Creating Little Bubbles of Joy — Like Krzyzewski and Izzo, UH’s Kelvin Sampson Wrestles With the Right COVID Answers as His Players Grab Every Moment They Can

Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski made a point of sending his players home for Christmas, citing worries over their mental health. Michigan State coach Tom Izzo purposefully scheduled a game for Christmas Day for the exact same reason. University of Houston coach Kelvin Sampson and his players will fly together on Christmas and play a game the next day.

The wisest and most responsible minds in college basketball — and if you don’t think Sampson belongs right there with Coach K and Izzo, you simply have not been paying attention — are unsure what to do in this unprecedented college basketball coronavirus season with more than 300,000 Americans dead and the games going on.

What’s right? What’s wrong? What makes sense? What doesn’t?

No coaching clinic in the world’s ever covered this.

“We’re going through something we’ve never gone through before,” says Sampson, the 65-year-old basketball lifer who’s resurrected the University of Houston program in one of college basketball’s all-time rebuilds. “This is December. I’ve seen some thirty something Decembers. I’ve never seen this kind of December.”

Imagine what it must be like for 18 to 25-year-olds on sixth ranked Houston’s roster. For many of them, basketball’s been one of the only constants in their young lives. It’s been with them through everything. Now, if they (or enough of them) fail a test they have little control over it could be taken away for weeks. This amid the overriding specter that the whole sport could possibly be postponed (or shutdown for the season) if enough of the wrong dominos fall in distant lands.

UH finally played another game on Sunday, overwhelming a completely overmatched Alcorn State team 88-55 despite missing several of its best players. This is Houston’s first game in more than two weeks due to a COVID-19 outbreak that’s now touched every player on Sampson’s roster.

It is impossible to miss the joy amid the rusty raggedness of this game. There is Reggie Chaney, the Arkansas transfer who may have never gotten the chance to start if one of his teammates healthy enough to be in uniform wasn’t still winded by and somewhat sick feeling from COVID’s aftereffects, diving on the floor for a loose ball to get teammate Quentin Grimes a layup. There is Grimes, driving down the court at breakneck speed again and again, creating one man fast breaks late in second half even though the game’s long been decided.

College basketball players want to play — of that there is no doubt. These are not NBA millionaires who have money in the bank, endorsements and legacies to lean back on. NBA stars have the luxury of introspection. They have the clout to make demands. College basketball players often have just the next game, just the next practice. They just want to hoop.

“It’s a blessing,” Grimes says of being able to play basketball during this coronavirus season. “You’ve got to take advantage of every opportunity. Some teams have only played one, two games. And we’ve been fortunate to have played five.

“And some teams are just starting up. Really, it’s just a blessing to be able to play.”

Maybe, this is the best you can do in this 2020-21 college basketball season. Try and create little bubbles of joy, all the while knowing that future ones are not guaranteed. The six Cougars who are healthy enough to play big minutes in this return to action game — Grimes, Chaney, newly graduated senior point guard DeJon Jarreau, senior forward Justin Gorham, star-in-waiting Tramon Mark and freshman guard Jamal Shead — all seize at least a moment or two.

This is not about trying to validate the lofty Top 10 ranking. That’s already been earned. No, this is about being able to get back on the court with your guys.

It is about Sampson telling Chaney before the game that he wants him to go at Alcorn State the way he goes at Gorham, Brison Gresham and J’Wan Roberts before practice every day. And Chaney turning that into 18 points (and nine trips to the free throw line) in only 20 minutes of court time.

“We battle before practice and sweat hard,” Gorham says of the UH big men’s pre-practice sessions, which can last up to an hour. “We knew everything Reggie was capable of and today was his moment to shine. And we’re proud of him.”

It’s about being a team that truly roots for one another instead of obsessing over playing time. It’s about making your team bubble matter.

Krzyzewski, whose team has already played five games, cancels a few non-conference games to send his players home for Christmas. Izzo schedules a matchup with Wisconsin for Christmas Day because he wants to make sure his players are not just sitting around on the holiday, admitting he’s terrified of sending them home because of what it could mean COVID-19 wise. Sampson will try to make Christmas as special for his players as he can in celebrating it as a group on the road in Orlando.

No one is absolutely right — and no one is absolutely wrong. It’s just about doing what you think is best for your players — and hoping you’re right more often than not.

