Hotline mailbag: Where Kelvin Sampson ranks in Pac-12 history; and the value of five-star recruits

Even though Kelvin Sampson’s Washington State tenure wasn’t spectacular, he clearly was on his way to becoming great. Where does he rank on your list of best-ever coaches to spend time in the conference (post-1978 expansion era)? — @ollievondoof

Terrific question, and the timing couldn’t be better given the performance of his Houston team against Arizona on Thursday night.

Any evaluation of coaching success must account for 1) the resources and access to recruits, 2) the state of the program when a given head coach takes charge and 3) his success over multiple seasons.

If our window is the Pac-10/12 era, which roughly coincidence with the end of the UCLA dynasty, we would slot Sampson on the third tier.

The Cougars were coming off four consecutive losing seasons, had limited resources and access to recruits, and yet Sampson built a 20-game winner that reached the NCAA Tournament before he left for Oklahoma.

And it’s worth noting that he was just 32 years old when he took charge in Pullman.

It was a prescient move by the Cougars, who have plenty of hits, and a few misses, when it comes to identifying rising stars in the coaching industry.

Would we declare Sampson one of the top-10 coaches in the expansion era (among those with extended tenures)?

Here’s our breakdown:

• The top tier is undoubtedly occupied by Lute Olson (Arizona), Mike Montgomery (Stanford and Cal), Dana Altman (Oregon), Ben Howland (UCLA) and Ralph Miller (Oregon State).

• The next level features Sean Miller (Arizona), Marv Harshman (Washington), George Raveling (WSU and USC) and Lorenzo Romar (Washington).

• The third group would include Jim Harrick (UCLA), Ernie Kent (Oregon years), Ben Braun (Cal) and Tad Boyle, who does a quality job year after year for Colorado.

Given WSU’s ascent to prominence under Sampson, a credible case could be made for placing him on the third tier.

Certainly, if we judged coaches on the entirety of their college careers, Sampson would be on the first level:

He has taken two different schools (Oklahoma and Houston) to the Final Four and been named Coach of the Year in three different Division I leagues (Pac-12, American and Big 12).

It would have been fascinating to watch the trajectory of the WSU program had he stuck around a few more years.

Aren’t basketball recruiting ratings fool’s gold? Five-star recruits are just passing through. The best teams are the ones that recruit good players, coach ’em up and watch them stay around four, five, even six years. Look at UCLA, Villanova, Miami, Arkansas. — @boscpenn83

Not sure I totally agree, particularly when it’s a five-star guard. Success in the NCAA Tournament is all about the perimeter.

Consider Gonzaga: The difference-maker for the Zags during their run to the championship game last year was Jalen Suggs, a one-and-done point guard. This year, they had a one-and-done big man (Chet Holmgren) and were bounced in the Sweet 16.

Arizona’s problem Thursday night? Outplayed out front, despite the best efforts of wing Bennedict Mathurin.

That said, it doesn’t matter how an elite perimeter unit is put together. Baylor used a veteran group to win the championship last year. Virginia did the same a few years ago.

The teams with the best guards are most likely to advance deep in the tournament. Whether they are one-and-dones or veterans is secondary.