Mark Berman

One of the things University of Houston coach Kelvin Sampson loved about the inaugural H-Town Basketball Tipoff is seeing the high school coach of the year award named after legendary Yates High School coach Greg Wise. "I think about a guy like Greg Wise," Sampson says. "He's coached for 30 some years and that's the first time they've had a Basketball Tipoff banquet. Think about that. I think I thought about that more than anything else. "One of the greatest talent cities in the country is Houston. And I liked it when a lot of the kids' parents came over and wanted a picture or something. And looking in those kids' eyes and parents' eyes that's a good thing that (organizer) Mike (Pede) did yesterday. "A good, good thing. I like the fact that they named one of the awards after Guy V. Lewis. The Guy V. Lewis Award goes to the Player of the Year in the city of Houston. I like the fact that they named another award after Greg Wise (the Greg Wise Coach of the Year Award) . . . To name one of the awards after Greg Wise, that's a good thing. "Those two men did so much for basketball in this city. And I'm so glad that they're getting recognized. And it's an honor to have your name on an award that's going to live long after your days are gone. "I loved seeing the excitement. I loved seeing Pat Beverley with his daughter. I loved seeing Rudy Tomjanovich. (Van) Chancellor. I loved seeing all the Cougar fans that were there. It was a good day. It was a good day. "And I'm excited about the future of that event. I think Mike's onto something good there. I think a lot of good can come from that." @PaperCityMag first broke the news of the H-Town Basketball Tipoff being planned back in August.

The inaugural H-Town Basketball Tipoff drew a great media turnout along with all the big names. @JBristolKHOU, @NateGriffFOX26 and @KPRC2RandyMc all were there and it's encouraging to see how many outlets truly care about basketball in the city with every TV station there. Kelvin Sampson left impressed. "Not many cities could have the first year of a banquet like this and have so many people show up," Sampson says. "I won't be here five or 10 years from now. But I may come back to this banquet and see how much it grows."

Rudy Tomjanovich is the surprise guest at this inaugural H-Town Basketball Tipoff and the Rockets are interested in being more involved in future H-Town Tipoffs, sources tell @PaperCityMag. Event orchestrator Mike Pede says he expects future Tipoffs will be moved earlier in the calendar before the Rockets' season opener as well to allow the team to participate, creating an even bigger basketball extravaganza. Almost 600 people are at this first Tipoff. Pede says he was hoping for 300 when he first started planning it. Championship Houston Comets coach Van Chancellor, Otis Birdsong and Rickie Winslow are also all here.

Houston coach Kelvin Sampson to @PaperCityMag on Wednesday's inaugural H-Town Basketball Tipoff, which will give basketball the kind of leadoff event that only football's had in the past: "It's good for basketball in the city. . . But I applaud Mike P(ede) and the people that's trying to do it. It's good for the city for basketball. . . I'm glad they're doing it. The coaches at Texas Southern, the coaches at Rice, the coaches at Houston Christian, Prairie View. It's good for those schools to get some recognition too. Because all those coaches work their butts off. "It's good for everybody. It's good for basketball in the city. I've been at places over the years that they would do that. Have a little luncheon to start. But we've never had one here." @PaperCityMag first broke the news of this new H-Town Basketball Tipoff event back in August.