There are two basic rules when talking to Houston Cougars men’s basketball coach Kelvin Sampson.
First, don’t call him Kevin. Second, don’t mispronounce Gonzaga.
The 69-year-old head coach has helped Houston find the kind of success it hasn’t had since the early 1980s. With a Final Four already under his belt, Sampson has the Cougars as a No. 1 seed in the Midwest region of the 2025 NCAA Tournament. After defeating the SIU Edwardsville Cougars in the first round, Houston has a date with the 9-seed Gonzaga Bulldogs for the chance to advance to their fifth-consecutive Sweet Sixteen (and sixth in seven years).
However, before they played, Sampson made sure that at least one reporter said his opponent’s name correctly.
The Houston coach met with the media on Friday to discuss the matchup when a reporter asked, “Didn’t you try to get a game with Gonzaga in 2021.” On the reporter’s pronunciation of ‘Gun-zah-ga,’ Sampson had to interject.
“Gon-zaa-ga,” corrected Sampson. “It always burns me up when people say that. It’s like calling me Kevin. My name is not Kevin. My mother used to say… ‘Don’t let people call you Kevin; your name is Kelvin. Make sure they pronounce your name right.’ So that’s why my antennas go up with that. Same with Gon-zaa-ga. They were our neighbors. And it’s not ‘Spo-kane,’ it’s not ‘Gon-zah-ga,’ it’s ‘Gon-zaa-ga’ and it’s ‘Spo-can.'”
Fair enough, Kevin.
About Sean Keeley
Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.