Houston coach on Landry Shamet: “You might not see him around here much longer”

Houston coach Kelvin Sampson had every right to make his postgame press conference as short as possible and beeline it out of Wichita after his team fell in a 30-point hole and eventually lost 81-63 to the No. 9 Shockers on Thursday.

“You know in the movie ‘Gladiator,’ those guys out in the middle of the ring?” Sampson said. “That’s kind of how we felt like tonight.

“This was a magical night for them, especially those first 20 minutes. I’d like to have been somewhere else.”

But in his five minutes on the podium, Sampson spent the majority of it complimenting Wichita State, Gregg Marshall, his team, and WSU’s fans.

Sampson knows the feeling of seeing almost every three-pointer fall through the hoop and putting quality teams in 30-point holes. Houston did the same thing to Arkansas on Dec. 2 in a 91-65 victory when the Cougars hit 10 three-pointers and shot 51.7 percent from the field.

WSU’s final numbers from Thursday weren’t as impressive, but the game was essentially over after WSU scored 53 first-half points on 59.4 percent shooting and 10 three-pointers.

“It was just one of those nights, but let’s not take anything away from how good they are,” Sampson said. “There was an electricity in this building tonight. People across the country are going to find out about what a great program this has been for a long time.

“This little school over here in Wichita has good players, good coaches, good fans. They’ve got it all. I hate to be on the other end of it tonight, but I was proud of Wichita State tonight.”

When asked where he could see WSU finishing in its new conference, Sampson cut off the question.

“Wichita State doesn’t take a backseat to anybody in any league, forget this one,” Sampson said. “They would be at the top of any league they play in. If they were in the ACC … they’re 1-2-3 in any league in America.”

Before he took off, Sampson wanted to speak on WSU’s Landry Shamet, who scored a game-high 18 points on 6-of-8 shooting.

“He’s the real deal,” Sampson said. “That kid is the best player I’ve seen this year. They don’t make them like that very often. Love his demeanor, love his poise. You give him the ball and he’ll make you a better coach. They better appreciate him around here.”

Then Sampson asked what grade Shamet was.

“A sophomore? Yeah, you might not see him here much longer,” Sampson said with a smile. “I hate saying that, but he’s really good. He’s different than everybody else. He was by far the best player on the floor.”

This story was originally published January 4, 2018 at 9:55 PM with the headline "Houston coach on Landry Shamet: “You might not see him around here much longer”."