By Andrew Jones
FOXSportsSouth.com
March 1, 2011
Ralph Sampson wasn't your typical college basketball star. He was quite unusual on so many levels, that typecasting him wasn't easy.
Sampson was tall, very tall, at 7-foot-4. He was long, lanky, and a well-rounded player. The basketball world was amazed at the footage of this giant dribbling the ball like a guard in high school in Harrisonburg, Va, and of his soft and almost genteel personality.
Sampson was a gentleman, and he chose a gentlemanly school with the ultimate gentleman as its coach. Terry Holland wasn't a yeller, and when he stood up it wasn't to berate officials or encourage his team, it was usually to observe, call a set, and sometimes offer a soft clap more suited for British theater than a heated ACC basketball game. Mr. Jefferson would have been proud of Mr. Holland and his classy program.
Sampson and Holland were the perfect match. So perfect, that Sampson once posed in a tuxedo for a promotional photo, and was a preferred cover boy for Sports Illustrated. Sampson made six covers in four years, five while still at UVa. Most notable was the December 17, 1979 cover, which was before he played a game on television.
Sampson was a freshman and acclimating himself to his teammates when SI put him on the cover going up for a short jump hook. It read above the photo:
"Ladies And Gentleman, Introducing The One And Only Ralph Sampson! He Dunks! He Blocks Shots! He Dribbles Behind His Back! He's 7'4" - - And Still Growing!"
Sampson was elected to the National College Basketball Hall of Fame on Monday, a worthy honor for a player who helped move his sport more into the mainstream. Sampson stayed all four years, despite guarantees by NBA teams he'd be the first player taken in the draft each year. Even Boston legend Red Auerbach tried to induce Sampson to turn pro after his freshman season, but Sampson stayed in school. He had other goals.
Virginia went 112-23 during Sampson's four seasons. The Cavaliers won the NIT carried much more clout, advanced to the Final Four in his sophomore season, falling to rival North Carolina in the semifinals, and reached the Elite 8 in 1983, losing a nail biter to eventual national champion, N.C. State.
UVa was ranked No. 1 in two different seasons, and at one point spent 49 consecutive weeks in the top 10 during the Sampson era. He was a three-time Naismith Award winner, scored 2,228 points and grabbed 1,511 rebounds.
Sampson, however, is probably known more for negatives. He never won a national championship, and the top-ranked Cavaliers suffered what is still regarded as the greatest upset in college basketball history when NAIA member Chaminade shocked UVa in a tournament in Maui, HI.
His NBA career is often labeled a bust, but that's really unfair. It was cut short because of knee injuries, and the reality is he averaged 20.7 points and 10.9 rebounds over his first three seasons with the Houston Rockets after being taken with the first pick in 1983. He was Rookie of the Year and a four-time All-Star before his knees went bad.
But he was also more than just a basketball player. Sampson was intent on earning respect for who he was as a gentleman and thinker, a reason he challenged himself academically. He was one of 54 people to live on The Lawn, an honor that goes to seniors acclaimed for their leadership and success in the classroom. Athletes don't receive the honor very often.
Graduation day still trumps Sampson's basketball glory.
"Walking across Thomas Jefferson Lawn on a rainy day and receiving my diploma at the University of Virginia is probably the most cherished moment that I will carry for life," he said in a release Monday. "That diploma is against the wall at my mother's home."
The Hall of Fame plaque will go there as well, as will his Naismith Hall of Fame plaque, if he's elected to that in April. He's currently one of 12 finalists.
Sampson deserves that honor, as well. And if the voters are smart enough and evaluate the whole of Sampson's tale, he will get there, too.
Andrew Jones is in his 15th season covering the ACC.
