Kelvin Sampson Wants To See Marcus Sasser & Jamal Shead’s Jerseys Retired By Houston Next — a PaperCity Exclusive

With Dwight Davis’ number set to be retired in a ceremony during the Arizona State game on January 18th (as first reported by PaperCity), University of Houston coach Kelvin Sampson is happy that oversights in the UH basketball program’s storied history have been righted. Now Sampson is ready to see players from his coaching tenure  — the most successful era in Houston basketball history — get put up on the wall.

“We got Don Chaney’s number retired (last season),” Sampson tells PaperCity. “We got Dwight Davis’ number retired. I don’t know if I’ll be around to see it, but Marcus Sasser needs his jersey retired. Jamal Shead, he’s going to have his jersey retired. And it should be done sooner rather than later.”

In fact, the 70-year-old Sampson would love to see Sasser’s No. 0 and Shead’s No. 1 go up on the wall of the Fertitta Center (one of the best on-campus arenas in the country’s version of the rafters) while he’s still coaching Houston.

“I realize that these guys are still playing (in the NBA),” Sampson tells PaperCity. “But I hope I’m here the day they get their jersey retired. Because those guys — like many others that have been here in the last 11 years — are a huge reason why this program is where it is.

“We should honor that.”

“I don’t know if I’ll be around to see it, but Marcus Sasser needs his jersey retired. Jamal Shead, he’s going to have his jersey retired. And it should be done sooner rather than later.” — UH coach Kelvin Sampson

Even some members of Phi Slama Jama, including Reid Gettys, consider this remarkable 12-season Kelvin Sampson program run the true “golden era” of UH basketball. It is only fitting that the stars of this run start to get their own well-earned flowers. Sasser started 93 games in his Houston career, playing a significant role in every season he played, going from an all AAC Freshman to a first team All-American. He helped power Houston’s first Final Four team under Sampson with DeJon Jarreau and Quentin Grimes, who’d probably be a lock to have his jersey retired too if he had played for the Cougars his entire time in college. But few players have ever put together as consistent a four year college run as Sasser. He even led Houston in scoring in that Final Four game against Baylor as a sophomore, rising to the moment, playing on a team with experienced seniors DeJon Jarreau, Fabian White Jr. and Justin Gorham and junior Quentin Grimes.

Jamal Shead won Big 12 Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year in Houston’s first season in the Power 4 conference and also won the conference’s overall across-all-sports Big 12 Male Athlete of the Year Award. Shead is considered the best point guard in school history by many for good reason. His last season at Houston is one of the best seasons any college basketball player of this era has ever had. He also point guarded an injury-battered team to the Elite 8 as a sophomore and a team that spent large chunks of the season ranked No. 1 in the land as a junior, a team Sasser led in scoring.

Yes, Sasser’s No. 0 and Shead’s No. 1 are naturals for the wall.

“It’d be really cool,” UH assistant coach Kellen Sampson tells PaperCity of seeing those jerseys retired. “I’ve had so many talks with both of those guys and Quentin. This is their school and program. And I hope that wherever life takes them in their professional journeys, it doesn’t matter if it’s Houston basketball — or if it’s UH football, or UH softball, soccer, baseball whatever — if they’re somewhere in a bar and UH is playing, they stop and have an immediate cheering interest.

“Eventually, they’ll get into golf. And I’d be so excited if they had a UH golf bag. Just all the stuff that proud alums do.”

Joining Hakeem, Elvin and Clyde On the Wall

Of course having your number retired on the wall, right along with Hakeem Olajuwon, Elvin Hayes, Clyde Drexler and all the other historical greats of University of Houston basketball is something else, the honor of honors in many ways.

“To have your jersey retired, there are certain requirements that you have to have and there are certain honors and distinctions that you have earned, and both those guys they earned it,” Kellen Sampson says of Marcus Sasser and Jamal Shead. “. . . When that time comes and both those guys get to have their nights, they both earned it.”

For Kelvin Sampson to see it happen while he’s still coaching, the school will need to act sooner rather than later. Sampson is under contract through the 2028-29 season after signing a new four-year deal. But Sampson alone will determine how long he stays on the sidelines and when he hands the program off to his son and lead assistant Kellen Sampson, who is Houston’s head coach in waiting by contract.

“When that time comes and both those guys get to have their nights, they both earned it.” — UH assistant Kellen Sampson

This Sampson era of Houston basketball is full of impact makers, players who’ve made the program what it is. Guys like J’Wan Roberts, the winningest player in UH basketball history; Galen Robinson Jr., the point guard who believed before almost anyone else did and set a standard; Rob Gray, Kelvin Sampson’s first star at Houston; DeJon Jarreau, who fought through a shoulder injury and turned into a defensive stopper to push his final team to the Final Four; and so many, many more.

To the coach, it’s simple. It’s time to start honoring the guys who helped change everything. Not everyone can get on the wall, not everyone will see their number retired, but Marcus Sasser and Jamal Shead represent much more than just themselves. It’s a whole era statement too.