Kelvin Sampson is a stickler for correct pronunciations.
The Houston basketball coach corrected a reporter who mispronounced Gonzaga, the Cougars’ second-round opponent in March Madness 2025.
“Didn’t you try to get a game with Gonzaga in 2021?” the reporter asked, pronouncing the school “Gun-zah-ga.”
Sampson interjected before the reporter could finish.
“Gon-zaa-ga,” Sampson said. “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, people would see my name and say ‘hey Kevin’ and she would 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.’”
Sampson’s Cougars, who are a No. 1 seed in the tournament, rolled past No. 16-seeded SIU Edwardsville, 78-40, on Thursday to set up Saturday’s clash against the No. 8-seeded Bulldogs.
Milos Uzan led the way with 16 points, while L.J. Cryer poured in 15.
“I thought our defense and our rebounding, two of the things we really emphasize, was good today,” Sampson said after the game. “Shot selection was really good to start the game — knocked some shots down, got off to a good start.”
Gonzaga, meanwhile, trounced No. 9-seeded Georgia, 89-68, in the first round.
Khalif Battle led the team in scoring with 24 points, while Braden Huff and Nolan Hickman chipped in 18 points apiece.
Tom McCarthy, Deb Antonelli, Steve Smith and AJ Ross will be TNT’s broadcast team for Saturday’s game.
Hopefully, they get their pronunciations right.
