Jamal Shead Celebrates AAC Title by Showing Up For Kids, Treasures Being Part Of One Of Houston Coach Kelvin Sampson’s Last Teams

The celebration is spirited and meaningful. University of Houston coach Kelvin Sampson shows off his dance moves to his players’ delight. UH’s 67-year-old basketball lifer of a coach flashes the speed of man at least 20 years his junior to dodge most of a dumped Gatorade bucket full of ice. And getting back to campus from East Carolina makes it a very late night, even traveling on a charted plane.

The newly crowned American Athletic Conference champions, and still No. 1 ranked team in America, do not arrive back until 3:30 am Sunday. But UH point guard Jamal Shead, the man who missed on that attempted ice dousing, never thinks of begging off on his commitments for the day. Not with kids involved.

Instead, Shead is texting New Leaf Real Estate founder David Houston at 8 am, asking if there’s an agenda for his meeting with the PUSH Sharks youth program that David Houston and his firm fund. Instead, he is there in plenty of time — and then spends extra time after with any kid eager to connect.

“Just trying to keep my word,” Shead tells PaperCity. “I don’t want to have everyone expecting me and not show up. I want to be a man of my word and show up for these kids.

“A lot of them came out just for today and tried to rush here just to meet me.”

Shead is being paid for the appearance. It’s part of a Name, Image and Likeness deal that David Houston signed with LinkingCoogs, the NIL collective geared around helping UH athletes, with former UH basketball player and LinkingCoogs’ deal maker Landon Goesling making sure Shead and New Leaf’s founder could connect. But this is anything but some rote, get-it-over-with paid appearance for Shead.

UH’s point guard, really its player leader, makes time for everyone. Shead connects with the PUSH Shark kids who range from fifth graders to sophomores in high school by talking about video games. “I’d kill anyone at (NBA) 2K and I don’t want to hear anything different,” he cracks to the kids. Shead connects with the parents (and makes several of them swoon) by saying he should have listened to his dad and older brother more when he was kid.

Jamal Shead never comes across as anything but genuine as he sits in front of the kids on a stool, wearing an Inaka T-shirt with bears holding skis on it.

“Once people realize how awesome he is, I probably won’t be able to afford him anymore,” David Houston laughs of his NIL deal with Shead.

Jamal Shead and The Power of Last Dances

Shead certainly takes his responsibilities seriously. That includes being the leader of one of Hall of Fame worthy UH coach Kelvin Sampson’s last teams. Sampson openly talked about Houston being his last stop and being unsure of how many years he has left in coaching in the postgame press conference after that title clinching win over East Carolina.

And whether Kelvin Sampson coaches two more seasons at UH after this one or five more seasons — or surprises by stepping away earlier — Shead knows that he and his teammates will be one of Sampson’s last teams. That means something to this point guard.

“It’s Coach’s last stop,” Shead tells PaperCity. “So it’s his last push. He’s never won a national championship. He’s been to the Final Four a couple of times, but you want to do something special before he retires.

“This being his last stop, every year is important to him. We understand that and try to play for him.”

There is a reason that postgame locker room party in East Carolina was so spirited. This latest conference title hit home in a different kind of way.

“That just represented a lot that goes on with that team,” Shead says. “Coach’s last game in his home state (of North Carolina) for a while. Our last year in the AAC. That championship meant a lot to us for a lot of reasons.

“So it just felt really good.”

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More and more people in the city of Houston seem caught up with this No. 1 team of veteran guards (Shead, likely AAC Player of the Year Marcus Sasser and mid-range master Tramon Mark), a super freshman (NBA Lottery pick lock Jarace Walker), selfless passing and a one of a kind coach is doing. Count David Houston among those. This real estate guru didn’t even  go to UH.

But he remembers cheering for those Phi Slama Jama Final Four teams as a 10 and 11-year-old, growing up in Houston. David Houston went on to play college basketball at then NAIA Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas. Like Shead, Houston played point guard, but he’s quick to tell you he played more of “a Ryan Elvin role” at the small school when the team was good.

“To me, it’s the city,” David Houston says. “When people ask me who I’m a fan of, I’m a fan of the Houston teams.”

The New Leaf founder and his wife Heather Houston have been involved with other charitable causes in the city. But helping PUSH Sharks coach Shaun Griffin grow his program to 60 kids in little more than a year brings a different level of satisfaction and connection. Bringing one of UH’s best players out to talk to those kids on a Sunday evening seemed like a natural step.

“It’s Coach’s last stop. So it’s his last push. He’s never won a national championship. He’s been to the Final Four a couple of times, but you want to do something special before he retires.” — UH point guard Jamal Shead

To Jamal Shead, it’s more than an NIL appearance. It’s a chance to pay it forward, to do the kind of thing he used to see his dad Elvin Shead doing in Manor, the city in Austin’s shadow they call home.

“My dad did this for a lot of kids,” Shead tells PaperCity. “Just try to bring out whoever he could at the time and just show the kids, where they want to be, you’ve got to work for it. And have them talk to everybody. So my dad did a great job with this, bringing everybody around and just trying to uplift a lot of kids in our community.

“And I just want to do the same.”

So there’s no thought of blowing this off for Shead, even after celebrating a conference title and getting back at 3:30 in the morning. This is how Jamal Shead chooses to use a rare day without UH basketball responsibilities.

“This is my off day,” Shead tells the kids sitting on the floor of the gym at The Church of St. John the Divine all around him. “I’m spending it with you guys.”

Jamal Shead always seems to understand the moment.