Drake Crashing UH Basketball’s Selection Sunday Party In Houston’s Billionaire Palace Is a Serious Flex — Kelvin Sampson’s Grind Warriors Can Out Cool You Too

When Drake starts coming down the stairs of The Post Oak Hotel’s presidential suite to join the University of Houston’s NCAA Tournament Selection Show watch party turned NIL event, it becomes apparent that Kelvin Sampson’s gritty workmanlike program can do glitz better than almost anyone too. This isn’t Sampson’s thing. The basketball staff didn’t have anything to do with the planning of this NCAA Tournament Selection Sunday bonanza. And by the time Drake gets there, all the UH coaches are long gone. Assistants like K.C. Beard, Quannas White and Kellen Sampson leave before the CBS Selection Show even ends. They’re beyond eager to get back to the Guy V. Lewis facility to start preparing for Longwood, the 16th seed from the Big South, that No. 1 seed Houston will play in Memphis at 8:20 pm on Friday (TNT). To get a jump start on a long night that will stretch into morning.

But the UH players love having Drake there and getting to spend a little time with one of the biggest stars in the world. And as lunch pail as this Houston basketball program remains at heart, it is also player focused. Selection Sunday is supposed to be fun for the players. As Kellen Sampson puts it, it’s New Year’s and Christmas morning wrapped into one glorious basketball day. And it’s hard to imagine any team enjoying itself more on this Selection Sunday than these Houston players do.

At what other school in America do the players get to hang out together in a lavish presidential suite — that costs $125,000 a night to stay in, if you’re VIP enough to actually be invited to stay (there’s no booking this thing on Expedia) — with Drake popping in? This is near Pete Carroll at USC, having Snoop Dogg and a full rotating cast of LA celebrities at practice back in the day stuff. What other elite college basketball program in America gets the use of a Five Star Forbes rated hotel and a cameo from Drake?

Kentucky may have had Drake on its blue blood team not so long ago. But there is no hotel in Lexington like UH billionaire believer Tilman Fertitta’s Post Oak. Not even close. In many ways, this unconventional Selection Sunday watch party is the University of Houston tapping into the true power of being in Houston, the fourth largest city in the world. A place where global power players like Drake want to be. A place where a proud Houstonian like Tilman Fertitta is always upping The Wow factor.

“This is sort of crazy,” UH guard Emanuel Sharp tells PaperCity. “It’s awesome that we get to experience this together as a team.”

This scene isn’t for everyone. It’s understandable why some UH fans and traditionalists might prefer a more modest Selection Sunday watch party on campus. But this certainly IS for 16 to 22 year olds. Is it ever.

It’s cool to use an older person’s word. And the kind of high level recruits Kelvin Sampson’s program is in contention for are certainly going to notice an NCAA Tournament Selection Show watch party running right into an NIL event with Drake, show-stopping digs and passed hors d’oeuvres.

This no doubt No. 1 seed Houston finds Texas A&M’s endlessly rich athletic program (the eighth seeded Aggies will play UH again in the second round if both win on Friday) and all-time college basketball blue bloods Kentucky (No. 3 seed) and Duke (No, 4 seed) all in its endlessly tough South Region. But in some ways, Kelvin Sampson’s UH program is out doing the Kentuckys and Dukes of the world these days.

“This is something that you see on TV growing up,” UH power forward J’Wan Roberts says. “You see all the Kentuckys. All the Dukes, the North Carolinas. And then when you actually make it to the tournament, you tend to be like this is what I was looking at as a kid.

“That’s what I see on TV. And to actually be a part of it is like — you just want to soak it in. Some nights you just go in the gym and look around and be like, ‘I’m finally on the big stage.’ ”

Roberts grew up on St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands, watching the NCAA Tournament, thinking Kentucky and Duke were the coolest things in the world. Now there are kids growing up, thinking that about the University of Houston’s basketball program.

With this No, 1 seed becoming official, Kelvin Sampson is making more history in The Third Ward. This is the first time UH has been a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament in two straight years. Even Phi Slama Jama couldn’t manage that with Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler. Sampson did it while losing two NBA players (first round picks Jarace Walker and Marcus Sasser) and arguably his most creative offensive player (Tramon Mark) from last year’s No. 1 seeded team.

“It’s really tough doing it back to back years,” Sampson says.

The kind of high level recruits Kelvin Sampson’s program is in contention for are certainly going to notice an NCAA Tournament Selection Show watch party running right into an NIL event with Drake, show-stopping digs and passed hors d’oeuvres.

No. 1 NCAA Tournament Seeds, Overcoming Injuries and Drake Wonder

Purdue also repeated as a No. 1 seed this season, but the Boilermakers returned all-world 7-foot-4 center Zach Edey to do it. Kelvin Sampson did it while losing three of his top four scorers from last season’s No. 1 seed and then losing uber talent Terrance Arceneaux and freshman force JoJo Tugler to devastating season ending injuries during this season.

Every time someone talks about a season being Kelvin Sampson’s best coaching job yet, it seems like this 68-year-old basketball lifer goes out and somehow tops himself again.

“Sampson is one of those guys that didn’t talk the talk and not walk the walk,” Fertitta says. “He said you give me the facilities and I’ll win. And people don’t realize out there that this guy is going to go down as one of the most victorious college coaches of all time. He has a good chance to be in the top five.

“We’re lucky to have him. He’s just a good man, having his whole family (with him). And we look forward to a few more years with him.”

In many ways, this unconventional Selection Sunday watch party is the University of Houston tapping into the true power of being in Houston, the fourth largest city in the world.

This Selection Sunday is full of little UH basketball family moments. There’s Roberts spending time with his biggest fan — assistant coach Kellen Sampson’s 5-year-old daughter Maisy Jade — with the 6-foot-7 power forward adorably huddling with the small girl. There’s Kellen Sampson cradling his sleeping son Kylen in his arms while watching the NCAA Tournament brackets get revealed. The 3-year-old doesn’t make it all the way through the CBS Selection Show either.

“This is something that you see on TV growing up. You see all the Kentuckys. All the Dukes, the North Carolinas.” — UH power foward J’Wan Roberts

This Houston basketball program isn’t stopping anytime soon. You can see that even amidst the uncharacteristic glamour of this Drake Selection Sunday if you look hard enough. There’s UH assistant coach Quannas White, who has the scout for Longwood, slipping into the hallway. Hurrying to start preparing the report on the Lancers, who upset the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds in the Big South in back to back games to make the NCAA Tournament.

“A long one,” White says when I ask what this Sunday night of preparation is like. “I’ll be up all night and just making sure that we do a good job of presenting to the guys what we’re getting ready to face. Just making sure our guys are prepared.”

“There’s about 30 seconds of joy,” Lauren Sampson, UH’s do-everything director of operations, tells PaperCity of the Selection Sunday experience for the basketball staff. “Then it’s immediately right back to work.”

Drake and the Post Oak glitz are a nice reward for the players who’ve put so much into this 30-4 Big 12 championship season. And it’s arguably even more impactful on impressionable recruits.

“You want everybody to enjoy the good things in life,” Fertitta says, standing in the center of that presidential suite that takes up the entire 32nd floor of The Post Oak Hotel and has its own private elevator. “The Post Oak is one of the good things in life.

“I get to enjoy it, so why shouldn’t they?”

This can be life as a University of Houston basketball player these days, sure. For a Selection Sunday break of a night. But players like LJ Cryer and Emanuel Sharp will be back to their late night, after hours shooting routines soon enough. The glitz and the glamour are sure nice for a night.

But with UH basketball, the grind always wins out.