Kelvin Sampson has emerged as a leading candidate to become the Orlando Magic head coach. And it goes back to Sampson’s Milwaukee Bucks days.
Sampson seemed like the quintessential college coach during his days at Washington State, Oklahoma and Indiana – blue-collar, sell-out-to-defense, often winning with overachievers, even running afoul of NCAA regulations.
But since Sampson was fired at Indiana in 2008 over NCAA rule violations, he’s remade his career via the NBA route.
Sampson spent six years as an NBA assistant, then returned to the college ranks as the University of Houston head coach, where he’s returned the Cougars to the spotlight.