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Houston's Kelvin Sampson, J'Wan Roberts and L.J. Cryer press conference after loss to Florida
Apr 8, 2025
#houstoncougars #gocoogs #floridagators #gators
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0:27
We're joined by Houston's head coach,
0:29
Kelvin Samson, student athletes Jawan
0:31
Roberts and LJ Crier. We'll ask coach to
0:34
begin with a statement, then we'll take
0:35
questions first for the student
0:36
athletes. Coach, yeah, I told our I told
0:39
our guys uh after the game to uh be
0:42
disappointed you lost, but do not be
0:45
disappointed in your uh effort.
0:48
[Music]
0:49
Um you
0:51
know, defending Florida is difficult.
0:54
They got a really, really good team. Um,
0:58
Coach Golden has runs great schemes over
1:00
there, but
1:01
um, you know, we guarded them. We held
1:04
that team to 65 points. Thought if we
1:08
held Duke to under 70, we'd have a good
1:11
chance to win. And I felt like if we
1:13
held Florida under 70, we'd have a good
1:17
chance to win. Um,
1:19
uh, Saturday, we found a way to win. Uh
1:22
tonight maybe not so much, but
1:26
um two great um two great teams, two
1:30
tough teams.
1:32
Um you know, we lost by two points. They
1:36
they made they made a um one more play
1:40
than we did tonight.
1:42
LJ Crier and Jawan Roberts have been
1:44
kind enough to join us all week in the
1:46
media room. Let's raise our hand if we
1:48
have a question for them. We'll start up
1:50
front.
1:54
Jawan, six years with Coach Samson. Um,
1:57
what has he meant to your life? What has
1:59
Houston meant to your life? And and how
2:01
do you
2:02
uh are you looking at all toward the
2:05
future with without leaving this program
2:07
as a as a player?
2:12
Um, Coach Samp has been uh everything to
2:15
me from Coach Samson down
2:19
to grandkids. Everybody played a part in
2:23
me being here for six
2:25
years. And I wanted it so bad for him.
2:28
So so so bad. And it hurts cuz I can't
2:31
do it next year. I can't put myself in
2:34
position to do it next year.
2:36
Um, this will be my last time wearing my
2:38
jersey and I I feel
2:42
terrible. But I told the younger guys to
2:45
uh the returners to remember this
2:47
feeling. So when you in this moment
2:50
again or you're in this situation
2:52
again, you'll be on top. And and I feel
2:55
like everything you go through in life
2:56
is a lesson. And
3:00
uh you know I'm glad I could play with
3:02
LJ and I can glad I'm glad I play with
3:04
all those guys but Coach Samson uh the
3:07
role that he played in my life you know
3:10
it's I can't even put into words.
3:15
Continuing with questions for Jawan and
3:17
LJ. We'll take one in the back of the
3:18
room left of the aisle. Mid major Isaac
3:21
Bourne mid- major madness for both LJ
3:24
and Jawan. You guys leading this team
3:26
this season. Can you talk about what
3:28
it's been like with this group of guys
3:30
and what it means to be able to still go
3:32
out with them?
3:36
Oh, the journey has been great. You
3:38
know, had a lot of ups and
3:39
downs, fought through a lot of
3:41
adversity, and
3:43
um you know, we all all stayed together.
3:46
you know, we all believed in each other
3:48
and uh you know, we just came up short
3:51
and there's probably a lot of stuff that
3:52
we wish we could do,
3:54
but I mean, I'm proud of these guys, but
3:57
I'm mostly sad that I can't do with them
3:59
again. That's that's the that's the
4:01
worst part. I'm not going to be
4:02
teammates with Emanuel again, LJ, Malik,
4:07
Jay. Um this is by far out of my six
4:11
years the best team I've been on.
4:15
Yeah, I'm just proud of uh the way we
4:18
fought all season. Um you know, we went
4:22
through some adversity early and people
4:24
try to kind of write us off a little
4:26
bit. Um not expecting us to get to this
4:29
point, but uh you know, we kept our head
4:33
down and kept grinding all season and we
4:36
flipped it around, went 19-1 Big 12, Big
4:40
12 tournament champs and made it all the
4:43
way to the last game. So,
4:45
um, I mean, it didn't end the way we
4:48
wanted to,
4:49
but you know, we just got to hold our
4:52
heads high cuz we did accomplish a lot.
