The hilarious thing is the Rockets averaged 111 ppg during Sampson's rookie season (top 10 in the league at the time).
For those of you willing to suffer the sadness, read this 1989 article from Sports Illustrated about Ralph. In it, several people echo a lot of what's been said in this thread : http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1069189/1/index.htm
Forget about the T-Mac/Yao dynasty that fell through -- THIS is the real tragedy in the history of the Rockets franchise. Ralph was nearly as tall as Yao (only and inch or two shorter) but TWICE as quick. Ralph could guard SFs if he needed to. Only 3-time player of the year in the history of college basketball. While the perception is that Ralph was somewhat soft, he also had a mean streak that surfaced when necessary. And what more can be said about Dream -- he's among the greatest competitors the sports world has ever seen. Surround those two with any three bozos and you'd have a title contender. Give them Battier and Ariza and you might as well just hand them a decade's worth of Larry O'Brian trophies.
One more thing, Hakeem has the sweetest turn around jumper of any big man I have ever seen. Simply amazing.
i had no clue sampson could run the floor like that....Olajuwon...complete dominance (even as a rookie)
that's sad. I'm thinking today's doctors would have him sit out a whole season or more after the injury. Sad: ""Right now he's just a shell of himself," Sacramento coach Jerry Reynolds says. "He runs with a noticeable limp. He somehow seems to have a tough time stopping. He can't plant very well. Not that he ever was a muscleman, but he can't stay in there. He has trouble with his jumping, too. The first jump sometimes will be all right, but then he'll have trouble with that second jump. Right now, we're hoping that he can get back physically in a couple of months.""
Ralph at that time would have been better then Dream. His offense arsenal included jump shots from the perimeter. Dream was all power but lacked that outside touch.
Ask Olden Polynice how mean Olajuwon could get on the court at times. He probably still feels Dream's elbow every time he tries to swallow a bite of food. If the choices are to be overly aggressive like Hakeem or not aggressive enough like Yao, I'm for overdoing it every time.
Yao doesn't hold his position or present as nice of a target as Dream and Ralph did...... The entry pass to Yao is a lot more challenging. BIG UPS to Tinny for this.....I really enjoyed that team and the White lines ruined it. DD
Man if only that freak accident did not occur. Rox history will have change forever. Question: What did happen to his kids? Its like they have fallen out. At one time, they even post youtube highlights of them.
That wasn't just a "dude." That was Billy Paultz! <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/LmVmbjmuUYk&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/LmVmbjmuUYk&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>
For you to assume that I don't know who Dream was is just plain crazy. Just because I don't live and glorify what happened 15 years ago doesn't mean I don't know who the man was. Jeez Maybe You'll like this. Since you love to live in glory <object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/u1gC9UIGqOs&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/u1gC9UIGqOs&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object> Or how bout this <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ccbJw_7Y830&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ccbJw_7Y830&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>
This proves Google is the source of all knowledge. They actually have a highlight video of Billy Freaking Paultz.
LargestExpiringContract#1, fixed it for you. And if you actually have read this thread, this is a little more than 15 years ago and not about the 90s. You need to stop living in the past and change your name to Ariza#1, instead of IStoleSteveFrancisNumber#3
I don't know about Ralph Sampson's other kids but Ralph Sampson the third had a pretty good season at the U of MN.
Man, I wish you'd have a chat with DoD. He never fails to say something critical of Ralph's game when the subject comes up, even when he's saying something good. Dr of Dunk... Master of the Back-Handed Compliment! (You'd think Sampson stole his lunch money!) I was such a fan of those Rockets teams of '83-'84 (Sampson's first season- 21/11/2.4 blks/2ast, at 33 MPG + All Star), '84-'85 and '85-'86, before Ralph was injured and quickly spiraled downhill, before the curse of The White Powder destroyed arguably the deepest teams ever fielded by the Rockets. Sampson was more than a college hero who broke numerous records. He was rookie of the year in the NBA (his Efficiency rating was actually a bit better than Kareem's, as a rookie!), he was MVP of the '84 All Star Game (Ralph was picked his first four seasons in the league, kinda like a big fella from China, but Yao hasn't been the MVP... not yet!) The Rockets improved their record from 14-68 the season before Sampson, to 29-53, 48-34 (Dream's a rookie), to 51-31 and a Finals appearance. No too shabby. When are we getting some new wallpapers? DoD, I have to disagree. Ralph sacrificed a great deal to be a 4 instead of a 5, the position he'd always played before. You say "he would rather showcase his skills out on the court," and as you point out, he certainly had skills, but IMO Ralph was still developing and could have used much better coaching (and strength and conditioning coaches!). He could do all these things big men weren't supposed to be able to do, much less big men 7'4", and would have refined his game given the chance. He was a center. The best center on the Rockets just pushed him to the 4, pure and simple. Couldn't agree more. Ralph playing today's game with a coach like Adelman or Jackson would be a thing of beauty. Dang, Doc... were you trippin' with BASIC and Pascal as a teenager?? CompuServe? Did you have a TRS-80? Purple Ocean was supposed to be one of the first big gaming BBS's, with Trade Wars a big hit. I never played, but I heard of it. Wow! Been at it for a while! I think Ralph deserved the accolades and would have been a Hall of Famer had he stayed healthy. There was a reason he was such a huge target of the media and captured the imagination of the nation. No one his size could ever approach being able to do what he could do. Sampson was a great player who ran into injury problems. Injury problems that, IMO, had an excellent chance of never becoming BIG problems had Ralph received the medical care available today. Heck, with the best medical care, strength, and conditioning available then. In my opinion, of course. Great thread, Tinman!
