While NC State wasn’t able to cut down the nets in Phoenix, it was a successful Final Four weekend for several other North Carolina products.
Robeson County’s Kelvin Sampson won the AP National Coach of the Year award to start the weekend. It’s the second such honor in Sampson’s coaching career, making him one of four coaches to win the award at two different schools.
A pair of North Carolina Tar Heels also earned a spot in the Hall of Fame class of 2024. Vince Carter and Walter Davis will enter the hall later this year. They will become the 13th and 14th Tar Heel Hall of Famers.
Sampson was born in the Deep Branch community in Robeson County, in the Lumbee Native American Community. He starred at Pembroke High School, where he was captain on teams coached by his father. Sampson went on to play basketball and baseball at Pembroke State (now known as UNC Pembroke) earning two degrees and serving as team captain.
He started his coaching career in 1979 shortly after graduation, earning his first head coaching job at Montana Tech in 1981. Sampson spent time at Washington State, Oklahoma and Indiana before taking over the Houston Cougars in 2014.
Sampson earned his first AP Coach of the Year award in 1995, after leading Oklahoma to a 23-9 record in his first year with the Sooners, setting a conference record for best first-year record by a coach.
“I last won this 20 years ago,” Sampson said. “Twenty years ago, I didn’t think I’d be coaching now, so that’s, I guess, a surprise in itself.”
This year, under Sampson, Houston was the best defensive team in the nation and earned a top seed in the tournament after going 32-5 and winning the Big 12 regular season. Houston was upset by Duke in the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 after top player Jamal Shead was hurt early in the game.
