Is Kelvin a realistic option?

[MrAnderson]

If next year goes badly and Lon gets fired why wouldn't we go after Kelvin? And isnt Hollis Price on his staff? He could be Kelvin's successor.

I miss his hard nosed, disciplined teams. They were consistent. That's OU basketball imo. That was a program I was proud to support.

 

[inoref]

I say the chance is sightly less than zero

 

[Hollisp]

No

 

[sanguinetti]

if i was UCLA i'd throw a lot of money at Kelvin.

 

[oketex]

if i was UCLA i'd throw a lot of money at Kelvin.

I watch Kevin and his team today and they play hard and fast, I sure miss having him on the sidelines. I was wondering if Lon retired would OU consider bring Kevin and Kellen back because watching the game today Kellen was as active as any assistant coach I have seen.

 

[Soonerinkc]

Double less than 0...

 

[WTSooner]

I'm probably one of the biggest Kelvin fans on this planet. There is zero chance. No way Joe C. is going to bring back a coach that he partially ran off and that got our program in trouble. And no way Kelvin is going to leave Houston at this point. He has it made in Houston. Expectations aren't super high. They appreciate ANY style of winning basketball. Brand new arena. Superb marketing (along with their football) to drum of support. UH lets him hire his son and former players. Access to better talent than at OU.

So no, I don't think it's a fit from either side at this point. And that is too bad. Dude is one heck of a coach.

 

[MrAnderson]

I'm probably one of the biggest Kelvin fans on this planet. There is zero chance. No way Joe C. is going to bring back a coach that he partially ran off and that got our program in trouble. And no way Kelvin is going to leave Houston at this point. He has it made in Houston. Expectations aren't super high. They appreciate ANY style of winning basketball. Brand new arena. Superb marketing (along with their football) to drum of support. UH lets him hire his son and former players. Access to better talent than at OU.

So no, I don't think it's a fit from either side at this point. And that is too bad. Dude is one heck of a coach.

You talk as if Houston is a better job than OU...I'm not saying it isnt, but are you arguing that?

 

[Sooner81]

NEVER ever ever.

 

[WTSooner]

You talk as if Houston is a better job than OU...I'm not saying it isnt, but are you arguing that?

Not really. But it's probably a better job for Kelvin at this point in his career. And I think I could argue that Houston probably has a higher ceiling as a program than OU. They are making a big push to be the next school that gets swooped up come expansion. But even if they don't, this isn't like college football. A team from the American can make the Dance and make some noise.

OU football is easily a top 5 program. Do they ever lose out on recruits to lesser programs? Not all prospects just want to go to the school with the best chance at winning. Coaching is no different. Especially for an older dude like Kelvin. MANY things higher on his list than which school has more history. Houston gave him a chance to get back into college bball, and they've pretty much handed the keys over to him. I think his daughter even has a job in the athletic department there. He isn't going to just walk away from that program. Matter of fact, I wouldn't be shocked if there was something in his contract that said he couldn't.

 

[kansasooner]

Best coach in America.

 

[WaymanFan]

You talk as if Houston is a better job than OU...I'm not saying it isnt, but are you arguing that?

The Houston program was just clamoring for someone like Kelvin to turn it around. Like OU (and Illinois), Houston has been to 5 Final Fours without winning a title. They were a true national power when Guy Lewis was the head coach. They also claim three of the top 50 NBA players of all time in Hakeem Olajuwan, Elvin Hayes and Clyde Drexler. In other words, it is potentially a very good job since they are located in the 4th largest city in America with unlimited talent to pull from. I see no reason for Kelvin to want to leave there, though the UCLA job would be enticing if offered.

As for our Sooners, we need to look forward, not backward - as much as I liked Kelvin Sampson. Lon Kruger was the perfect coach at the time of his being hired because it showed the NCAA OU was looking to clean up its mess. Hiring Kruger no doubt resulted in the NCAA going easy on us. Now it appears it is time for him to enjoy retirement (and if one more year like this year, it will happen). We need an energetic coach who at least has shown multiple years of his teams getting the most out of his talent - while showing he can recruit that talent.

 

[SoonerTraveler]

You talk as if Houston is a better job than OU...I'm not saying it isnt, but are you arguing that?

The sustained consistent success during the decades of the Tubbs-Sampson era is what made the Oklahoma basketball program a Top-20 national basketball program. The good national reputation was earned and maintained by these coaches.

The deep valleys of the Capel-Kruger multi-season collapse is slowly wearing away at the OU basketball tradition. Right now, Houston looks like a basketball program on the way up, and Oklahoma looks like a program on the way down. Multi-year collapses will do that to a program.

Is Kelvin a realistic option at OU now? No. As WTSooner pointed out, Kelvin basically has the "key to the city" at the University of Houston. Kelvin builds programs and has a history or maintaining competitive teams over the long haul. Houston fans will get used to 20+ win seasons, year-after-year-after-year. Houston fans will get used to teams that win in February and defend their home court.

Kelvin is 63 years old and this is his 5th season at Houston. He has the opportunity to build a legacy at Houston and to eventually retire on his own terms. Kelvin is winning, but he always has. I cannot see him leaving what has become a great job for him.

I wish him well.

 

[Soonerinkc]

Even if OU offered....

My guess is he would say an emphatic NO.

 

[ByronHoustonsSweatyPalms]

He’d probably give them a call or two.


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[Big Old Booger]

All these positive posts about Kelvin ("what a great coach...", "will he come back...", etc.) is so ironic. I could count on one hand the OU basketball fans on this board (well maybe 2 hands) who didn't want him to leave when he took the job in Indiana.

I knew many of you would be wishing he had never left but I didn't think it would take 13 years to get to that point.

 

[sheepdogs1]

All these positive posts about Kelvin ("what a great coach...", "will he come back...", etc.) is so ironic. I could count on one hand the OU basketball fans on this board (well maybe 2 hands) who didn't want him to leave when he took the job in Indiana.

I knew many of you would be wishing he had never left but I didn't think it would take 13 years to get to that point.

Board had 8 members at the time.

 

[MrAnderson]

I was devastated when he left

 

[Eielson]

You talk as if Houston is a better job than OU...I'm not saying it isnt, but are you arguing that?

I will emphatically state that Houston is NOT a better coaching job at this time.

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There's zero chance we fire Lon in order to hire Sampson, but if Lon stepped away, it would be silly not to at least consider (for both parties). If Joe C were to make a list of 5 names to realistically go after, and I were betting who the 5 names are, I can't really think of enough coaches to keep KS off that list. Buzz is the only guy I'd more confident in being on that list, and honestly, Buzz might be more unrealistic given the contract. I'd also give Dixon a call, but again, he's good a pretty big price tag.

 

[scrybe]

All these positive posts about Kelvin ("what a great coach...", "will he come back...", etc.) is so ironic. I could count on one hand the OU basketball fans on this board (well maybe 2 hands) who didn't want him to leave when he took the job in Indiana.

I knew many of you would be wishing he had never left but I didn't think it would take 13 years to get to that point.

Board had 8 members at the time.

BOB's post is right on. The second post is not.

I was a huge Kelvin Sampson fan, but the vast majority of OU fans complained endlessly about Kelvin. Lon Kruger is like an avatar to OU fans compared to the way Kelvin was treated. After the way Sampson was ushered out of Norman, it's my opinion that he would never give OU a second look (not that Joe C. would ever seek out his services).