btw saw Ralph Sampson in 1980 play against William and Mary. He was pretty much the only guy on the floor worth watching.
I didn't watch him, but from what I read here, looks like he had so much potential. A knee injury 4 years into the NBA, That's a damn shame. I went to a work-trip to Chicago, and the Uber driver and I talked intimately about Derrick Rose. We were robbed of his amazing career, man. 3-4 years since his draft, ACL tear.
There are many "what ifs" throughout NBA history, but what if Ralph Sampson were healthy is one of my favorites. From everything I've read about him he could have been an all-time great. He finished 10th in MVP voting his second season in the league.
My memories of the twin towers are. Ralph was the better of the two with skills and temperament. Akeem was a hot headed fist fighting athlete (that killed a lion with bear hands - thank you Bill Warrell). At 7’4” Ralph played smaller than Akeem’s 6’10” billed as a 7footer. Both were lighting quick. Ralph always seemed to want to be a guard in the worst of ways keeping the coach frustrated with him. He LOVED dribbling.
This is a good assessment. The complaints about Ralph was that he was soft. Wemby plays more aggressively and has vastly more potential than Ralph. KG was a much better player and played with a fire that Ralph never had. Ralph would have been a perennial all-star, but would have never made it to the realm of superstar in my opinion.
Man, I don't even remember that. lol. I just remember him pulling his hair out trying to get Ralph to play like a big man and not a PG. Every time Ralph would try to bring the ball up the court, I remember my friends and I would call him Tragic Johnson. Ralph had all-world talent, but he was in an era that rewarded and admired big men who battled in the paint. His abilities weren't meant for the 1980's NBA and battling dinosaurs in the paint.He never was the player everyone expected him to be because I just don't think he wanted to do that in the NBA. While healthy, he was a good-but-inconsistent player, which also drove people nuts. When injured, he was just considered a "what could've been" story.
He was good as a C. Once we drafted Hakeem (the next year), Hakeem took over the C and Ralph moved to PF. Ralph had more range than Hakeem so the move made sense. However Ralph started acting like he was PG bringing the ball up, hanging out at the 3 pt line and his efficiency dropped - at least in my eyes. Ralph was a good C. He wasn't that good of a PF.
I was living in the Bay Area, and I used to go to a sports bar to watch Rockets games. George Karl, the coach of the Warriors at the time, used to come to the sports bar to drink and watch games. He used to give me **** on what a bum and a dog Ralph Sampson was. When Sampson was traded to the Warriors, Don Nelson, the GM, and Karl were interviewed on TV, and Karl looked like his dog had died. At the start of the next season, I went to the Colosseum to buy tickets to a Rocket game. I got out of my car, and to my surprise, Ralph was getting out of his car for a Warriors practice. I was going to tell him that I thought he wasn't treated well by Bill Fitch, and I hope he does well. I went up to Ralph and told him I'm a Rockets fan, and before I could say anything else, he shook his head and walked away. I never rooted for Sampson again Karl told me he would give me tickets to a Warriors-Rockets game if I tooted for the Warriors. I declined. Don Nelson, on the other hand, was a POS. I was watching a Rockets game in a room by myself, and Don Nelson, who had taken over as coach, came in with his assistants. The owner came over to me and said I would have to leave the room. Nelson was concerned that I would hear his plans for his playoff game.
i remember watching him back then. he was like sean bradley and tracy mergady hybrid. he was really good at putting the ball inside the basket in a variety of ways. never saw him either
I don't see Wemby as that much more aggressive than Ralph. Ralph wasn't always tough, but he did have a mean side that came out when he got pissed off. If he had channeled that the way Kareem, Moses, Dream, Shaq etc. did, he would've been unstoppable.
