It was Selection Sunday in 2007 when Omar Samhan, a redshirt freshman center for Saint Mary’s, wandered into head coach Randy Bennett’s office. The Gaels didn’t watch the program announcing the field for the NCAA Tournament because they knew they weren’t getting in.
Bennett was not in a happy mood and neither was Samhan. Bennett told him the responsibility of changing things falls on players taking the next step, beginning with an offseason of hard work.
“We weren’t even getting NIT invites at this time,” Samhan recalled. “So, I said, `RB, we’re done with those days. From this day on, the Gaels play in March every year.’ “
Samhan rose to work out at 6 a.m. every day that summer and he began to step into a leadership role by coaxing his teammates to do the same.
The Gaels have delivered on Samhan’s promise. Beginning in 2008, Saint Mary’s has played in either the NCAA or NIT every season since — eight NCAA bids and seven trips to the NIT. Only in 2020, when the COVID pandemic wiped out the postseason, have the Gaels stayed home in March.
The Gaels made it to the 2008 NCAA Tournament, played in a memorable NIT in 2009 — knocking out Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry — and then forged a high point in program history, riding Samhan’s play into the Sweet 16 round of the 2010 NCAAs.
Now 35 and four years into a career as a sports agent after playing a decade of professional ball in 10 countries spread over five continents, Samhan is the Gaels’ 2024 selection to the West Coast Conference Hall of Honor. He plans to bring his three children and his mother to the Credit Union 1 WCC Basketball Championship in Las Vegas, where all nine Hall of Honor inductees will be celebrated in ceremonies on March 9.
“Huge honor. I was super surprised,” Samhan said of his selection. “I think it’s a tribute to the guys I played with. I was lucky to be in that system with those guys and a great coach.”
More than anything, Samhan is proud of his contribution to creating a high level of success in Moraga that has endured. “I feel like we took the turn,” he said. “They’re in the tournament every year now. We’re on the map. I feel like I had a big hand in taking this thing to the next level. It’s there and I’m hoping Aidan (Mahaney) gets us to the next level.”
Mickey McConnell says making that happen is Samhan’s greatest legacy with the program.
“He truly believed we could win the national championship. It mattered. It helped change the identity of the program a little bit. That was a huge moment,” said McConnell, now an assistant to Bennett, but a junior point guard alongside freshman Matthew Dellavedova on that 2010 team.
“I always think of him when I think about what got the program going. Obviously, there’s so many people that laid the groundwork for it but he kind of broke through on, `All right, we should be in this conversation,’ and I think that’s helped the program a lot.”
A 6-foot-11 center from San Ramon Valley High School in the East Bay, he wasn’t a sure thing to be a star at Saint Mary’s. Samhan claims Bennett received mail from angry fans, questioning his judge of talent.
“Why did you waste a scholarship on this guy? Randy, you’re an idiot, this guy’s terrible,” Samhan said they complained. “They were talking crazy about me. RB went with his eye and gut and I’m happy he took a chance on me.”
Asked if he envisioned Samhan developing into a two-time first-team All-WCC selection or being voted the WCC Defensive Player of the Year or averaging 21.9 points, 10.9 rebounds and 2.3 blocked shots as a senior for a 28-6 team, Bennett fesses up.
“I hate to say this, but I wouldn’t have expected that,” Bennett said. “But he had a motor. What I didn’t know is he would become the leader of his team as a senior like he did. He was one of the best leaders we’ve had. He really cared about winning, was really passionate, really cared about his team.”
Early on, Samhan couldn’t see himself from the outside, which might have been to his benefit. “People thought I was crazy because I was not good at all and in my head, I’m an NBA player. The next Kobe,” he said. “I had no reason to believe that.
“Then when Randy said, `You have a chance to be good.’ It changed everything. I had a lot of confidence because Randy believed in me. He knows what he’s doing, so if he thinks I’m good I must be pretty good.”
Bennett credits former San Ramon Valley High School head coach John Raynor for instilling some great qualities in Samhan: “About being a good teammate, being a hard worker, being a winner, being a leader. Once we had him, we are able to get that out of him eventually. He just kept getting better and better.”
Samhan finished his career with 1,848 points, 1,107 rebounds and 257 blocked shots. He started every game his final three seasons, helping the Gaels compile a record of 81-20 over that span.
But the numbers, as good as they are, don’t fully don’t describe the contributions of Samhan, who also was inducted this year into the Saint Mary’s Athletic Hall of Fame. He worked and believed and convinced his teammates they could achieve big things.
When Patty Mills and Diamon Simpson departed after the 2008 season from what Bennett calls “probably our most talented team,” outsiders expected the Gaels to drop out of sight. Not Samhan. “He was the guy who coined the phrase, `It’s a remodel, not a rebuild,’ “ Bennett said.
The remodeled Gaels gradually gained momentum during the 2009-10 season. They finished second in the WCC regular-season standings then beat Gonzaga, 81-62, in the WCC championship game. The best was yet to come.
Sent to Providence, R.I., Saint Mary’s beat Richmond, 80-71, in its NCAA opener, then knocked out Villanova, 75-68, to advance to the regional semifinals. Sanham totaled 61 points and 19 rebounds and shot 75 percent (24-for-32) from the field in the two wins.
“It was just awesome,” Samhan said. “Everything was flowing for us. We couldn’t lose.”
“He was phenomenal,” Bennett said.
“I don’t know if there was anyone better in those two games,” McConnell added. “He was unguardable. Teams didn’t have an answer for him. He was too big, had too good a touch, had a belief. He just played so hard. It was incredible.”
In the meantime, Samhan had responded to a tweet by blossoming pop star Taylor Swift, who had predicted on social media that Villanova would beat the Gaels. “So, when we beat them I tweeted to her, `You were wrong. You owe me a date.’ And ESPN picked that up and it kind of went viral.”
Bennett then was blindsided by a phone call from an ESPN reporter asking for a reaction to Samhan’s prediction that the Gaels would win the NCAA title. But the fun was just beginning.
The Gaels were sent to Houston for the Sweet 16, where their run ended with a loss to Baylor. At the news conference beforehand, in front of TV cameras and reporters from around the country, the 22-year-old Samhan was asked about Swift, 21 at the time.
Samhan didn’t skip a beat. “Are those cameras on?” he asked. “I love you, Taylor. You should call me. I’m a huge Taylor Swift fan. I listen to her before games. People think it’s weird. But there is so much emotion and excitement before these games, it just kind of slows you down. And it keeps me mellow, because I’m just like a time bomb waiting to go off. So it keeps me mellow. Taylor, I feel like she’s singing to me sometimes.”
Talk about viral. The New York Times wrote a separate story about the news conference exchange. Bennett was a few degrees past mortified, but McConnell, his teammate, wasn’t surprised or upset.
“It was just Omar being Omar,” McConnell said. “He’s got a big personality and he was having fun. But when it came time to play, he was ready to go.”
Sure, some of those antics rattled Bennett at the time. But they don’t change the way he feels about Samhan. “Omar’s one of my all-time favorites. I laugh and joke about him, but never get confused: That guy was as big as anybody in our program.”
All these years later, Samhan still gets asked about Taylor Swift, and he’s fine with it. “You see, Travis Kelce stole my idea. This was me,” he said of the Kansas City Chiefs tight end who has been dating the mega-star in recent months.
No complaints, Samhan said. “It worked out pretty good for me and the Gaels.”