San Antonio – Kelvin Sampson pulled his cell phone and pulled out his cell phone and went through more than 400 congratulations.
It took a few minutes to wake up through all good wishes, then when he came across a message from long -time coach Spurs Gregg Popovich, Sampson’s voice was suffocated with emotions.
“Today I am the happiest person in San Antonio,” Popovich wrote after Houston defeated Tennessee in Eight Eight to send Sampson four with Cougars to the second final. “But not as happy as you, Karen and family and your whole program built with gravel, character and love. Bravo, my good friend.”
The five-time NBA champion told Sampson to enjoy the Final Four offer with a “good red” wine-he loudly loudly a festive ring when they came from the same man who threw his career rope when he needed it most.
Shortly after Sampson resigned in Indiana in the middle of intensive NCAA violations in February 2008, Popovich invited him to join his coaching staff. Now, 17 years later, Sampson returns to San Antonia on the profession and added four finals to his Hall of Fame Résumé.
“He did,” said Karen Sampson, Kelvin’s wife as she asked if Popovich saved her husband’s career. “He called when many people did not call and said,” Get here as soon as possible. “”
The Sampson are thus appreciating Popovic, Karen added that they named him a family dog: Poppy.
Two decades after Popovich took a strong attitude in his corner-kirty Cougars Coach calls “blessing” -sampon reappeared at the peak of sport to lead one of the most dominant programs on university basketball to the national semifinals after survived his sixth equal Sweet 16. (And it would be even longer if it was not for the 30-foot Jordan Poole in the second round of Michigan nad Houston in 2018.)
The beginning of what Sampson’s daughter, Lauren, calls a “detour”, came to the city full of circle, where her father began to climb back – when she probably has the best chance to win his first national title. And he did it all the way: surrounded by a family, a staff full of former players and style (still) built on the floor burns.
As the university basketball world has changed radically, Sampson’s development remained rooted in a well -known.
“There is a verification that we are doing it and it works,” said Kellen Sampson, Kelvin’s son, and a train coach. “Let’s be great in the new landscape and do it on our way.”
Last year’s Sunday in Indianapolis in the dressing rooms of the dizzy coaches Kellen dribble the ball and intentionally let her slip and declared a “free ball” as her six -year -old daughter Maisa to secure him to secure her.
This scene embodied the biggest theme of Journey Kelvin Sampson to his third finals: Mixing the old with the new one.
Karen Sampson said she was receiving the floods of the lyrics of the gaming day from the former players in Montana Tech, where Sampson began a career of weaving heads in 1981 and where his players were doing defensive images that held bricks.
Some of these players are now grandparents who kindly look back at the memories of bus brakes that freeze on trips and pregame meals of mountain dew and potato chips.
His gravitational move keeps people in the sampon orbit.
