See Houston, do not need to have most nil to make success

[chasingwildcat]

Houston has tough, athletic players that can perform well in both offense, defense in tournament

Consecutive s16/e8/ff appreances are extremely impressive (even for blue blood schools)

Houston is not a school with best nil condition but is always one of top teams in tournament in recent years.

Do not need most money, other parts like evaluation, players development are also important

 

[ImTheVillageIdiot]

Houston has tough, athletic players that can perform well in both offense, defense in tournament

Consecutive s16/e8/ff appreances are extremely impressive (even for blue blood schools)

Houston is not a school with best nil condition but is always one of top teams in tournament in recent years.

Do not need most money, other parts like evaluation, players development are also important

Let’s see how they do against Duke before concluding this…

 

[flacat22]

With Mattress Mack and Tilman Fertitta’s money? You think they aren’t paying through the nose?? Are you serious???!!

Plenty of Houston $$

 

[PhattyJ4UK]

And if Tennessee hadn’t used all their emotional capital on Friday night, Houston would be exiting today.

That strategy is fine at Houston. Not Kentucky.

 

[Butters' Dad]

Swing and a miss.

 

[buster3.0]

Kelvin Sampson is a great coach. Indiana should have never fired him. He was the best coach they had post Knight. Over what? Some phone calls or text to recruits? Seems laughable now.

 

[UKcats1988]

The Rockets owner Fertitta is a major supporter of Houston.

 

[AzubuikeandFitch]

They landed an absolute stud in Chris Cenac

 

[ukcatz12]

Houston has tough, athletic players that can perform well in both offense, defense in tournament

Consecutive s16/e8/ff appreances are extremely impressive (even for blue blood schools)

Houston is not a school with best nil condition but is always one of top teams in tournament in recent years.

Do not need most money, other parts like evaluation, players development are also important

Houston has pretty good NIL. That Mattress Mack guy routinely signs NIL deals with the entire basketball team.

 

[Son_Of_Saul]

Nah, I'd rather look at Duke as the template for how to do NIL.

 

[Coach Marrow]

They have money

 

[shodaman]

Kelvin Sampson is a great coach. Indiana should have never fired him. He was the best coach they had post Knight. Over what? Some phone calls or text to recruits? Seems laughable now.

that is not all that was going on with sampson.

 

[Kantucke]

Whatever they have now, they're going to have more after this run

 

[gharding07]

Kelvin Sampson is a hell of a coach.

 

[flacat22]

The Rockets owner Fertitta is a major supporter of Houston.

Their arena is named for him. He pays plenty.

 

[arenk]

Let’s see how they do against Duke before concluding this…

Yep, they haven't won anything yet.

 

[jwphelps]

Houston has tough, athletic players that can perform well in both offense, defense in tournament

Consecutive s16/e8/ff appreances are extremely impressive (even for blue blood schools)

Houston is not a school with best nil condition but is always one of top teams in tournament in recent years.

Do not need most money, other parts like evaluation, players development are also important

Coaching and player attitude helps. Some of these players who are only looking for a big pay check but don't really care about March, aren't going to win you championships. Cal proved that the last 10 years.

 

[AshWilliams]

that is not all that was going on with sampson.

That's EXACTLY what happened with Sampson.

 

[ArtLaibsGhost]

Let’s see how they do against Duke before concluding this…

They made it to FF.Something we haven't done in a decade

 

[bigblueinsanity]

Kelvin Sampson is a hell of a coach.

He is. Combined with a lucrative nil backing, despite the post title, and it makes the results easier to understand.

 

[flacat22]

Houston has tough, athletic players that can perform well in both offense, defense in tournament

Consecutive s16/e8/ff appreances are extremely impressive (even for blue blood schools)

Houston is not a school with best nil condition but is always one of top teams in tournament in recent years.

Do not need most money, other parts like evaluation, players development are also important

They ain’t poor….

While it's difficult to pinpoint an exact figure, the University of Houston's men's basketball program, through its NIL collective, "Linking Coogs," is estimated to have around $1 million in NIL opportunities available to its players. [1, 2, 3, 4]
Here's a more detailed breakdown: [2, 3]

• NIL Collective: The University of Houston has an NIL collective called "Linking Coogs" that facilitates NIL deals for its athletes. [2, 3]
• Tournament Opportunities: The Cougars are expected to participate in the Players Era Festival, a new college men's basketball tournament, which offers NIL payouts, tournament payouts, and long-term NIL deals. [1, 3]
• Estimated Payout: The tournament is expected to offer a total of $1 million in NIL opportunities for the athletes. [1, 3]
• Other NIL Opportunities: There are also other NIL fundraisers and opportunities for athletes, such as trading cards, where 60% of the money raised goes directly to the athletes. [3]
• Example NIL Deals: L.J. Cryer, a men's basketball player, has NIL deals with Linking Coogs and SKIMS, and is estimated to have made $769,000. [2]
• Other NIL deals: The Houston Chronicle reported that UH athletes have made more than $200,000 in NIL deals. [5]

Generative AI is experimental.
[1] https://bleacherreport.com/articles...s-set-to-play-in-1m-nil-driven-cbb-tournament
[2] https://defendernetwork.com/sports/college-sports/ncaa-rules-athletes-name-image-likeness/
[3] https://thedailycougar.com/2024/09/17/nil-the-transfer-portal-are-changing-college-athletics/
[4] https://www.axios.com/2025/03/28/the-college-basketball-crown-tournament-explained
[5] https://www.houstonchronicle.com/te...ty-of-Houston-athletes-NIL-deals-17398263.php

 

[Wildcats1st]

Kelvin Sampson has built a program that constantly has his type of players in his system.

