University of Oklahoma Athletics
Kelvin Sampson Quotes
July 14, 2005 | Men's Basketball
NORMAN, Okla. -- OU men's basketball head coach Kelvin Sampson recently visited with SoonerSports.com regarding his basketball program. Following are quotes on a variety of topics from the man who has led the Sooners to eight straight seasons of at least 20 victories, including a Big 12 regular season championship last year.
On OU's 2004-05 Big 12 championship season:
“I'm very proud of last season's team. Our growth from the beginning of the season to the end of the season and the improvement we made was tremendous. I think back to the Great Alaska Shootout (in November) and we just didn't have a brand there was no identity with our team then. Our fans hear me say this a lot, but it's important. Whether it's a teacher, a businessman, an administrator, or a coach, we all have to be known for something. We didn't have an identity then. I thought the key game for us was the (Jan. 10) Connecticut game. It gave what we were teaching and preaching credibility. And then our guys just kept getting better. Winning the league title, being the No. 1 seed in the Big 12 Tournament and the No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament were great accomplishments for last year's team. We would have liked to have gone farther but I'm sure most teams would.
“There's always a turning point during the course of a year. When we had our three-game losing streak (in early February), that's when we showed what we were made out of. I'm happy and I'm excited and proud of the team for winning the championship, but I'm equally excited and proud and happy for them for the way they came back from the losing streak. That's what shows you're made out of the right stuff.”
On the areas in which he'd like to see the 2005-06 team improve:
“In league play we were the best rebounding team. I think it's important to get better at that. It's important to be more consistent possession to possession defensively. And cutting down on turnovers, for sure. We turned the ball over way too much last year. Taj Gray has to make better decisions with the ball. He had way too many turnovers for a post guy. Basketball's not a game of great plays, it's a game of eliminating mistakes. And the key to being a great basketball player is not to make great plays, but to eliminate your mistakes. If Taj cuts down on his mistakes he'll be a much better player. Same with Terrell Everett. He needs to cut down on mistakes and he needs to become a better shooter. I think that's where Terrell is improved the most. I think Terrell has the chance to be one of the better guards in the country. And I think Taj will be one of the better big guys in the country. They've proven themselves at a high level. Their challenge now is to bring their team along with them. And Kevin Bookout's going to be a big key for us. When Kevin's good, we're good. I have a high confidence level in Kevin. But we need him to play at a high level for us to be a good team.”
On if this team has the chance to be his best thus far at Oklahoma:
“Well, you start with your league. I think it's impossible to gauge how your team's going to be nationally because there are so many factors. You look at last year with Vermont beating Syracuse and Bucknell beating Kansas you never know. But this team has the potential to be really good. Our goal is the same as it is every year. We want to win the Big 12 Conference. We've knocked on the door just about every year and last year we finally got in. We'd like to win the Big 12 again, then get as high a seed as possible and then advance in the NCAA Tournament as far as we can. You can't get too ahead of yourself because of our league. The teams are so good. We'll be picked as one of the best teams in the league. But I don't know who the best team is. There are so many teams it can be. Last year we were picked fourth and we won it. But I like this team's chances. I think we have some question marks because of the new kids coming in.”
On the team's 3-point shooting ability:
“Our best 3-point shooter on paper is Michael Neal. But Nate Carter can make a jump shot. Everybody thinks Terrell Everett is not a good shooter, but look at his 3-point percentage. He shot 39 percent in Big 12 games. We need him to shoot around 40 percent from out there and he can if he takes good shots. Terrell's not a guy who's going to look for 3s, but he can make them when he gets them.”
On Chris Walker playing the point:
“Chris Walker's strength is that he understands his position. He's a point guard. He doesn't need to lead you in scoring, he doesn't need to be the focus of the offense. I think a great point guard is kind of like a catcher in baseball he just does his job. If Chris will just be solid and dependable, he'll help us become a very good team a lot like Quannas White did (in 2001-02 and '02-03). Quannas was one of those guards you never noticed during a game, but you looked up and his team won. And that's the most important stat for a point guard.”