“Yes, we all do,” Sampson says when I ask if like Krzyzewski and Izzo he worries about his players’ mental health in this season without bearings — one that can feel suddenly shaky or solid moment by moment. “I think every coach is concerned about that. You know the problem with letting your kids go home for Christmas as far as I’m concerned is quarantining them when they get back.

“I’m concerned about that. I called (UCF coach and longtime former Duke assistant) Johnny Dawkins and explained to him what I felt about it. No coach in his right mind is going to schedule three consecutive road games in conference. But I did because of COVID.”

That is what 5-0 Houston will face after its home game against Temple this Tuesday — games at UCF December 26, at Tulsa December 29 and at SMU January 3.

“I rescheduled the Central Florida game that got canceled to the 26th so we could keep our kids together,” Sampson says. “So we wouldn’t have to quarantine them for two and a half weeks. . . Knowing the tentacles and the reach of this thing, I think it’s our responsibility to put these kids in the best position so we can take care of them.

“If one of our kids tests positive here, then we have the facilities to isolate him by himself for those days, get him his meals, make sure he’s hydrating, make sure he’s got everything he needs here. And that’s why we’re going to keep them here.”

Sampson may not only be keeping his players safe. He may be keeping his players’ older relatives safer too. Spreading this virus can go both ways on any return home. That’s part of what makes it so insidious and hard to contain.

COVID-19 Dilemmas

Every single one of us is making tough decisions when it comes to COVID-19. College basketball coaches just have many more people to consider. And worry about. No one’s semi bubble — or group of people they’re around most of the time — is fail proof. No coronavirus decisions can ever be free of second guessing.

If you do not think Sampson, Izzo and Krzyzewski all wrestled with their individual program decisions, you have no sense of them as men. Yes, college basketball can be a cynical place with an arguably exploited workforce bringing in billions for the NCAA. But that does mean many coaches — not all, but many, and certainly these three — do not truly care about their players.

It is hard to say those who argue that college basketball should not be playing right now are wrong. But maybe these moments of joy have more value than many give them credit for, too.

“Really, it’s just a blessing to be able to play.” — UH’s Quentin Grimes

It sure means something to Quentin Grimes when he scores 27 points and pulls down 10 rebounds in 37 high-impact minutes. Just like it means something to Jamal Shead to get his career college start with AAC Preseason Player of the Year Caleb Mills and Marcus Sasser still among the Cougars who have not been able to return to practice yet. Just like it does seeing Chaney diving on the floor and drawing plenty of contact from Alcorn State players who quickly grow sick of the whirling dervish with some post moves wearing No. 32.

“You know he’s been playing good in practice,” Sampson says of Chaney. “. . . Reggie will be a junior this time next year. He’s a good player. We looked at a bunch of other kids in that transfer market, but we felt like Reggie would help us. I’m been really pleased with him thus far. I’m glad he chose to come with us.”

Like many college basketball teams, the UH players are more isolated and dependent on each other than ever. They mostly see each other. They must do more together than ever. During part of their COVID-forced 15 day break between games they isolated separately — but FaceTimed each other most of the day to keep themselves together. And make sure they were all doing all right.

This is not an NBA Orlando-like Disney bubble. No program in college basketball can have that in this surreal season. But it’s still a bubble of joy in some ways.

Try and stay healthy. Keep up with school. And hoop. Together. That is what Kelvin Sampson’s team has this season. The coach often reminds them that is much more than many Americans have these days.

“I told our kids after the games, there’s no complaining,” Sampson says. “We either play today or practice today. They said they’d rather play and that’s probably the only thing I agreed with them on all day.”

Sampson smiles, the grinning old rascal side of the coach coming out again for a moment. It’s good to be able to kid — and be kidded. It sure beats the alternative.

Those who argue that college basketball needs to stop playing — or push its season back — are not wrong from a philosophical standpoint. Maybe even a moral one. But they may be missing some of the real moments of joy.

They’re still there, too — amid the sometimes wobbling table feel of the whole thing, amid the real horror in our hospitals. You can argue whether that’s worth it or not. Just don’t miss that they’re there.

This isn’t just about some supposed NCAA fat cats or TV executives making money. That’s surely there, but that is not all that is there. It is about college kids like Reggie Chaney and Quentin Grimes grabbing moments too, moments they might otherwise never get back. Together.

Joy matters too.