It was a wild Wednesday for the Houston Cougars (and for those of us who cover them!). From podcasts to Dana’s Halloween night comments going viral, to the Big 12 schedule matrix, to basketball practice, a post-practice interview, and then the tip-off dinner. But it does mean lots of content.
the daily #94 | 11/2/2023 | Archives
Reggie. Today, GoCoogs released another portion of our interview with Kelvin Sampson. In today’s 14-minute video, Kelvin discusses two days that crushed him in 2023: his twin sister Karen passing on March 10, the first day of the AAC Tournament, and Reggie Chaney’s awful death on August 21.
It’s the most powerful interview I’ve ever done. Kelvin’s vulnerability and willingness to sit down and talk through it on camera are things I’ve never seen from him. It’s the human side that players and staff see daily, but outsiders like us just don’t get to see.
Please take a few moments to watch. You’ll be glad you did.
Kellen. After Tuesday’s practice, Cougar Sports Editor Starns Leland (and co-host of GoCoogs’ Cougar After Thoughts Show!) and I went to the 3rd floor of the Guy V. Lewis Development Facility to talk with Kellen Sampson.
The main focus was discussing Terrance Arceneaux. Terrance has started working out more with the forwards since the end of last season. Sampson is the position coach for the fours and had terrific insight into Arceneaux’s development.
“I thought one of the biggest things we really worked on with him in the offseason was increasing his competitive stamina,” Sampson said. “Being able to be as good in the last 30 minutes of the workout as you were in the first 30 minutes. Same kind of mindset with the weight room.”
Sampson said they’ve focused on getting #23 to “learn to embrace it. Learn to have fun working at your game every day.”
“People love things that are fun for them. When you can find your joy, you find your passion.”
Kellen called Arceneaux “a natural four” and conceded that it was “maybe a bit of an aggressive step on our end” to ask him to play on the perimeter last season. The coaching staff feels he has “more natural matchups” down low.
“He spent his whole life trailing the play because he (had) to rebound,” Sampson says. “When you’re a wing, you’re now running in front of the ball because someone else rebounded. Those things were new for him, so getting back into more comfort spots, everyone will be able to see a different version of him.”
Dana. Our Dana Holgorsen ‘ship has sailed‘ story blew up yesterday. If you’re already giving up on the high school class of 2024, what have the recruiters accomplished in the last ten months?
If you missed it, go above to read the full quote to make an informed opinion. In his Tuesday night radio show, Dana said:
“For Big 12 recruiting, 24s need to see a Big 12 schedule, they need to see fans in the stands and exciting atmospheres like we witnessed two weeks ago, they need to see dirt being moved on a new building.
“Ok, well, they didn’t see any of that as juniors, ok? They just didn’t. They didn’t see any of that as juniors.”
Recruiting is about selling your vision and your plan. It’s the same whether there is a Big 12 schedule, fans in the stands, an ops center, or none. Fans were told that the indoor practice facility would change the game in recruiting, but it has yet to move the needle. Why will dirt being moved for the operations building do that?
Recruits should have known for two years about the Big 12, and those juniors – the 24s – saw the Big 12 schedule in January. Exciting atmospheres? You’ve had one, frankly, in 2023 mixed in with mildly disappointing crowds for UTSA and TCU.
Dana: “The 25s are seein’ it, ok? So our 25 high school recruiting, I think, is what everybody is after, ok?”
This doesn’t make any sense. The 25s aren’t seeing dirt moving anymore than the 24s. They will but they aren’t. Judging by the discounts and corporate freebies floating around for the Cincinnati and Oklahoma State games, the 2025 recruits won’t see big crowds for the rest of the year, either. Does that mean they’ll have to move on to the 2026 class already?
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