The words will flow about Jamal Shead’s 29 points and ten assists, how he put UH in his backpack, or how the Cougars need him to have games like Tuesday night’s beatdown of Texas Tech. But the real story is the coaching job Kelvin Sampson did in handling his point guard.
Called the “chief psychologist” by his first PG, Galen Robinson, and the “psychology coach” by Kellen Sampson, Kelvin proved them both right Wednesday with his sly touch with Shead. The players call Shead ‘Mal or Uno, the latter a nickname he not-so-secretly loves. Uno for his jersey number and Uno for his spot in the program. He’s the alpha.
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Kelvin pulled Jamal aside at the pregame shoot-around to say he appreciated him. They talked about life – not hoops – and Shead credits the talk for changing his mindset for the Texas Tech game. Immediately, the alpha understood the master.
Everyone in the world, myself included, thought the Cougars would work to get L.J. Cryer more involved in the offense: get him more shots and help him find his shooting touch. But Kelvin had a better idea: let Cryer work through it at his own pace while he pulled out the Bat Signal and waited for his superhero Uno to WHAM! and POW! the masked Raiders.
Shead was relentless: he scored or assisted on 23 of UH’s 34 scores (67.7%). After a dazzling first half, Shead turned into the can’t-miss Cougar: He was 6/7 shooting and had six more assists in the final 20 minutes.
He had incredible runs in each half: in the first, Shead scored or assisted in six of seven UH scores (3 assists, two buckets, and two FTs after a shooting foul). In the second half, he had three buckets and an and-one and dished four assists (in four straight possessions) in eight trips down the floor.
Shooters can sometimes take over a game, but Shead doubled up: he also found cutters, kicked it out, and finished with ten assists. Tech had no idea where the Caped Cougar was going or what he was doing next. He was 12/16 shooting and assisted on 10 of Houston’s other 21 baskets.
But it all started with Dr. Psych knowing his player and, more importantly, knowing the exact button to push.
“This one over here,” Kelvin said, turning slightly in Shead’s direction, “he and I had a little talk today. And I told him how much I appreciated him. Not for anything he’s done other than how far he’s come.”
Going up to Shead and telling him how much he appreciates him wouldn’t have landed the way Sampson intended if Shead were in his first year as the starting PG. It probably wouldn’t have landed last year, either. But after hundreds of hours one-on-one with Sampson, the player understood the message: It’s my time.
Shead takes pride in being the point of attack on both ends of the floor. This alpha has never wanted 15 shots a game, but he wouldn’t mind if it meant stealing your lunch money 15 times and taking it the other way for an easy bucket.
Tech coach Grant McCasland used three timeouts early, each thanks to a Shead-led fastbreak. In the first half, two Shead steals led to a bucket and an assist, and each had McCasland shaking his head and signaling the ref. In the second half, Shead pushed it up after a defensive rebound and fed J’Wan Roberts for a slam. This alpha steals your lunch money and uses it to feed everyone.
“When I recruited Jamal, he was – for lack of a better term – he was a turd. He didn’t have the greatest attitude, wasn’t the easiest kid to coach. But God put him with me for a reason. Because he needed me,” Kelvin Sampson said about the face of his program.
“Because (with) a weaker coach, Jamal would have took advantage of that guy. He needed somebody that would put him in his place. Because he needed to be put in his place.”
The alpha was tamed, and then he was unleashed. But the shots, the assists, and the glory never happen if Shead doesn’t do his most important job: lock down Joe Toussaint and Pop Isaacs. Shead rotated between the two, and both struggled: Isaacs was 4/15 from the floor with four turnovers, while Toussaint was 2/4 with four turnovers.
Undoubtedly, it was Shead’s best game as a Cougar and precisely what was needed to halt a two-game skid. Kelvin knew what he needed from his alpha and the subtle touch to get Uno to understand.
CATS and tortillas: Cougar After Thoughts following TTU game