4:54
So, yeah.
4:57
In the center of the room, reach for
4:58
that microphone on your left.
5:01
Thank you, Greg Roin, Houston Chronicle.
5:03
LJ, you made two decisions. You made one
5:05
to transfer to Houston. You made one
5:06
last summer to run it back. What was the
5:08
experience like for you playing in your
5:10
hometown, helping take this program to
5:12
another level in a new conference?
5:15
Man, this experience
5:17
was it's hard to describe it. I mean, I
5:21
remember before I got to Houston, um, I
5:25
had three foot surgeries before I got
5:27
here. And I after those surgeries, I was
5:32
kind of questioning myself if I was
5:34
gonna ever be the player I once was
5:36
before. never uh my confidence was kind
5:39
of shook. I wasn't confident in my
5:41
movement. But um coming to Houston, uh
5:45
the coaches, they believed in me. Um
5:48
Coach Q, I used to have talks with him
5:51
every single day in his office telling
5:52
them these things like um he'll be like,
5:55
"Man, go out there and be free." But I
5:58
used to tell him I was scared because of
6:00
my surgeries and stuff like that. But,
6:02
uh, they believed in me, told me to
6:04
trust God, and, um, you know, I've
6:07
accomplished a lot because I listened to
6:09
them and, uh, put my faith in God. So,
6:12
uh, it's been a blessing being here. Um,
6:14
this been the best year of my life so
6:15
far. Uh, so yeah, I'm just proud to be a
6:20
Cougar, man. If you have a question for
6:22
LJ or Jan, please raise your hand.
6:26
Let's get the gentleman a microphone all
6:28
the way up front and to the right. Thank
6:31
you. Antonio Castile, Alamo City
6:34
Hoops. And up.
6:37
Antonio Castillo, Alamo City Hoops.
6:38
Jawan. Um, I know you just mentioned the
6:40
last six years, but you know, just
6:43
obviously the pain is is tremendous
6:44
right now, but we we've we've followed
6:46
you the last eight or nine years, and
6:48
people may not know just up the road
6:49
right here at the Shoe Shoemaker High
6:51
School. and and again just talk about
6:53
the trip that it's been you know these
6:55
last eight nine years and and just
6:57
reflect obviously like you're talking
6:58
about the positive vibes and did you
7:00
ever think you would end it this way at
7:01
a pinnacle right and playing for a
7:03
national championship.
7:07
Um, want to thank the coaches for
7:11
um, you know, coming to one of my AU
7:14
games, you know, looking at me and
7:16
giving me opportunity to play at
7:17
University of Houston. You know, that's
7:19
that's step one for giving me the
7:22
opportunity and
7:24
um, they invested so much in me, you
7:27
know, development wise.
7:29
restrained my first year and um six
7:32
years later, who knows what I would have
7:34
been playing, you know, for national
7:36
championship. you know, when I first got
7:37
here, I wasn't nobody got a report, you
7:41
know, and and I worked my butt off and,
7:43
you know, they continued to help me
7:45
along their way. And six years later, I
7:48
had a different role. And I feel like
7:49
the coaches had a lot of trust in me uh
7:52
to lead this
7:54
team. And, you know, these past six
7:58
years have been the best years of my
7:59
life, you know, and like I said, the
8:01
worst part about it is I can't do it
8:03
again.
8:05
But I'll always be a Cougar, you know,
8:08
no matter how you try to shape it, I'm
8:10
I'm always going to be a Cougar and this
8:11
is going to always be my home. So 10,
8:14
15, 20 years from now, you know, I'm
8:16
going look back on this game and and
8:18
remember the team, you know, and and
8:20
remember the coaches that put me in
8:21
position to to be the best I can be.
8:24
So I give all the credit, you know, to
8:26
to my teammates and and my coaches for,
8:29
you know, giving me the opportunity.
