I knew he was a pretty good recruit when we got him and knew he would contribute as the long distance shooter for UH as a true freshman but i never knew he was going to be this good, especially against a tough team like Cincy. These are the type of player development we need to keep reloading year after year.
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I would tender Marcus Sasser as Exhibit A for why a Sampson evaluation means more than a recruiting tout service or ranking by a rating scout that assigns stars or numbers. Sampson has a much better idea of how to develop a player and whether he has the potential for such development. Outside of a small handful of exceptional talents (i.e. Lebron James) no high school player will contribute heavily in college unless that player continues to improve. Knowing whether a player can do so is a huge part of recruiting.
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Also dont forget that coach has mentioned previously that Kellen has had a big impact on this team when it comes to recruiting. It holds well for the future!
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Some consideration should be given to the possibility, however remote, that Sampson even has a better eye for talent than the posters on this board.
Nah, that’s a stretch. 
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It was during Galen Robinson Jr.'s junior year (which I now remember as the Michigan fluke year) that I realized that Coach Sampson was really good. I kept seeing the team do things (and #25 in particular) that I thought of as very high level basketball. [as an aside, #25 is one of my all time favorite players to have watched - though my UH list is fairly long - and lament only that if he had ever developed a good jump shot he would have been considered an all time great]. So now I defer to Coach Sampson on any thing related to basketball. Long way round to say given his track record hard to see how anyone can second guess Coach Sampson on much of anything (and as another poster noted - there is growing evidence that Sampson the younger has inherited many of the same attributes.
no one could have predicted he’d be this good … but i had an incline he’d be better than expected after a bunch of auu guys got in an intense debate last season…its was along the line of which state could make the best team (its true nature was which state had the best recruits)…the Texas aau guys made their team and a few of them had sasser in the starting lineup (with 4 stars on the bench) and said no other state could match that
Yes, it appears that the UH BB Program - which includes player development, culture & coaching - should be rated among the Top 10 (maybe even Top 5) in the nation! WOW! CKS is the Man!
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I think he also knows what player can fit in his system and culture.
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Sasser is in the mold of Alvin Franklin and it seems Shead may be pretty similar in terms of being physically developed.
Sasser is a better PG than given credit. Some fans overreacted we he struggled against some press defenses earlier in the season. He has developed this season, who would have thought.
We have Shead coming in who is another PG physically mature and plays D. Where Sasser leans more to shooting hen is more of distributor who can also score.
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Sasser & Mills = Franklin & Young. Very similar games in my opinion.
In his post game yesterday CKS said that Marcus’ head has been in a good place for awhile now and that he and Mills are not freshmen anymore. I’ll second that.
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Sasser was under the radar in DFW since there a lot of other high profile guys. He definitely has the pedigree but I didn’t think he would be this good as a freshman. After the top 75, I think evaluation is key and knowing who will work in your system. We are pretty spoiled with how good the staff is with identifying players and the improvement they make once in the program.
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This is why I believe CKS will have a second career in an NBA Front Office if he wants it for as long as he wants it when he’s done with the stress of head coaching. He is Jerry West good at this stuff.
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I feel ridiculous sounding even a little critical of Coach Sampson - but the one thing that worries me is that when I see him on the sideline he often seems genuinely disturbed with his players. I guess I have become old and mellow - but when I watch this team I see so much really strong play from all over the court (quick now, who amongst us predicted that Chris Harris would be a shot blocking machine often dominating games or - as this thread notes - that Marcus Sasser would be this good at this point? ) that I am always tickled with how good they are. The fact that Coach is still so invested in making them better is great - I just hope it does not wear him down. Of course - he has been doing this for 31 years - so I probably shouldn’t worry.
I have a good eye for talent; they are the guys in the UH uniforms. That’s all I care about.
That’s high praise.
Sometimes, I can’t tell if he’s yelling because he’s upset or just trying to be heard.
Yeah I know what you mean but I just go back to this is the youngest team we’ve had since he’s been here and it’s not close. The freshmen looked like deer in the headlights much of October and November, even though you could see the talent. Deeky has not emerged as a leader and as a starter as much as expected. Armoni was a huge curveball, huge.
Unlike a lot of other coaches the Sampson family not just Kelvin genuinely cares about these kids. They know their families, their parents, they’re invested in their academics. I think CKS is fine he just sees how great we can be part of it is frustration with the refs and the basketball gods with rimmed out layups and 3 pointers. We could have easily coasted by 20 yesterday if the rims would behave themselves a bit more it’s frustrating.
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What you are saying about Sasser might be preview of what we may see in J. Shead who is coming in next year. Everyone is talking about T.Mark who is definitely a stud, but J.Shead has had a 50 pt. game this year, CKS says the better the competition the better he plays. He is supposed to be a great on ball defender, which we are seeing now with Sasser!
Franklin and Sasser are built so much alike. Franklin was was one of the best driver’s from the guard slot we have ever had here. But Franklin was not a good outside shooter like Sasser is…as he gets older and more mature I see Sasser starting to slice towards the basket and he is developing a jump back shot much like Mills.
Never seen anyone quite like Mills here at UH…he can slash the baseline, go underneath and can shoot just about anywhere on the court. He has the uncanny ability to be able to launch shots with plenty of company in his face.
He is, no doubt, our go to guy in crucial situations…
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