On any differences between this year's group and last year's:
“I think the difference will be maturity. I think there's a maturity about this team. For instance, Chris Walker and Michael Neal were both the captains and leaders of their (junior college) teams. Chris is 20 years old and Michael is 21. They have good demeanors, their dispositions are good. They understand. There's a quiet determination about them. I think our leadership, our maturity and our passion for the game are going to be good. There's a realness about our togetherness. Sooner Basketball to me has always been about how hard we compete, our toughness level and our intensity on defense. I think this team will be closer to being a normal Sooner Basketball team in that regard.”
On the backcourt and playing small:
“The key to our backcourt is going to be Terrell Everett, because he can play all three positions. He's our only senior back there. It's an inexperienced backcourt, but experienced at the same time. David Godbold's going to be a sophomore and he started a lot at the end of the year. Nate Carter practiced every day. He played the 3 a lot in practice and he played the 4. And he'll play both this year. I like having a player that's versatile (like Carter). I like going small some nights. I like what Mike D'Antoni did with the Suns when he put (Amare) Stoudemire at the 5, (Shawn) Marion at the 4 and (Quentin) Richardson at the 3. What he did was not put positions out there, but he put his best team out there.”
On playing up-tempo:
"I think, offensively, we're going to score. I'd like this team to play faster. We try to get our teams to play as fast as we can. I think this team has the ability to play really fast because of how athletic we're going to be on the wings with Nate, David, Terrell and Michael. Terrell is obviously a key for us because he's so versatile. He can play the wing or the point and he's comfortable at both. There were a lot of games last year where Terrell was our best point guard, but I'd prefer him breaking down defenses more from the wing. But we'll see. We'll put the team out there that plays the best. The good news is we have good parts.
"The game's a lot easier when you get easy baskets. When you're struggling to score in the half court, that puts so much pressure on your defense. I've always felt like easy baskets are like gasoline in a lawn mower - it makes it go. When that lawn mower runs out of gas, it just stops. Defense needs some gas. If you get some easy baskets, the better your defense is going to be. It's what made last year's team so good. On nights we were good offensively we were good defensively."
On the possibility of redshirting either freshman:
“Austin Johnson is just strength away from being a really good college guard. Taylor Griffin is going to step in and play. His body gives him a chance to compete right now. We're not planning on redshirting either kid. We expect both of them to play.”
On how he assessed Longar Longar's first year at OU:
"I thought it was great. He had some outstanding games. There were some games where he didn't play as much, but in some games you could tell he's going to be really good. I thought his greatest improvement came in our practices. He had some unbelievable practices. He's playing behind two guys who can make all-conference. So it's not like he's going to get the same minutes as some guys at other schools. But Longar's day is coming. We expect him to be productive in his own way. He may not start this year, but a lot of games he'll play starter minutes."
On how Nate Carter will help the team:
“I think Nate will struggle early because he hasn't played in two years. The last game he played was in the 2003-04 season and we're heading into the '05-06 season. It might take him a little to adjust to the speed and tempo of the game. But that's where going to Morocco and playing seven or eight games in August with an all-star team will be important for him. He's going to be critical to our success. When we had Aaron McGhee and Eduardo Najera, we had post guys who could pick and pop. That's especially effective at the end of shot clocks. When we set on-ball screens, it's a lot easier to defend a post guy who's rolling than one who's popping out for 3s. Sometimes it's easier to get a post guy open for a 3 than a perimeter guy. The trick is, can he shoot it? We don't want Taj or Kevin or Longar shooting 3s, but Nate can. And that will make us a more effective team.”
On how he sees the Big 12 race shaping up:
"I think the sleeper team in our league will be Nebraska. Last year we were picked to finish fourth and we won it. So I think any of the top four teams can win the league. Kansas, Texas, Oklahoma State and Oklahoma are still going to be very good. I really like Iowa State. They may have the best guard combo in the league in Curtis Stinson and Will Blalock. I think Texas Tech is going to be able to play with anyone. Texas A&M established themselves and I don't see them going anywhere but up. Kansas State's going to be better. Baylor will probably be the most improved team in our league. They've got some really good players. Colorado has Richard Roby and I thought he was as good as any freshman in the league last year. No matter where you're picked in the league, you've got a chance to go to the tournament. There's not a team in our league that isn't capable of playing in the postseason. We don't really have a top four anymore. We just have good teams. The teams that have traditionally been in the top four aren't going anywhere, the difference is that other teams are all getting better."