8:31
We want to thank Jawan and thank LJ for
8:34
joining us here tonight and all week.
8:36
They're going to head back to the locker
8:37
room. The Houston locker room is open
8:39
till 11:35.
8:51
Our first question for Coach Samson is
8:53
up front to the right. Dennis. Dennis.
8:55
CBS Sports. Kelvin, just what's going
8:57
through your mind right now?
9:01
big picture.
9:04
Yeah. Yeah. I'm just um going through
9:07
those last two possessions more than
9:09
anything else.
9:11
Um you
9:13
know, incomprehensible in that
9:16
situation. We couldn't get a shot. Got
9:18
to get a shot.
9:21
Um we're down two and obviously we
9:24
didn't need a three.
9:26
Um but you know with Emanuel we we were
9:30
struggling to score the entire second
9:33
half. We got uh you know good looks.
9:38
Um but Florida was doing a good job
9:41
running us running us off the line and
9:44
forcing us to to score it. But
9:48
um um we just didn't do a very good job
9:52
of um finishing some shots. You know, uh
9:57
guys that's been in the paint scoring
9:59
all year. You know, LJ's developed a
10:02
really good runner floater. Um I didn't
10:05
go very much tonight. Milos, but you
10:08
know, give Florida credit, too. You
10:10
know, I'm not going to sit up here and
10:13
pour mouth and pity mouth us.
10:16
you
10:17
know, we held that team to 65 points,
10:21
you know,
10:22
um Clayton and um Martin
10:27
um combined to go five for 20. If you'
10:31
told me we'd hold those two guys to five
10:33
for 20 and we and we had a good plan. Um
10:38
um we just didn't we didn't score it
10:42
well enough to to win. He scored it well
10:45
enough to be in a position to win, but
10:48
you know, it comes down to those at the
10:50
end. You've got to you got to get you
10:52
got to get a shot.
10:56
Um that
10:59
that's got to do better than that.
11:02
Coach, next one is up front to the left.
11:04
Aaron Aaron Beard with the AP. Kelvin,
11:07
uh what were you hoping to get out of
11:08
that last play? Yeah, we um we have a a
11:12
set where it's um a stagger gate and and
11:18
we thought if we could get Emanuel to to
11:21
shop fake and get downhill. I I don't
11:24
you I have to look back at the film and
11:27
I don't know if the ball slipped out of
11:28
his hands or or um
11:32
Clayton Clayton heads is back. Yeah,
11:34
they probably should have shot fake
11:35
that, you know, as that's as a um both
11:40
those guys um uh Richard and Martin both
11:45
really good defensively. Uh Clayton M
11:48
made a great play on that, but that's
11:51
why you got to shop fake and get in the
11:53
paint. Two's fine.
11:56
Um you know, we Jay has been awesome all
12:00
year. Uh tonight was not his night. Um
12:04
Florida was really
12:05
physical with the way they were chucking
12:08
and uh bumping when he was going and he
12:10
had a lot of balls that just fell right
12:13
off the rim. Seems like
12:17
um you know the end of the day they
12:19
scored 65, we scored 63. They struggled
12:23
scoring on us and we struggled scoring
12:24
on them. That's
12:26
what when it goes down to the two best
12:29
teams left, it's it's not going to be
12:30
easy for either team.
12:33
Third row on the left.
12:36
Hey, Coach Evan Miaawa from Evan
12:38
Mia.com. Tonight, you guys only had five
12:40
assists. That's the fewest you've had in
12:42
a game since 2020. Was there anything
12:45
that Florida was doing you think that
12:46
took away? What's your first name? Evan
12:48
Miaawa. Well, let let me explain how an
12:50
assist works. Uh Evan, I'm not sure. Um,
12:55
but when you throw the ball to somebody
12:58
and they score, that's an assist, right?
