Jim Nantz To Present Kelvin Sampson Into the Hall of Honor, Altering His NFL Travel Schedule To Be There for UH’s Biggest Night — a @PaperCityMag Exclusive. papercitymag.com/culture/jim…

Houston coach Kelvin Sampson when I asked him about entering his 13th season at UH, one more than the 12 seasons he coached at Oklahoma: "When I was at Oklahoma, I had a lot of opportunities to leave. (My wife) Karen and I went round and round on a couple. But eventually we made the right choice. Same thing here. Everything that we do doesn't always get out in the media. . . "Just being able to keep your life simple. And I've always been pretty good at keeping my life pretty simple. "But 13 years here, I can't remember a year that as the season went on we didn't get better. And I enjoyed coaching that team."

University of Houston coach Kelvin Sampson jumps in to give hands-on instruction to the guards on the first day of fall practice. Takes time to point something out to UH's new point guard Dedan Thomas Jr. on a play. One of the game's great Guard Whisperers at work. With a line that goes from Bennie Seltzer to Hollis Price, from Eric Gordon to Marcus Sasser, Jamal Shead, Emanuel Sharp and many more.

Warmups for the first official fall practice of the season for Kelvin Sampson's retooled University of Houston team. Kellen Sampson bringing the energy like usual. CBS Sports college basketball guru Jon Rothstein is in the house for the latest stop on his Texas basketball tour.

New University of Houston point guard Dedan Thomas Jr. to @PaperCityMag on what's surprised him through his first summer of work at UH with fall practice officially starting Wednesday for the Cougars: "You know what, actually I didn't know JoJo (Tugler) was so smart. Of course, defensively I had heard of him. But I had no idea how smart he was offensively with the ball. He's sometimes telling me what to do. And I understand exactly what he's saying. . . "He definitely surprised me. . . He's super smart. Super intelligent. Super high IQ basketball player." Thomas marvels over a backcourt cut pass Tugler found him on. Thomas isn't the only one in the program who thinks Tugler, a former National Defensive Player of the Year already, is poised to have a monster season for Kelvin Sampson's revamped team.

Houston Rockets rising star Amen Thompson on the first thing he bought with his new five year $208 million contract: "Probably some Uber Eats. I get ChopShop. I try to kind of eat healthy. I get a fruit cup. It's so boring. "Don't order it."

Houston Rockets GM Rafael Stone at Media Day: "I think my big takeaway is I'm really excited. We obviously had some challenges last year... And lost quite a few games we thought we could have won. And we still had a good year kind of the regular season. In terms of win-loss record. "I think there's a lot of meat on the bone for us to perform. And I do think the additions to the roster should shore up some of weaknesses we felt last year."

The 66-year-old Willie Fritz talking about retiring "in 10 to 15 years" has to make University of Houston fans feel good about the future of the program. It took Fritz a long time to get a Power 4 job and he seems determined to stay for a long while.

University of Houston football's October 3 home game vs. UCF is set for a 11 am kickoff. Not ideal for a big celebration weekend for UH with its gala honoring Kelvin Sampson and other Cougar greats the night before. This is the Cougar Blue game and will still get a full promotion blitz from the UH athletic department.

Houston drops three spots to No. 25 in the AP College Football Top 25, but stays in the poll after its 28-26 loss at Texas Tech. Wille Fritz's team remains in one of the two major polls. But probably deserved better from both. Texas Tech moves up two spots to No. 11 in the AP Top 25. BYU comes in at No. 9.

Willie Fritz's University of Houston team drops out of the Coaches Poll after its 2-point loss at Texas Tech and is not ranked in that Top 25. While Texas Tech moves up two spots to No. 10 after escaping with a win over the Cougars at home. This shows how poll logic seldom makes any sense and that UH's loss has some real perception consequences.

University of Houston starting quarterback Conner Weigman warms up here in Lubbock before this Friday night prime time game. Weigman spins the football on his fingers at one point. No. 1 ranked freshman QB Keisean Henderson also gets in his throws as Texas Tech's Galaxy Stadium starts to fill up.

Keisean Henderson Loves Chili’s For Celebrations, Gets Grief From His Little Sister and Dances Anywhere. How University of Houston's future QB star is shaped by his close family life. And his day-to-day life behind Conner Weigman today. @PaperCityMag papercitymag.com/culture/kei…

University of Houston basketball's just released Big 12 schedule opens with a January 2 game against UCF at Fertitta Center and includes other high-profile home matchups against fellow Big 12 contenders Iowa State (January 13), Texas Tech (January 19) and the previously revealed showdowns with Kansas (February 1 on Big Monday) and Arizona (March 6, the last Saturday of the regular season). This is a Fertitta slate full of marquee games. Kelvin Sampson's team plays at Baylor on January 10 and at Arizona on February 6.

Shadre Hurst Turned Down More Texas Tech Money To Reunite With Willie Fritz at Houston, Now They Play. A @PaperCityMag exclusive papercitymag.com/culture/sha…

University of Houston basketball is getting a Saturday, March 6 home game against fellow prime Big 12 title contender Arizona. That gives Kelvin Sampson's team two marquee showdown matchups — joining the previously announced February 1 Big Monday matchup with Kansas — at Fertitta Center already. Which is something the UH administration pushed for after last season when the Cougars played all their Big Monday games on the road and did not have many prime Saturday home games. The full Big 12 basketball schedule will be released soon. 📷 @fcarters

University of Houston basketball coach Kelvin Sampson just spoke in Washington D.C. in support of the Protect College Sports Act. "At some point we have to rein in the chaos," Sampson said with Senator Ted Cruz and Senator Maria Cantwell at his side and student-athletes from a number of sports behind him. "This bill is not foolproof. But it's the best thing we have to get improvement and some control in our athletic departments. And control for our student-athletes." Sampson is one of three active coaches who spoke, joining John Calipari and Mark Few, another indication of Sampson's standing and influence in college athletics.

University of Houston quarterbacks Conner Weigman and Keisean Henderson, offensive coordinator Slade Nagle and the Coogs getting in on Willie Fritz's Victory Ice Cream tradition. This time on a Monday instead with showdown with Texas Tech looming on Friday night.

With Houston playing Friday night for TV, UH coach Willie Fritz made a point of wearing his Texas High School Coaches Association hat to his press conference. And Fritz started by talking about impact of high school coaches. "They're really the leaders at all the high schools."

University of Houston basketball coach Kelvin Sampson is scheduled to appear when Senator Ted Cruz holds a press conference to advocate for the Protect College Sports Act in Washington D.C. on Monday. Sampson will join good friends John Calipari, Rick Barnes and Mark Few among the legendary coaches set to attend. In all, more than 30 college coaches and student-athletes are expected to be in D.C. to promote the college sports reform bill in front of the U.S. Capitol.