While coach Kelvin Sampson already began his offseason quest through the transfer portal, one last piece from Houston men’s basketball’s memorable 2025-26 campaign declared his official goodbye to the program and intentions towards the next step.
Following a campaign that saw First Team All-Big 12 and Big 12 All-Freshman team honors, and a Houston freshman program single-game scoring record, guard Kingston Flemings made his official announcement on Sunday inside Fertitta Center that he’d be declaring for the 2026 NBA draft.
While the announcement was made official, it came as no surprise at all considering that Flemings is already a projected top-10 lottery draft pick across multiple boards, with some boards reaching as high as a top-five pick.
Therefore, he officially became the third one-and-done talent within four seasons under Sampson’s watch at Houston, and the second in the same season with freshman forward Chris Cenac Jr. The two were both part of Houston’s highest-rated recruiting class of the modern era in program history.
Having racked up four one-and-done talents overall in his coaching career, Sampson naturally reflected on what made Flemings, like the rest of such talents, destined to take the next step.
“Once he [Flemings] realized he could do it, it just came down to being consistent,” he said. “He had an unbelievable freshman year.”
Sampson had the sam==e philosophy about his first one-and-done talent at Houston, forward Jarace Walker in the 2022-23 season that marked the Cougars opening as perennial national championship contenders in their final season in the American.
Houston basketball head coach Kelvin Sampson talks with freshman Jarace Walker during a pause in play against St. Joseph’s at Navy’s Alumni Hall on Friday, Nov. 11, 2022, in Annapolis, Md. | Dan Rainville / USA TODAY NETWORK
Following leading Houston to a Sweet 16 run that season, Walker was selected as the eighth overall pick by the Washington Wizards, eventually traded to his current organization, the Indiana Pacers.
But there’s always a “What If?” factor, naturally, when it comes to one-and-done freshman talents, if they decide to stay another season and potentially ride out their eligibility. Does their window collapse, does it only get better, or does it stay the same?
“If Jarace Walker came back to college next year, he would be dominant,” Sampson said. “He wasn’t as a freshman, that’s because none of them are. But if Jarace had come back his sophomore year, Chris, his sophomore year, Kingston, his sophomore year, that’s how you win championships. But you’re also proud of bringing in kids that are one-and-done.”
In Sampson’s eyes, he embraces their potential beyond the collegiate level, even if pondering the possibilities of what would’ve happened if they stayed. Nonetheless, that pride comes from a development standpoint in getting his players to the league yet always knowing them like family at Houston.
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