Kelvin Sampson has hilarious nickname for Master P's son
If you have spent any time around Houston men's basketball coach Kelvin Sampson, you know how funny he is.
He routinely has his players laughing in postgame press conferences, and Friday night was no different.
After the No. 7 Cougars put on another impressive defensive performance in an 80-44 victory over Hofstra, Sampson was asked about freshman guard Mercy Miller's rebounding. Miller, the son of rapper Master P, came off the bench to grab 9 rebounds, which led the team.
"It was better than his shooting," Sampson replied.
Miller was 2-of-8 from the field (0-of-3 from downtown) and 0-of-2 from the free throw line. He finished with 4 points and 2 assists to go along with his big rebounding night. Miller was one of the most prolific scorers in the country as a senior in high school last season. He averaged 29.8 points, 9.3 rebounds and 3.9 assists at Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks) in Southern California. He scored 30 or more points 16 times.
And Sampson loves to remind Miller that he's not in high school anymore.
"Mercy came from a high school where he got to shoot all the balls," Sampson said. "I told him, 'son, we pass around here.' He took one down that one side and he thought he was back at Notre Dame Prep playing Cathedral Jesuit or whatever the teams are in that league out there. He was one on five. Of course he was going to miss that one."
Sampson revealed that he calls Miller "Shotgun Willie" which drew chuckles from Miller and JoJo Tugler. He also praised Miller's approach to the game.
"He's learning. He's getting better because he cares," Sampson said. "Kids that care usually get better. It matters to them. It's important to them. It's important to Mercy to get better. That's why he came here. He chose hard. Choosing easy is never the way to go. Don't ever choose easy. Choose hard."
"These kids did come here because they chose hard. That's how they get to where they want to be. Mercy's going to wind up being a really good player. I don't know if it's going to be this year. He'll keep getting better, but I know he'll be a lot better next year. As long as he's here, he'll continue to improve. None of these guys are close to their ceilings, and I mean none of them."
That's a scary thought for Houston's opponents. Four games into the 2024-25 season, the Cougars are the top-rated team in KenPom's college basketball ratings, ahead of Auburn, Duke and Gonzaga.
Sampson will learn a lot more about his team next week when they face No. 8 Alabama in the first round of the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas. That game is scheduled for Tuesday at 7 p.m. CT and will be televised on TBS.
More Houston & Big 12 Analysis
Ben Sherman has been covering the sports world for most of his journalism career, including 17 years with The Oregonian/OregonLive. One of his favorite memories was covering the 1999 Fiesta Bowl - the first BCS National Championship Game - at Sun Devil Stadium.