Sampson's story sure felt good over the weekend
Published: 8/28/2011 8:48 PM
Last Modified: 8/28/2011 8:48 PM
After this, promise that I'll stick to football until the middle of October. Just wanted to share my favorite part of OU's basketball alumni weekend – Kelvin Sampson's return.
It wasn't just Kelvin, actually. Kellen came back as well, from his assistant's job at Appalachian State. I've known him since I covered his days as a Norman High guard. Sharpest high school athlete I've ever come across. He'll be a college head coach within five years. I already envy his first set of beat writers.
Karen Sampson returned, too. She's merely the coolest coach's wife to ever live. It's true. I talked to Karen and Kellen both Friday night before the 2002 Final Four banquet and again after the Legends Game Saturday afternoon. I wish both were still around.
As for Kelvin, I was sort of curious how the weekend would come off. He hadn't committed to coming as of early last week. I understand it took some calls from former players to seal the deal.
His last visit was for Kellen's senior night in February of 2007. He could be more of a parent than OU's former coach that night. This weekend, though, he was Coach Sampson again. He was part of the '02 program, and he even coached one of the Legends Game teams.
He would be mingling with players he didn't always see eye-to-eye with, at a place that became uncomfortable his final year (the phone call violations, an underachieving season, and a weird link to the Arizona State job before Indiana popped up).
I watched Kelvin for a while Friday night. He hugged a career's worth of players. He carried on happily with athletic director Joe Castiglione. He walked up the Lloyd Noble Center tunnel with his arm around Billy Tubbs, the OU's two most successful coaches off to take a reunion photo.
Saturday afternoon, Kelvin enjoyed the Legends Game as much as everyone else in the LNC. I thought it pretty cool that as his Cream team rallied from a double-digit deficit in the second half, he started enjoying it even more. He sort of got into it, and even playfully called back-to-back timeouts to freeze Crimson free throw shooter Brent Price in overtime (the strategy worked – Price back-ironed the second, and the Cream went down and won the game on Nate Erdmann's layup).
The last time I saw Kelvin before wading into player interviews, he was hoisting the Legends Game trophy. It probably wasn't the same as lifting any of those Big 12 tournament prizes, or the net he snipped down after winning the '02 West Regional in San Jose.
Still, he was smiling as if he'd just beaten Bobby Knight.
Friday night, it took Kelvin about a half-hour to go from the LNC south entrance down the tunnel and into the main arena. There were just too many hands to shake. He stopped to chat up a few of us old beat writers, and thanked current coach Lon Kruger for organizing the weekend.
Already, he seemed to be soaking it all in. Then Saturday happened. That rather clinched it.
I sent Kelvin a text late Saturday, told him he appeared to be having a blast. Sunday morning, he responded: "Relived a lot of great memories and saw a lot of special people."
The Sampson Story at OU appears destined for a happy ending after all. Kind of nice to be able to change history occasionally, wouldn't you say?
-- Guerin Emig
Written by
Guerin Emig
Sports Writer
