Sam Belt is one of the most decorated players in Central Oklahoma's long basketball history. An inside-outside scoring threat with great court savvy, he led the Bronchos to 87 wins, three Lone Star Conference North Division titles, three NCAA Division II national tournament berths and one Elite Eight appearance during his brilliant career from 2004-08.
Belt was a four-time All-LSC North Division selection, earning Freshman of the Year honors in 2004-05 and Player of the Year accolades as a senior in 2007-08 when he was a consensus All-American. Central went 28-6 in his final season, winning the LSC North and overall league titles before taking the South Central Regional crown behind an epic last-minute comeback. The Bronchos dropped a 106-104 double-overtime thriller to Augusta State in the Elite Eight in Springfield, Mass.
Belt is UCO's all-time leader in 3-pointers made (263), 3-pointers attempted (698), free throws made (511) and free throws attempted (652). He also ranks second in career points (1,918), field goals made (577) and field goals attempted (1,332) while ranking third in rebounds (845). Belt averaged 15.7 points and 6.9 rebounds during his illustrious 122-game career.
In the first installment of our look back at some of Central's past athletic greats, here's a brief conversation with Sam Belt.
Degree(s) earned at UCO:Â Bachelors of Science (Kinesiology) and Masters of Education.
How did UCO prepare you for success:Â UCO athletics instilled life skills that I still use every day. Hard work, communication, collaboration and always wanting to make the best out of my opportunities.
Coach (Terry) Evans was very big on making everyone accountable. He didn't hold your hand when it came to things outside of basketball. He expected his players to set up the phone calls, emails, meetings with the proper professor or administration. This "skill" isn't always easy to come by when athletes leave college athletics.
Favorite memory at Central: The last three minutes of the 2008 South Central Regional finals. We were down nine and our comeback ended with E. Caz (Eric Cazenave) knocking down a 3-pointer from the top of the key to give us the one-point lead (77-76). Watching Tarleton miss the last-second prayer and celebrating that championship with my teammates is something I'll never forget.
Best thing about going to UCO: That's easy, the long-lasting friendships. UCO athletics is a family and being able to keep those friendships with not only my former teammates, but former coaches, administrators and professors. UCO is a very special place when it comes to culture around their athletic programs.
Career path:Â I have definitely taken some interesting roads during my career. In 2009, I was able to play professional basketball for the Ringwood Hawks in Melbourne Australia. We had the best season in over a decade and lost in the championship game. I was an assistant coach at UCO in 2010-11 and at Arkansas-Fort Smith in 2011-12 before going back to Australia to play for the Ringwood Hawks again. We won the championship in 2012 and were runners-up in 2013. I was also the Director of Coaching for the youth programs, where I instilled a club philosophy that they are still using today. Currently I am the Director of Enterprise Sales at Arcbest. (Fortune 1000 company based in Fort Smith, Ark.).
Where do you currently live: Broken Arrow, Okla.
Family: Married (Misty) with three kids (Kiana, 18; Gabe, 12; Scarlett, 3) and one on the way.
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