 

[runt#69]

Nah, I'd rather look at Duke as the template for how to do NIL.

I'll go out on a limb here and say that between Houston and dUKe, we here at Kentucky would be better served by keeping up with what dUKe is doing. Just a thought. But Houston has a great coach, and they are reflective of what the new age looks like.

Lots of teams with supporters that are going to have deep pockets to keep players spread out.

It's a new era. But the bluebloods still can maintain position at the top.

Let's hope everyone but Kentucky doesn't !

Go Big Blue !

 

[UKAlum84]

Coach Sampson said something important, his guys were out there conditioning way early before the season...He said this after they beat TN. So basically, you gotta work harder than the other teams, to get lucky and make it to the final four. He said nobody was watching them condition that early but it paid off in the long run.

 

[CatDadCoog]

Coogs work so hard. I used to commiserate with junior (new uk alumna) when cal was at Uk about cals offseason vs Sampson’s. We would always wonder if cal had even started coaching defense yet, while samp was busting their butts from day one

Sampson is just now getting 4 / 5 stars that want to be coached like that… where your easiest college day is so much harder than your hardest high school day. But the game is changing so he might be getting “caught young” next year. Need to get more transfers willing to work like that (uzan)

Also, Tilman was on board of regents at uh, so always unclear on if he was able to contribute to NIL. He’s off now as new ambassador to somewhere (Italy?)

Also part 2… what was Oklahoma even doing with Oweh and Uzan in same back court last year?

 

[king of cali]

They made it to FF.Something we haven't done in a decade.

People will always move the goalposts when it comes to a program like Houston. First it was they haven’t been to a Final 4. Then it was they’re good because they play in a jv conference. Now they’re doing the same thing in the Big 12.

It’s insanely hard to win a title, especially with the level of competition that will be in San Antonio. It’s not an indictment of Houston if they don’t win it all.

 

[bthaunert]

Kelvin Sampson is a hell of a coach.

I love Sampson...always been a big fan. I posted this in a thread in February of last year when we wall wanted Cal out:

I might take a little unconventional approach and look for a guy who has never won it all, but is still very relevant and wants that elusive title so bad. Most likely older and would be maybe a 5 year hire. I know Mitch wouldn’t touch either of these guys, but someone like Pearl or Sampson.

 

[true blue1]

They landed an absolute stud in Chris Cenac

I felt we could have possibly landed Cenac but the staff elected to go all out for Wilson.

 

[shodaman]

That's EXACTLY what happened with Sampson.

his recruits at IU had some less than stellar reputations and academics were not at the top of his list when recruiting .

 

[Larry Skaggs]

Houston has tens of millions from fracking

 

[AzubuikeandFitch]

They were able to keep several frontcourt players for multiple yrs. That's quite an accomplishment these days.

 

[The_Answer1313]

Maybe a silly question but I'm going to ask this anyways............


How in the world does anyone know here what exactly Houston's NIL situation is.

 

[flacat22]

Maybe a silly question but I'm going to ask this anyways............


How in the world does anyone know here what exactly Houston's NIL situation is.

“Exactly?” No one does but with its collective, participation in certain events (see New Era) and their big money local donors its certainly plausible to believe that they pay their athletes very well, probably above average.

 

[The_Answer1313]

“Exactly?” No one does but with its collective, participation in certain events (see New Era) and their big money local donors its certainly plausible to believe that they pay their athletes very well, probably above average.

Well then the next question is why does the OP assume that "Houston is not a school with the best NIL condition".

That's my point. Whenever people keep talking about NIL and specific schools seems like a lot of times it's all over the place and no one really knows just what that situation is

 

[flacat22]

Well then the next question is why does the OP assume that "Houston is not a school with the best NIL condition".

We’re agreeing. That’s for him to answer. I think he’s way off base.

That's my point. Whenever people keep talking about NIL and specific schools seems like a lot of times it's all over the place and no one really knows just what that situation is

While EXACT figures aren’t made public (yet) common sense can still be applied to accurately estimate or guess a team’s ability to pay.

 

[shodaman]

Dude. All you had to do was look it up. But instead you double down on stupid.

I'd be embarrassed if I were you.

dude calling people names just proves your intelligents . if you don't think it was more than a couple of phone calls your delusional

 

[flacat22]

dude calling people names just proves your intelligents . if you don't think it was more than a couple of phone calls your delusional

Wait, what?