How University of Houston basketball became the city's hometown team

Sampson clearly recalls when he first noticed this synergy between his program and the Bayou City start to take off.

"Well, when we started winning," Sampson said with a laugh on Thursday.

The veteran coach draws a comparison to the Houston Astros—who are playing in the World Series for the fourth time in six years—when discussing why he believes the city has developed a fondness for the Cougars.

"There's a pretty direct correlation to winning. It's like the Astros and the Texans. There's a tremendous synergy in our city for the Astros, and I think the way we play [is a factor]," Sampson said.

"The Astros, for instance, they play the game the right way. They play hard. They play together. They don't overreact like most people do to a loss, because they're professionals, and I think there are some similarities with us."

In addition to their success on the court, Sampson believes the toughness and effort that are pillars of UH basketball play a part in his team endearing itself to a city that he views as "a blue-collar town in a lot of ways."

The Cougars have ranked in the top 10 in the country in KenPom's adjusted defensive efficiency ratings each of the past two seasons, finishing 21st, 11th and 13th in the three years before that. They've been among the top 10 in block percentage in each of the past three years, as well, and the top 20 in steal percentage for the last two.

"Anytime your history is in oil and gas, you're used to ups and downs. It means that a lot of times in your life, you've had to pick yourself up after you've got knocked down. You pull yourself up by your bootstraps, and you grab your lunch pail, you get your hard hat on and you go to work," Sampson said.

"I think that's how you describe the University of Houston's basketball program. Our kids play with tremendous effort, they play together and they win, and people respect that."

41 of the 64 games that have been played in the Fertitta Center have been sellouts, according to the UH athletic department, with the top seven attendance figures in the venue coming last season—including a record of 7,603 on Feb. 2 against SMU. Season tickets are sold out for the third straight year.

This buy-in from not just people with direct UH connections, but the city as a whole, is something that the Cougars' players appreciate. True freshman forward Jarace Walker—who was the No. 1 power forward in the Class of 2022, according to ESPN—can already feel the support before playing his first game at the college level.

"It's definitely a different vibe," Walker said. "There's like the school, and then an entire city that we've got on our backs. It's a lot of love."

Senior guard Marcus Sasser—a Dallas native and the AAC preseason player of the year—knows all about the high school and AAU rivalries between his hometown and his new home. However, he adds that "now that I came down here, I love it."

"The city," Sasser said of what he enjoys most about Houston. "They're all behind you and they support you. And then just really the food spots out here. They're better than Dallas," noting that Breakfast Klub and Black Walnut Cafe are two of his favorites.

Aside from their winning and style of play, Sampson points to a branding effort—the phrase "For the City" can be seen on the Cougars' social media posts, as well as in signage around the Fertitta Center and elsewhere—as another factor that has helped grow the relationship between the team and the city. 

"[Director of basketball operations] Lauren [Sampson] and [former player] Galen [Robinson Jr.] got together and they coined that phrase, 'For the City,' and I think that helped too," Sampson said. "That made people realize that we were aware of the city, and we wanted to be the city's school. We wanted that to be part of our mantra."

Wednesday night is a prime example of just how deep the bond between UH and the city of Houston has grown in recent years, and how this connection has helped the program achieve a national status it hasn't seen since the Phi Slama Jama days of the 1980s.

Sampson estimates that over $250,000 was raised at the Cougars' annual Tip-Off Dinner, an event put on entirely by the UH men's basketball program. In terms of the synergy between Houston and his team, Sampson says "last night is kind of up close and personal what it looks like. … There's such a good feeling about the program."

The coach credits Lauren, his daughter and the team's do-it-all director of operations, for being a driving force in this ever-growing connection.

"I can't be more proud of Lauren and the job that she's done to keep our program relevant 12 months a year. Whether it's through her social media, the banquet, we have so many things we do throughout the course of the year—going out to the pediatric center, where kids that have pediatric cancer, going out to visit those kids, or reading in the school system," Sampson said.

"Having Lauren on staff has just been such a blessing for us. I told [my wife] Karen, when my assistants leave to go get head coaching jobs, we're going to hire another assistant. I don't know where I could get another Lauren. She's kind of the one irreplaceable person on this staff."