When University of Houston coach Kelvin Sampson asked the basketball community to help his city as it recovers from Hurricane Harvey, coaches from all over responded.
Sampson asked programs at any level to send him 20 T-shirts and 10 pairs of shoes, knowing people would need them. He’d take care of getting them to the right place.
UMass coach Matt McCall and Amherst College coach Dave Hixon both put packages in the mail.
“We sent as much as we could gather, a bunch of shoes and shirts,” McCall said. “People down there have lost everything. Any little bit helps at this point in time. Natural disasters are so catastrophic. We think we have problems. Our problems are miniature compared to what those people are dealing with. I think what Coach Sampson is trying to do is great. The more clothing the more supplies they can get down there to help people the better.”
Hixon confirmed his participation by text message:
#HoustonStrong #ForTheCity #GoCoogs pic.twitter.com/aAlkkcNqnE
— Coach Kelvin Sampson (@CoachSampsonUH) August 28, 2017
“Following the lead of University of Houston coach Kelvin Sampson and sending T’s and sneakers!!”
Former UMass coaches John Calipari and Derek Kellogg each announced that their programs at Kentucky and Long Island, respectively, would be contributing.
“We’ll be sending out first thing tomorrow. I’m also calling on the #BBN to do whatever it can. No deed is too small!” Calipari tweeted.
BBN is Big Blue Nation, Kentucky’s passionate fan base.
“Happy to help out coach! Blackbird gear is on its way! #HoustonStrong” Kellogg tweeted.
McCall was proud of the coaching community’s response.
“We’re competing and it’s our job to win. But when you can get together for a common cause, whether it’s Coaches vs. Cancer or to help in any way is great. We need to continue to do that. You’re on a platform. If you can use that to help people, the more we can do that the better.”
While McCall hasn’t dealt with a storm the caliber of Harvey, he has a healthy respect for hurricanes and their potential damage from his time living in Florida.
“I remember Hurricane Andrew like it was yesterday. I was 9 years old. I remember being in Ocala, Florida, watching the news seeing the catastrophic damage Andrew was doing to the southern part of the state five hours away,” McCall said. “You try to prepare, but sometimes you can’t prepare for the damage these things cause. It’s impossible.”
RARING TO GO — McCall was eager for his players to return to campus after working with them over the summer. During the second summer-school session he had his whole roster except transfer Jaylen Brantley, who was completing his degree at Maryland.
“It was great. The guys came in and got to work. We put them in situations that were extremely challenging and they got better. They got better as a team,” he said. “We did a simulation of practice toward the end of the summer. We have a long way to go but I think they got a taste for how things are going to be done. There’s a lot of positives to take from the summer.”
The players will return this weekend after being home the past couple weeks.
“Once we get back it’s game on. It’s going to be revved up to another level,” he said.
McCall said Brantley, who’ll be eligible immediately, will have to make up for lost time.
“Not being here this summer, he’s got a lot of ground to make up developing trust and camaraderie with his teammates,” he said. “He’s a great kid and has been a great teammate where ever he’s been. He’s a great basketball player. He’s got a great basketball IQ.”
Matt Vautour can be reached at mvautour@gazettenet.com. Get UMass coverage delivered in your Facebook news feed at www.facebook.com/GazetteUMassCoverage