UH’s Caleb Mills Does Points Not Pressure — Freshman’s Incredible Closing Stretch Keeps Houston in Top 25, Swats Back Angry UConn

With 64 seconds left in a tie game, with UConn coach Danny Hurley threatening to set new records for sideline histronics on the other side, Kelvin Sampson draws up a play for his team. The Fertitta Center is roaring — it’s not Zion loud, but it’s more than clamorous enough. Tilman Fertitta himself is here for the first time this season, dressed in all black, and almost everyone’s on their feet.

Amid all the noise, Sampson makes it simple for his University of Houston team. He wants the ball to end up in Caleb Mills’ hands.

The redshirt freshman guard with 18 college games total of experience will get the shot that could determine if Houston stays in the Top 25. It’s not much of a debate for Sampson either.

“We run a lot of stuff exclusively for him,” Sampson says of Mills. “Different things. We had two or three different calls. We were going to him exclusively.”

Mills gets the basketball and a little open space just above the left baseline, drains a step back from about 16 feet as the clock hits 48 seconds remaining. Houston’s closer is awfully young, but Alec Baldwin would definitely give him coffee.

How’s this for closing? Caleb Mills scores 18 points in the last 8:14 of the game, lifting the newly-ranked Cougars to a 63-59 win over a UConn team with more fight than talent. This University of Houston team isn’t close to as good as last year’s surprise juggernaut, but it just may be one of the most interesting teams Kelvin Sampson has ever coached.

With Mills forced into playing the role that much more experienced UH guards (see Rob Gray and Corey Davis Jr.) have played in recent seasons, with DeJon Jarreau capable of messing around and almost getting the first triple double in 27 years of UH hoops history on his 22nd birthday — and then causing CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein to have a Twitter meltdown late — this is a show like few others.

These now 15-4 Cougars still can’t shoot that straight (36.2  percent in this win), but as Mills shows on this Thursday night, they may only need to find their touch in spurts. And few players in the country have spurts quite like Caleb Mills. Through the first 31 minutes and 46 seconds of this UConn game, the freshman is sitting on two points.

He finishes with 20, including the game-winning jumper.

“At the beginning, I was missing a couple of shots I usually make,” Mills says. “So I kind of went passive. And (junior center) Brison (Gresham) was telling me, ‘Keep shooting.’ ”

Keep shooting, indeed. It turns out Gresham deserves all kinds of assists for this win — even if they don’t show up in the boxscore. Not only does he stay in Mills’ ear, insisting that the freshman continue to hoist jumpers, he comes over and swats away UConn’s last best chance with 30 seconds left right after Mills’ jumper gives Houston the lead.

UConn guard Christian Vital never sees Gresham coming. But the big man told his Cougar teammates he’d be there.

“It was really instincts,” Gresham says when I ask about the play. “In the huddle, I kept telling my teammates if they get blown by, don’t foul. I’m just going to come and help.”

Gresham’s helped turn Houston’s entire season around. Early in the season, Gresham and his New Orleans childhood running buddy Jarreau both found their playing time more erratic than Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston’s relationship status. Gresham and Jarreau struggled to adjust to their new responsibilities and Sampson looked elsewhere in games where it didn’t seem they could be counted on.

Now, Sampson sometimes can’t imagine taking them off the floor.

The Jarreau and Gresham Show

Jarreau logs a time-high 35 minutes in his 18-point, 11-rebound, eight-assist, seven-turnover night. Gresham gets the second most minutes with 28 — and several impact moments. Again.

“I can’t tell you how proud I was of Brison Gresham,” Sampson says. “We had some guys really play well Saturday (in the upset of) Wichita that were no shows today. Brison really, really played well Saturday at Wichita and he was tremendous tonight.

“In everything we asked him to do. His coverage calls. Help-side rim protecting.”

It turns out Gresham deserves all kinds of assists for this win — even if they don’t show up in the boxscore.

Sampson is not quite as gushing about Jarreau, one of more talented and challenging players he’ll likely ever coach. But the straight shooting coach does defend his learning-on-the-job point guard on the technical that triggers Rothstein’s Twitter ire.

Jarreau appears to be yelling at Hurley when he picks up the tech with seven seconds left, gifting UConn with surprise last gasp life. But looks may be deceiving.

“There was some cursing going on,” Sampson says. “And the referee got the second guy.”

Hurley campaigns for the tech like a politician stumping through Iowa, continuing a night that proves UConn’s coach is a sideline show all to himself. At one point, during an earlier double technical foul situation in a game that’s fiercely physical and foul call filled, Hurley takes off his suit jacket and then puts it back on, pleading and arguing the entire time.

You’ve heard of the Human Rain Delay in baseball? Hurley is college basketball’s unofficial walking timeout. His team plays exceedingly hard — and so does Sampson’s.

But only Sampson has the young closer. When Mills gets the ball, the cauldron is set. Tie game. Ranking on the line. Pressure in play.

“I wanted to make the shot, but I knew if I didn’t, we would get the rebound,” Mills says straight faced. “Fabian (White) was in the game. Brison. There wasn’t like a lot of pressure on my side.”

Mills’ coach just looks at him for a beat.

“Typical freshman response,” Sampson says.

There they are on the interview dais next to each other, the coach with 629 career wins and the young closer with now 19 college games and one game winner on his resume. This Houston team is not anything close to perfect. But it still might make for one heck of a show come March.