2018 NCAA tournament: Houston’s liftoff starts with Rob Gray, basketball’s Baker Mayfield
When Kelvin Sampson watches Rob Gray play, a dervish in a man bun firing up three-pointers or careening through the lane for layups, then making sure everybody knows about it afterward, the comparison is easy.
“Baker Mayfield,” the Houston coach says. “He’s the basketball version of Baker Mayfield.”
Understand, that’s meant as high praise. It’s not just that Gray is prone to shush the crowd or, a la James Harden, to stir the pot. Never mind the antics, the 6-2 senior guard routinely cooks the competition and silences arenas with his performance. And Gray’s “unwavering swagger,” as Houston assistant coach Kellen Sampson describes it, has led the Cougars to unexpected success.
No. 6 Houston plays No. 3 Michigan on Saturday with a berth in the Sweet 16 at stake. A 67-65 victory against San Diego State in the first round Thursday was the school’s first in the NCAA tournament since 1984, and an important accomplishment in Sampson’s fourth season as head coach. The win came when Gray drove into the lane, ducked under 6-10 forward Malik Pope and scored a layup with 1.1 seconds left.
He finished with 39 points and became an instant March Madness sensation. But his impact goes far beyond one game. In three seasons, Gray has helped transform the Cougars.
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“He immediately came in and changed everything,” says Kellen Sampson, Kelvin’s son. “His belief changed our program.”
Gray’s journey to this moment included stops at two high schools, a prep school and then junior college — where a broken foot caused him to redshirt as a freshman, and paved the way for him to have three years of eligibility once he got to Houston.
That he got there required serendipity. From Howard College, he committed to Tennessee — but then-coach Donnie Tyndall was fired while Gray was in Knoxville on an official visit. Meanwhile, Houston suddenly had a roster slot to fill when Jherrod Stiggers, the Cougars’ leading scorer, surprised everyone and turned pro a year early.
It hasn’t always been smooth. During Gray’s first season at Houston, Kelvin Sampson sat him down for a game against SMU because of his attitude. It was already clear Gray was the Cougars’ best player, but as his stats jumped, his shot selection worsened and his defensive effort waned.
“Rob thought a pass was what you asked for at the principal’s office,” Sampson says. “He wouldn’t pass it. And defense was that thing that ran around the back yard and kept the dogs and the toys in. He wasn’t guarding anybody.”
After the suspension, Sampson says Gray got with the program. And from that point, the program has gotten steadily better. Gray has, too, maturing into a leader (and earning his degree in sociology in December).
“I’ve come a long way,” he says. “It’s night and day.”
Properly channeled, his belief that every shot is going in and the Cougars will win every game has fueled Houston’s surge — this season is its best in years.
“That type of attitude is what we needed more than anything,” Kellen Sampson says
But some things don’t change. When Kellen Sampson calls Gray first and foremost, “a baller” — well, it might be why he was suspended for the season opener by the NCAA. Don’t misunderstand; it turns out the reason was more Mayfield than mayhem.
A year ago this month, after Houston was knocked out of the NIT in the first round, Gray stuck around Houston during spring break. A buddy called, needing someone to fill in on his church-league team. Could Gray play?
A few days later, someone tipped off the Houston compliance department; the Cougars figure it might have been a church-league player with bruised feelings. When Kellen Sampson called Gray and asked, “Did you play in a church-league game?” Gray’s response was telling:
“Coach,” he said, “I was killin’!”
But when Gray’s friend paid a $5 entry fee, he broke NCAA rules. Yeah, it seems silly to him, too.
After the suspension, Sampson says Gray got with the program. And from that point, the program has gotten steadily better. Gray has, too, maturing into a leader (and earning his degree in sociology in December).
“I’ve come a long way,” he says. “It’s night and day.”
Properly channeled, his belief that every shot is going in and the Cougars will win every game has fueled Houston’s surge — this season is its best in years.
“That type of attitude is what we needed more than anything,” Kellen Sampson says
But some things don’t change. When Kellen Sampson calls Gray first and foremost, “a baller” — well, it might be why he was suspended for the season opener by the NCAA. Don’t misunderstand; it turns out the reason was more Mayfield than mayhem.
A year ago this month, after Houston was knocked out of the NIT in the first round, Gray stuck around Houston during spring break. A buddy called, needing someone to fill in on his church-league team. Could Gray play?
A few days later, someone tipped off the Houston compliance department; the Cougars figure it might have been a church-league player with bruised feelings. When Kellen Sampson called Gray and asked, “Did you play in a church-league game?” Gray’s response was telling:
“Coach,” he said, “I was killin’!”
But when Gray’s friend paid a $5 entry fee, he broke NCAA rules. Yeah, it seems silly to him, too.
Source:-https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaab/2018/03/16/ncaa-tournament-rob-gray-baker-mayfield-reforms-houston/434220002/
