The Arkansas basketball program is in crisis mode after Houston head coach Kelvin Sampson turned them down, and agreed to an extension with the Cougars.
Sampson agreed to an extension with Houston through 2025, the school announced on Twitter Thursday.
Share the news, @UHouston fans, and join @CoachSampsonUH in 2019-20 in the Fertitta Center#ForTheCity #GoCoogs pic.twitter.com/Oo3EaXNdJj
— Houston Men’s Hoops ???? ???? (@UHCougarMBK) April 4, 2019
Sampson led the Cougars to 33 wins and a sweet 16 birth this past season, he had widely been linked to the Arkansas opening, after the Razorbacks fired long-time head coach Mike Anderson. (RELATED: REPORT: Texas A&M Hires Buzz Williams As The Program’s New Basketball Coach)
Sampson was reportedly the Razorbacks’ tough hire, but now the Razorbacks are back to square one. A new report from HoopDirt suggests that Wichita State head coach Gregg Marshall is now the focus of the search.
That would be a fantastic hire, but I have my doubts, especially after Marshall left my beloved Alabama Crimson Tide at the altar in 2015. (RELATED: Wichita State Embarrassingly Celebrates Making The NIT Final Four)
“Today is a historic day for Razorback Athletics and for our state.” – @HunterYurachek pic.twitter.com/u0owfuoVBY
— Arkansas Razorbacks (@ArkRazorbacks) March 28, 2019
Arkansas has a fine basketball history, having been to three Final Fours, while winning a national championship in the 1990’s, but the bottom line is that Arkansas has not been to a Sweet 16 since 1996. That’s ancient history, and you have to wonder if this once great program will ever regain its’ footing.