Overlooked no more: Flemings takes over late for Houston

With just over two minutes remaining and Houston trailing by two, freshman point guard Kingston Flemings stepped to the top of the key and buried his first 3-pointer of the game, giving the Cougars their first lead in more than 11 minutes.

Tied at 60 moments later, Flemings delivered again, this time pulling up from the right elbow to put Houston back in front for good, even after junior forward JT Topin answered with a layup to cut the deficit to one.

Flemings wasn’t finished. With under a minute left, he worked the left side, swung the ball to freshman forward Chris Cenac Jr., then got it back and knocked down a 3-pointer that pushed the lead to two possessions as No. 7 Houston outlasted No. 14 Texas Tech 69-65 in front of a sold-out Fertitta Center.

“After he made that (first) 3, I thought he was in a mode,” Texas Tech coach Grant McCasland said. “He was taking the game over.”

Even on a night when coach Kelvin Sampson believed that “Kingston didn’t play great,” turning the ball over twice and missing his first five shots, the emerging leader radiated confidence down the stretch, scoring 15 of his 23 points in the second half.

Flemings began preparing for moments like this when he arrived in Houston this summer, emphasizing consistency and energy in his approach. That work has produced a player built for critical situations, moments that are only just beginning as the Cougars navigate the early stages of their Big 12 slate.

“It didn’t surprise me,” redshirt senior guard Emanuel Sharp said of Flemings’ late-game run. “Those are shots he’s been hitting in practices and our scrimmages and competitive play all summer. I knew the type of player he was from the time he got here.”

Before arriving in Houston, Flemings played for his hometown high school, San Antonio Brennan, forgoing the prep-school route many of the nation’s top-ranked prospects choose. Despite being a top-20 recruit in the Class of 2025, Flemings was not selected to play in the prestigious McDonald’s All-American Game, while several lower-ranked players earned spots with greater national visibility.

For Flemings, however, the journey was never about accolades — it was about finding a place where he could be challenged.

“He didn’t put himself out there to be seen. He didn’t care about that, and neither did we,” Sampson said.

Now the once under-the-radar, newly 19 year old Flemings is a projected lottery pick in NBA mock drafts and embodies every element of Houston’s culture.

“He’s going to surprise a lot of people this year,” Uzan said ahead of the season. “I think he’s super humble, super hardworking and a really good listener. I think he’ll go far.”

Postgame, Flemings barely cracked a smile, remaining focused on improving defensively and refining his shooting because he knows the standard. 

His approach didn’t go unnoticed to Sampson.

“Kingston showed what he’s made of there at the end,” Sampson said. “He stepped up when we really needed him. On a night when we had a lot of guys struggle, Kingston made the big plays.”