The sixth-ranked Houston Cougars haven’t suited up since December 5th and, due to the team’s COVID outbreak, Kelvin Sampson hasn’t coached them in a game since November 29th.
“This is unprecedented,” said Sampson of the team’s COVID layoff with Houston postponing recent games against Sam Houston State, Rice and Central Florida. Sampson, who served as an assistant under Rockets coach Kevin McHale prior to joining the school in 2014, doesn’t think Houston is worthy of its top-ten ranking—the Cougars played just four games before COVID brought their season to a screeching halt. But Sampson says rankings aren’t the priority right now.
“I’ve been more focused on getting our kids healthy,” said Sampson via Yahoo’s Chris Cwik. During Thursday’s media session, Sampson revealed his entire roster—that’s 15 players—has had COVID at one time or another. A handful of coaches have also battled the virus.
It’s been a rough start to the college hoops season with mass scheduling chaos amid a slew of postponements. A highly-anticipated matchup between Gonzaga and Baylor, the NCAA’s first and second-ranked teams respectively, was called off earlier this month while ACC powerhouse Duke scrapped its remaining nonconference games against Charleston Southern, Elon and Gardner-Webb due to COVID. Some have also speculated Keyontae Johnson’s on-court collapse last weekend may have been related to an earlier COVID diagnosis—the virus has been linked to various heart issues including myocarditis.
The Cougars hope to piece together enough healthy bodies to play their scheduled game Sunday versus Alcorn State. Houston will also host conference rival Temple next Tuesday, health permitting.
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