13:01
Well, we threw the ball a lot to Jaywan
13:04
in the post, you know, and he missed
13:06
some shots that he normally makes. Um,
13:10
so those were possible potential assists
13:14
that we had a lot. Um, we just didn't
13:17
make a lot of shots. I don't know if
13:19
it's it's uh certainly Florida, let's
13:22
give them credit for being a good
13:24
defensive team, but we we threw the ball
13:27
and passed the ball enough to get more
13:29
assist. We just didn't make enough
13:30
shots. That's that's what I would say
13:33
right off the bat. But,
13:35
[Music]
13:37
um, you're the stat guy, right?
13:41
on the right side. Coach, just to the
13:44
left of the aisle,
13:46
Kirk BS from the Houston Chronicle. Uh
13:49
Kelvin, as good as your guards are and
13:51
as many turnovers that you guys have
13:53
forced all year long, you know, how rare
13:55
is it that the turnover bug kind of bit
13:57
you the last four minutes? Yeah, the
13:59
last four minutes, you know, we our our
14:02
defense was so good um you know, the
14:06
first half.
14:09
Um, and of course a big part of our
14:11
defensive plan was Clayton cuz he's he's
14:14
elite. He he really is. You know, we we
14:19
uh missed an assignment when he came off
14:23
um you know, if we we wanted him to not
14:26
our goal was to not give him a a um a
14:31
fullcourt layup. He gives that a lot
14:34
watching the SEC games. So, we took that
14:37
away and we we didn't want him to get a
14:39
shot going to his left. If he was going
14:42
to shoot a three, we wanted it going
14:44
right. And uh and we did an awesome job
14:47
on that except for one. He made a big
14:49
one um late. I don't remember how much
14:53
time it was, but
14:56
um you know, I'm proud of our our guys
14:58
for how they guarded uh tonight. That
15:01
was that was a uh tough ball game. Two
15:04
tough teams. Florida's tough. You know,
15:06
Martin's a tough defender. He gave LJ
15:09
some problems. Um the big kid,
15:13
um Condan at 611 and
15:17
um um
15:19
Chinylu Chinyu. Uh those guys are all
15:23
big, strong, physical guys just like our
15:25
guys are, you know. Um, we got an
15:28
offensive rebound, chance to get a kick
15:30
out three and and Jojo did the one thing
15:33
that uh we really emphasized, don't
15:35
bring the ball down. Um, turned into a a
15:39
turnover. Um, probably put them on the
15:43
line a little too much and they and they
15:45
made their free throws.
15:48
Um, but the way we look tonight, we've
15:51
won a lot of games like that. You know,
15:54
we
15:55
just, you know, some nights we struggle
15:58
offensively, but um we usually find ways
16:02
to win. Uh um tonight we did.
16:06
Second row center likely the last
16:08
question.
16:11
Kelvin, to what degree did the way that
16:14
they were breaking out on you, which is
16:15
something that you rarely ever face, I'm
16:17
sorry, Audi Joseph CBS. Um the way that
16:19
they were breaking out on you early in
16:21
the game to get some long passes to the
16:23
big men. Yeah. Did that surprise you?
16:26
Was that something that you were Well,
16:27
it surprised me that we didn't do a a
16:29
better job guarding it, but it didn't
16:31
surprise me that they did it. They're
16:33
good at that. But
16:35
um um you know, we settled in. That was
16:39
couple what they'd score two or three
16:41
early, I think. And I'm not sure they
16:43
got another one after that.
16:47
Um um yeah, our guys figured that out. I
16:52
think by the time we got to the first TV
16:54
timeout, we kind of
16:58
um sometimes guys try to guard their man
17:01
in transition and you have to guide
17:03
guard the guy that has the deepest
17:05
position. But again, um you know, we're
17:09
disappointed we lost. We we thought this
17:10
was a game that if we played well, we
17:13
could win. Um, and we did play well. We
17:17
just didn't play very good the last
17:18
three minutes. And that's been a
17:20
strength of ours all year long was
17:23
um winning close games. Tonight we
17:26
didn't. But give credit to uh uh Coach
17:30
Golden and um Florida. They're they're
17:32
they're a very worthy champion.
17:35
Want to thank coach Samson for joining
17:36
us tonight and all week. Again, congrats
17:38
on the run to the title game.
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