In this episode of Marching to Madness, hosts Blake Lovell and Ken Cross welcome back Houston head coach Kelvin Sampson.

Topics of discussion include:

• the fight against racial injustice in the Black community as well as adaptations involving the impact of Covid-19
• the depth in the Cougars' backcourt
• areas of growth for Quentin Grimes
• impact of Coach Sampson's defensive philosophy

... and much more.

It’s another exciting episode of Marching to Madness!

About the Hosts:

Blake Lovell has over 10 years of experience in sports media. His work has been featured on The New York Times, Athlon Sports, Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook, Rivals, Scout.com, Time Warner Cable, and many more. He covers national college basketball for College Hoops Watch and is the founder of SoutheastHoops.com. He’s also a member of the USBWA. You can follow him on Twitter @theblakelovell.

Ken Cross has a plethora of experience over 23 years in both print and broadcast journalism. He has worked in some capacity for ESPN Radio, CBS Sports Radio, Fox Sports Radio, Sporting News Radio, Yahoo! Sports Radio and many more. This includes coverage of college football, college basketball, Carolina Panthers, Charlotte Hornets/Bobcats, Carolina Hurricanes, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Orlando Magic, and the Tampa Bay Lightning. His print and internet experiences include a college basketball writer and internet writer for Lindy’s Sports Annuals and www.lindyssports.com, Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook, Field Level Media, and Rivals.com. He’s the founder and editor of collegehoopswatch.com. You can follow him on Twitter @KennyBuckets333.

University of Houston Men's Basketball Coach, Kelvin Sampson , joins Matt to discuss the cancellation of the AAC Championship amid the Corona Virus Pandemic

University of Houston Men's Basketball Coach, Kelvin Sampson , joins Matt to talk about the Coogs' continued success on their way to another run at the NCAA Tournament

Kelvin Sampson, Defensive Disruption and Building a Culture of Toughness Guest: Kelvin Sampson, Houston Cougars Men’s Basketball Head Coach    In this week’s coaching conversation, Houston Cougars head coach Kelvin Sampson joins the Basketball Podcast to defensive disruption and building a culture of toughness. A veteran of 15 NCAA Tournaments longtime college veteran Sampson led the 2018-19 Houston team to one of the greatest seasons in school history. He guided the Cougars to a 33-4 overall record with a 16-2 mark in American Athletic Conference play, the league’s regular-season title and a berth in the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 for the first time since 1984.   As a 30-year head coaching veteran at Houston, Indiana, Oklahoma, Washington State, and Montana Tech, Sampson has compiled a 616-322 record during his career. He has led his teams to 15 NCAA Tournament appearances, including 11 in 12 years with the Sooners from 1994 to 2006. During his Oklahoma tenure, he guided the Sooners to 10 consecutive 20-win seasons, the 1999 Sweet 16, the 2002 Final Four and an Elite Eight appearance in 2003. He has also been an assistant coach for National Basketball Association (NBA) teams including the Milwaukee Bucks and Houston Rockets.   With the Cougars’ appearance in the 2018 NCAA Tournament, Sampson became only the 14th coach in NCAA history to lead 4+ schools to the NCAA Tournament. In his career, he has been named a National Coach of the Year three times. Sampson has received six conference Coach of the Year awards from four different leagues and guided every program he has led to multiple 20-win seasons during his stints.   Breakdown 1:00 - Appeared to Disrupt Defensively 3:00 - Determining the Retreat and Leaving the Double 4:30 - Doubling Opponents 6:00 - Pass Out of the Post 7:30 - Absorbing the Ball-Side Cut and Stopping the Ball and Stomp the Pass 10:00 - Knowing the Responsibility and Help 11:30 - Locking Down Their Strong Hand 12:30 - One Side Easier on Individual or Team Defense 14:30 - Mindset of Talking 16:00 - Philosophy of Side Pick and Roll 19:40 - Recovery Cue for the Big Gun 20:30 - Changing Mid Guy's Position on a Screen 22:00 - Keys to Build Culture 25:00 - Talent, Toughness, and Togetherness 26:30 - Sometimes Playing hard is Not Enough 28:00 - Standards 32:30 - Things that are not good in his team 34:30 - In Front of the Rim 37:00 - Basketball is Evolving at People's Mind 40:00 - Connecting the Value of 3's to his Players 41:30 - Things that he focuses on as a coach   Kelvin Sampson’s Bio Bio: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kelvin_Sampson Twitter: https://twitter.com/CoachSampsonUH    Basketball Immersion Website: http://basketballimmersion.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/bballimmersion?lang=en YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/basketballimmersion Facebook: https://facebook.com/basketballimmersion