The connection

Steve Virgen

There’s a certain comfort expressed between UC Irvine assistant

coach Len Stevens and University of Oklahoma Kelvin Sampson.

There’s a friendship there, as well as camaraderie between UCI

Coach Pat Douglass and Sampson.

The evidence came Thursday night at a dinner that brought teams

together which are in the Sooner Invitational. Douglass, who

described UCI as an academic school that has a challenge to find gym

time, joked with Sampson, who said, “Pat, we go to school, too.”

Stevens looked on with a fatherly smile. After the dinner, Stevens

approached Sampson’s son, Kellen (age 17), shook his hand and said,

“Look at you. How are you?”

Stevens knew Kellen when he was 1.

It’s a small world within the coaching circuit. That sometimes

could be best compared to family trees. Douglass, Stevens and Sampson

are related.

Back in the early 1980s, Stevens would coach against Sampson.

Stevens guided NAIA St. Martin’s College in Lacey, Wash., while

Sampson coached at Montana Tech, also a NAIA program. Douglass, like

Sampson, was getting his career started at Eastern Montana, a NCAA

Division II school.

In 1981, Stevens went on to become an assistant at Washington

State, under George Raveling. When Raveling left two years later,

Stevens became head coach of the Cougars, and in 1986, he added a young, vibrant Sampson as his assistant.

“I wanted a guy that would be young and enthusiastic,” Stevens

said. Kelvin definitely fulfilled that need.”

Sampson remembers his time at Washington State as an important

part in regard to learning to become one of the better coaches in the

country.

“I liked it at Montana Tech,” Sampson said. “The only reason I

left was because of Len. I knew what I was getting into and I don’t

regret it one bit. I learned so much. With, Len, Todd (Lee) and Mike

Johnson, Pat has a great staff.”

After Washington State, Stevens went to coach the University of

Nevada, while Sampson took over. Stevens remains as the only coach in

the 89-year history of Nevada basketball to record five consecutive

winning seasons.

Sampson, who was Pac-10 Coach of the Year in 1992, coached at Washington State for seven years. In his final season he led the

Cougars to their first NCAA Tournament berth in 11 years in 1994. He

then went on to Oklahoma and instilled his coaching style of

discipline, attention to detail and the importance of teamwork into

the Sooner program. He is 184-74 in his eight years at OU. Last year

he led the Sooners to the Final Four, and he has guided Oklahoma to a

NCAA Tournament appearance in all eight seasons.

The last three years, Sampson and the Sooners are 84-19 for a .816

inning percentage. Only Duke (.880), Cincinnati (.833) and Stanford

(.821) own better winning percentages over the span. This year,

Oklahoma entered the season ranked No. 3 in the country.

“It’s a great thrill to watch his teams,” Stevens said of Sampson.

“I knew he had it in him all along. He’s been around coaching all his

life and he’s always had the passion. He’s a man of integrity and he

teaches that and discipline. He’s carried that through his whole

life.”

Douglass said he had a chance to learn from Sampson in 1993.

Sampson said he also learned from Douglass in 1993, when Sampson was

the head coach and Douglass an assistant of the West team at the U.S.

Olympic Festival in San Antonio, Texas, where the squad won the

silver medal.

“I always admired and respected the way he coaches a team and the

way he takes command,” Sampson said of Douglass. “He’s a winner. He

finds a way to in. He’s as good a coach as there is in the country,

and I mean that.”

Douglass said he also used the game against Oklahoma as a learning

experience, not just for himself but for his players, as well.