Kelvin Sampson put the full-court press on Tramon Mark.
From the first time Sampson, the coach of eighth-ranked Houston, saw Mark as a 10th-grader at Dickinson High School, he was sold.
“He had me at hello,” Sampson said. “I knew he was going to be good.”
That day, Sampson did not offer a scholarship to Mark, but he continued to keep an eye on the promising young guard on the summer AAU circuit.
As Mark was about to wrap up his junior year in 2019, Sampson made the rare decision to take his entire coaching staff — assistants Kellen Sampson, Alvin Brooks and Quannas White — to meet with Mark, his parents and high school coach Jason Wilson.
“Very rarely do all four of us go,” Sampson said. “We made sure that kid understood how important he was to our program.”
A week later, Mark gave a verbal commitment, eventually becoming one of the highest-rated signees for UH in the modern recruiting era.
“He has a chance to be really, really good,” Sampson said. “We’re just seeing glimpses now.”
It has been, predictably, a roller coaster season for the 6-5 freshman. He’s seen the highs (a 22-point debut in the season opener against Lamar and 18 points in his first career start against South Carolina) to a tough six-game stretch after coming back from a long layoff because of COVID-19.
Mark had his best game in nearly a month Wednesday, finishing with 11 points and six rebounds in 19 minutes off the bench to help UH beat Tulsa 86-59. It was the fifth straight win for the Cougars (12-1), who are in sole possession of first place in the American Athletic Conference entering Saturday’s game against Temple in Philadelphia.
“Coming back from COVID-19 it was very tough,” Mark said. “It took me a while, but I’m definitely getting my groove back.”
On Texas Sports Nation: Photos from UH 86, Tulsa 59
In the six games before Wednesday, Sampson preached patience for his entire team, which went 15 days between games in December because of a COVID-19 outbreak.
Upon the return to the court, Sampson expressed concern for Mark playing 30 minutes in consecutive games against Alcorn State and Temple for the shorthanded Cougars. A week later, Sampson said Mark was “completely out of it” and pulled back on his minutes in a loss to Tulsa.
After a fast start that included consecutive AAC freshman of the week honors to begin the season, Mark went through a 5-for-28 shooting slump in six games.
“I think it was definitely the rust,” said Mark, who averages 8.2 points and 3.0 rebounds per game. “From a mental standpoint I was struggling a little bit.”
Through it all, Sampson never wavered.
Most games, Mark is one of the first players off the bench. Sampson likes his aggressiveness, even if that makes Mark turnover-prone (three turnovers and no assists in the last game). Like most of the young team, which has gone through the transition of losing Nate Hinton (NBA draft), Fabian White Jr. (knee injury) and Caleb Mills (transfer to Florida State), Mark continues to search for his role.
“The one thing about freshmen, you have to live with their mistakes,” Sampson said. “I think we’re coaching him the right way, that we are allowing him to make mistakes. He’s not worried about looking at the bench or dwelling on a mistake. For him, it’s the next play.”
Mark said there has been adjustment period from high school to college, where the level of competition is vastly improved. In his final two seasons, Mark averaged 26.5 and 29.3 points to earn Class 6A all-state honors. Dickinson qualified for the state tournament in Mark’s senior season.
“It’s been kind of tough at times, (figuring out) what am I supposed to be doing or what I should be doing,” said Mark, who was the No. 72 ranked player nationally in the class of 2020, according to ESPN. “As the season goes along, you just figure it out. Naturally, it just comes to you and you start to figure things out. It gets easier.”
Sampson has raved about Mark, describing him as a “Swiss Army knife” for his wide range of skills. Some of that was on display last summer as Mark was invited to the NBA Top 100 Camp, a showcase of the best players in the country. Mark averaged a camp-high 5.5 assists.
“Tramon’s greatest strength is he doesn’t really have any weaknesses,” Sampson said. “He does everything pretty good. But I think some of the things he does pretty good has a chance to move up another level.”
For the first time in a long time, Mark feels like himself. In the closing minutes against Tulsa, he drove the lane for a layup. He hit a 3-pointer. His last points came on a dunk.
“I was definitely out there comfortable,” Mark said. “I was happy to be out there. Being out there I was just hoopin.’ When I’m just hoopin,’ that’s when I’m at my best.”
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