
paint and even if he didn't make the
18:36
shot, Mulawatch or one of their bigs had
18:38
to come help, right? That frees us up
18:40
for offensive rebounding and that is a
18:42
huge part of our offense. If we make it,
18:44
we make it. If not, it's going to be a
18:46
soft miss. Um you know, a threes alone
18:49
miss. A paint shot is a soft miss. So
18:51
now we can go tip it or keep it alive
18:52
and get an offensive rebound. And you
18:55
know, we had uh 18 offensive rebounds
18:57
and I just just noticed this. We held
19:00
him to 39%. So there you go.
19:03
Want to congratulate Coach Samson and
19:06
thank him for coming down to the main
19:07
interview room. Coach is going to head
19:09
back in the direction of the locker
19:11
room. The Houston locker room is still
19:12
open. Duke's lock room is
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