And I’m guessing that Bilal Batley is going to be involved with the UH program somehow even though an official announcement hasn’t been made.
So, this is interesting. If you do a simple Google Search on Batley, you’ll find out that he came up as a Grad Manager with Navarro College before becoming a student manager at OU from 2004-2006 and then moved to Indiana to be a grad asst coach in 2007-2008. He then transitioned over to Memphis in the same role for the 2008-09 season and then moved to Kentucky as the asst director of basketball ops for one season (same season that had John Wall, Demarcus Cousins and crew). He then went to work for John Lucas as head of player development for a year and then resurfaced as an assistant at Navarro for 2 seasons, Paris JC for a season, and UIW for a season. He was then hired as the head coach at Paris JC and then stepped down 7 months later for personal reasons. Since Jan '16, there’s no listing where he’s been until now.
Now, as you notice, Batley worked for Sampson at OU and Indiana between 2004-2008. He then moved on to work for John Calipari for 2 seasons spanning Memphis/Kentucky. He then sat out a year. Here’s why:
So, looks like Coach Sampson is giving Batley another chance. So far, he’s done well with his reclamation projects so hopefully this one will go just as well. Good luck Coach? Batley.
Sounds like he was Calipari’s fall guy…no doubt he has a lot of connections and can do some great things here at UH…it will be interesting how long it takes for him to make an impact on the recruiting trail…
I loved what Coach Sampson has done lately. I guess having Judas go to Texas was very beneficial to the UH basketball program. The extra funds UH saved from paying Judas $5 mil. a year are going towards better basketball assistants and a top notch physical trainer for the basketball team.
Now is time to see some good results on the court. UH has a nice squad this year on paper. Is time to start winning and making a serious run towards the NCAA tournament.
I hope he gets his act together. This program is on the rise and we certainly don’t need to be hampered by punishment for recruiting violations. Sampson certainly has a storied past in this area, so it’s a little concerning to me that he’s bringing in a guy with an eerily similar storied past. You know the NCAA is going to be keeping a very close eye on us for that reason alone. I love to give people the benefit of the doubt, but this just feels like an alcoholic hanging out at a bar trying not to take that drink.
No doubt coach Sampson is working hard trying to put Humpty Dumpty back together again…and I think he is doing it the right way. Getting alums like the above involved with the program is a huge plus. Given time Sampson will get the job done…
