Kelvin Sampson serious candidate for University of Houston basketball job, reports say

Earlier today, James Dickey resigned as coach of the University of Houston basketball team, and it appears the Cougars are wasting no time in their search for his successor. According to Adrian Wojnarowski and Pat Forde of Yahoo! Sports, Rockets assistant Kelvin Sampson has emerged as a leading candidate for the position.

Here's what they had to say:

Houston Rockets assistant coach Kelvin Sampson has emerged as a leading candidate to become the head coach at the university of Houston, multiple sources told Yahoo Sports.

Sampson is expected to meet with school representatives soon to discuss the job. Sources told Yahoo Sports that the Cougars are determined to hire a proven winner at the major level of college basketball.

The Rockets have allowed Sampson and other assistants to interview for head coaching positions in the past, so there should be no barriers for Sampson to at least pursue the job. He has interviewed for a number of coaching positions in the past year, but came up short in each of the pursuits.

Sampson is very well-respected and helps the Rockets a great deal with their development of young players, especially big men, so losing him would be a big blow, but giving their assistants the chance to pursue opportunities like this is a good policy. With the Rockets headed for the playoffs, it is worth wondering if he would leave the team mid-season.