As the 8th seed Gonzaga Bulldogs prepare to play the number one seed Houston Cougars in the NCAA tournament, Cougar coach Kelvin Sampson made sure everyone knows how to pronounce Gonzaga.
During a press conference Friday afternoon, a reporter asked Sampson a question about Gonzaga and when he mispronounced the school’s name, Sampson let him know.
“It always burns me up when people say that. Yeah. I was like calling me Kevin. My name is not Kevin. My mother used to say people would see my name and say, hey, Kevin. And she would say don’t let people call you Kevin. Your name is Kelvin. Make sure they pronounce your name right. So that’s why my antennas go up with that.” Said Kelvin.
Coach Sampson also made sure everyone knows how to pronounce Spokane.
He remembers the roads he’s taken in his life. Those roads run through Washington.
Sampson coached at Washington State University beginning in 1988. He led the Cougars, of the Palouse variety, to the NIT tournament in 1992 and the NCAA tournament in 1994.
While it’s been a long time, he hasn’t forgotten.
“I mean, Washington state was obviously the hardest, toughest job in the Pac-10. If it would’ve been a good job, they would have never hired me. They would have hired a real coach. Somebody that was really good. I was 31 years old.” Said Sampson.
Sampson has been considered a really good coach for a very long time now. He has his Houston Cougars once again poised to make a deep run in the tournament.
On the eve of a huge second round game, Sampson was able to connect with fans who may remember his WSU days and perhaps gave Gonzaga fans a new team to cheer for if the Bulldogs happen to fall.
“You can tell I worked at Washington State. Those guys aren’t even, never heard of Snohomish or Chelan, Moses Lake, Ellensburg. See I’m down. I’m down with the state of Washington,” said Sampson.
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