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Kelvin Sampson will add Kingston Flemings to his list of players drafted in the NBA Draft lottery in June.<\/p>\n
Alex Slitz\/Getty Images<\/p>\n
Kingston Flemings<\/a> admitted an obvious truth Sunday during his NBA Draft announcement press conference inside Houston’s\u00a0Fertitta Center. He then shared why the Houston Cougars<\/a> program is a rare exception in 2026, a credit to head coach Kelvin Sampson<\/p>\n “He’s [always] going to keep the culture the same and the locker room right,” Flemings said. “Especially in this day and era, with NIL and everything, it’s hard to keep a locker room. Everyone’s making money left and right, it’s all people think about sometimes. But not at Houston.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n “As long as we have these coaches here, it’s never going to be like that.”<\/p>\n Flemings announced his decision to turn pro Sunday after just one season in Houston, a superb, All-American campaign. He came to Houston as a\u00a0five-star recruit from Brennan High School<\/a> in San Antonio, committing to Houston over Big 12 rival Texas Tech. Flemings complimented the Cougars’ culture throughout Sunday’s press conference, time and again lauding Sampson for the program he’s built at Houston. Flemings offered one warning to both incoming freshmen and veteran transfers, however.\u00a0<\/p>\n “It’s not always going to be easy. If you don’t know that by now, you don’t know Houston,” Flemings said. “If you’re going to choose this place, you better love [basketball], and you better be ready to take adversity whenever it happens.”\u00a0<\/p>\n Flemings’ draft prospects<\/p>\n Flemings will likely be the fifth Houston player drafted in\u00a0Sampson’s 12 years with the program in June (fellow 2025-26 freshman\u00a0Chris Cenac Jr.<\/a> will become the sixth, likely later in the first round). Six Houston players logged NBA minutes this season. Flemings, Sampson says, has a chance to be the best of them all, citing the star’s “high ceiling” as a potential starting point guard. It’s hard to project a given prospect’s professional success. But Sampson has no problem projecting Flemings’ likely draft spot.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n “I don’t think Kingston’s a top-10 pick. I think he\u2019s a top-5 pick,” Sampson said. “Kingston’s stock is going to go up because he’s going to be in front of these people.”<\/p>\n Kelvin Sampson on Kingston Flemings\u2019 NBA Draft outlook: <\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think Kingston\u2019s a top-10 pick. I think he\u2019s a top-5 pick.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n