It was the Richmond Rhythm at the Trenton Shooting Stars Dec. 23 and Ralph Sampson was the head coach and none other than former Nuggets guard Micheal Adams was one his his 2 assistants. I was definitly excited about the chance to see Sampson coach and to meet him. When I was walking thru the arena I had a big smile on my face. When I made my way to my seat the players were practicing and I didnt see Ralph out there he didnt come out until the game started. So when he came out I got to shake his hand which was a big honor for me and he made his way to bench quickly. I was hopeing to talk to him for a minute but the game was just about to start when he made his way thru. So the PA announcer introduced the Virginia team and then they introduced the coach of the Virginia team Ralph Sampson and the crowd gave him a nice ovation. The game itself was a very good game and I found myself checking out Ralph's coaching technique and his substitutions. The Richmond team quckly built a 20 points lead in the first half but the Trenton team made it's way back in the game by the 4th quater setting up a dramatic overtime finish. The Richmond team was up by 2 points with the ball and 10 seconds so the Trenton team fouls a player from the Richmond team and what do you know he bricks 2 foul shots giving the Trenton team a chance to tie. On the next play the Trenton did tie the game with 5 seconds left and the Richmond team missed a wide open shot at the buzzer to send the game to overtime. In overtime the Trenton team took control and were up by 7 in ovetime but the Richmond team rallied and cut it to 2 with 7 seconds left. The Trenton team inbounded the ball and the Richmond team stole it and passed the ball to A.J. English(ex washington bullets player if I am not mistaken) and he missed a 3 pointer at the Buzzer for the Trenton win by 2. Coach Ralph Sampson walked off the floor very angerily because his team had the game won but they beat themselves. Ralph has always been a fierce competitor and you can see it in the way he coaches, He is a guy who wants to win very badly and does not accept loseing. Besides the loss it was a great night because I got to shake my favorite player of all time( along with fellow tower Hakeem) Ralph Sampson. I am happy to see Ralph back in Basketball no matter what level Pro, College or semi Pro. If anyone wants to check out the website for this league it is www.iblhoops.com and there are 8 teams in case 1 is near your area and you want to check this league out.
