HISTORY AND HERITAGE

He's a throwback to another era.

It's an expression that is often used, when describing elder statesman in the world of coaching, but perhaps it is most fitting for the 47-year old coach at the University of Oklahoma.

Kelvin Sampson wouldn't mind taking a seat in H.G. Wells' Time Machine, setting the dial for a return to the mid 1800's, an era when the Colt revolver was the motivational pre-game speech.

"Coaching is about strategizing, motivating, cajoling, pulling and pushing," says Sampson. "That's what the old west was all about. Back then your game plan was to prevent cattle rustlers from stealing your herd or getting your crops to town. In order to survive you had to be able to thrive on trouble and adversity. That's coaching."

The images of the old west are tired, coarse, anguish, frustration and relenting, much like the images on the sidelines all across America today. It is fitting that during this hardened period of American history that John Naismith and Margaret Young gave birth to their second child, James, in 1861.

While they would eventually breathe the same air, Sampson points out that, 32 years prior to Naismith's birth, another legend was born that would have made a tremendous coach.

"Geronimo would have been a great coach," says Sampson. "He was the ultimate motivator. Not only was the land of his people taken, but he had to live life on the run. Think about how strategic he had to be out maneuver and outfox the opposition. From a coaching standpoint, we always try to do more with less and Geronimo was the epitome of that. Geronimo versus the United States Calvary was the equivalent to Northern Tech State versus Duke."

Sampson's passion for the era is as deep as the Pinkerton's commitment to bringing the outlaws of the day to justice.

Through the years, Sampson has found time to visit many of the Civil War battlefields and studied much about the life and times of President Abraham Lincoln.

"I have always been fascinated with the Civil War and Lincoln," says Sampson. "He was the greatest president in American history because of what he fought for. He stood up for what was right in the wake of adversity and paid with his life for what he believed in."

Sampson's journey through history has also taken him through Idaho, South Dakota and Montana, walking on the hallowed grounds of Little Big Horn and tracing the path of Chief Joseph's migration to Canada.

"It is something to walk across the same dirt where Sitting Bull, Chief Joseph and others stood," Sampson says. "These were some of the ultimate leaders. They had to deal with the elements, the attitudes of their warriors and the constant struggle for victory, in the form of freedom."

Sampson points out that the great leaders like Chief Joseph, Geronimo and Sitting Bull are not unlike the leaders with their bands of hardwood warriors today.

"We pride ourselves on dealing with adversity," he says. "We make our money the day after a home loss or following a game that we felt we should have won. Addressing the team in that next practice and getting them to respond is what drives us."

Sampson, who was a Political Science major in college, has found many parallels in those who led their teams into battle over a century ago. But for him it is more than just history. It's heritage.

Sampson is a descendent of the Lumbee, a Native American tribe, which today is the largest tribe east of the Mississippi river. The tribal name comes from the Lumbee River, which winds its way through Robeson Country, in North Carolina.

In 1887, the state established the Croatan Normal Indian School, which is known today as the University of North Carolina at Pembroke, Sampson's Alma Matter.

"It meant a lot to me to be able to attend the school established by the Lumbee," says Sampson. "My dad went there as well and was the first Native American to be inducted into the Pembroke's hall of fame."

Sampson's father, John "Ned" Sampson, played basketball in a time when segregation was still an ugly stain in the American fabric. But the younger Sampson focuses on the recognition, rather than the exclusion.

Former Duke All-American basketball player Dick Groat, who would go onto to be that National League MVP (Pittsburgh Pirates, 1960) said that Ned Sampson was the best player he ever faced.

"My dad still has that letter," says Sampson. "That means a lot. My dad was once the all-time leading scorer in school history, but he played in a difficult time. That was an era of barnstorming because there wasn't complete integration."

The recognition from Dick Groat brings a smile to coach Sampson's face, but that glow disappears when talking about recognition for the Lumbee people, which have been officially recognized by the state of North Carolina since 1885.

"The Lumbee are still not recognized by the Federal Government," says Sampson. "That puts a little chip on your shoulder. It's an on-going battle through legislation. It's frustrating."

It's hard to believe that the same bureaucracy, which drove the Lumbee and other tribes off their land long ago, still exists today. But it's that type of adversity that has helped to mold Sampson into the coach and the person that he is today.

And through the years he continues to take a page out of history.

From Montana Tech to Oklahoma, Sampson has never lost sight of his passion or his heritage. It's that refusal to compromise his beliefs and a tremendous pride in who he is that has taken his programs to higher plateaus.

Chief Joseph was known to his people as "Thunder Traveling to Loftier Mountain Heights." That sounds an awful lot like Kelvin Sampson.