Photos by Ralph Freso
Before knee injuries stunted a decorated basketball career, Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer Ralph Sampson held his own against some of the sport’s most elite players during a storied era.
What he learned was that it was more than talent that elevated the likes of Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird, as well as LeBron James and the late Kobe Bryant, above other greats.
“LeBron works out every day,” Sampson told a group of Grand Canyon University students who packed the Colangelo College of Business lobby Thursday at a Hall of Fame event that lasted for more than an hour. “Kobe Bryant, he worked out three times a day.
“The elite players and elite people in business elevate themselves to that level. But you have to be able to wake up early in the morning or sleep late at night. … If you don’t, there are people who are going to find out and be in your way.”
The 7-foot-4 Sampson, 65, knows about great expectations as a three-time Naismith Award winner for National Player of the Year, a prestigious award given to the best college player in the nation, and as the first pick in the 1983 NBA draft. He also served one season in the player development department of the Phoenix Suns and witnessed Video Operations Director Nick U’Ren ascend to general manager of the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury.
“It’s out there if you want it,” said Sampson, noting that NBA jobs have multiplied significantly since his playing days (1983-92). “But you got to separate yourself and make sure you step up your game.”
GCU Canyon Ventures Director Robert Vera moderated the event, and he and Sampson elaborated on the importance of gaining an unfair advantage.
For Sampson, this meant arriving 15 minutes early for an interview (“on time is late”) and to "always expect something to happen that’s going to be a deterrent.”
Sampson's mother told him to stand straight, be proud to be tall, be respectful and make sure that every instructor knows who you are, even by saying a simple “hello.”
“This requires no talent whatsoever,” said Vera, who cited students who have arrived several minutes after his classes started. “It’s work ethic.”
Being diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes at 13 didn’t stop Sampson’s daughter from building a mindset to succeed. Rachel Sampson graduated from Stanford – with a group of mentors that included former men’s basketball coach and former Duke guard Johnny Dawkins – with a bachelor’s degree in science, technology and society, and advanced as a producer at ESPN.
“You have to separate yourself, figure out what you need to do, and then make a plan and make sure that plan is adjustable through life,” said Sampson, who liked baseball more as a youth before playing center field and finding the position boring.
“You can’t go back to 18 and 19 and get old and say, ‘I would have or should have.’ Don’t wish you did something. Just do it.”
Sampson’s recruitment out of Harrisonburg High School in Virginia was one of the most intense pursuits during that era. But his mother and high school coach set up rules that had to be followed, especially since college coaches could attend his high school games but were forbidden to talk to him under NCAA rules.
His recruiting visit to Kentucky was “off the charts." At most universities, student-athletes had to share a room, but the school's Wildcat Lodge residence hall stipulated that student-athletes would get their own bedrooms and extra-long beds. Sampson said an FBI agent picked him up at the airport in a limo, and he grew close to assistant coach Leonard Hamilton, who went on to coach at Florida State for 23 seasons.
The residence hall, however, closed at 11 p.m., and Sampson and his recruiting host had to climb through a window. Had Sampson attended Kentucky, his summer job would have consisted of turning on the water at the horseracing track at 7 a.m., working out, going to class and returning to turn off the water.
“Probably that’s where I wanted to go in the beginning,” said Sampson, who was advised to slow down and visit other schools.
He enjoyed his visit to Virginia Tech but got lost on the North Carolina campus for two hours after player/recruiting host Al Wood said to meet him at the basketball office during the midst of a campus tour.
Had Sampson selected UNC, he could have spent his junior year with Jordan, considered the greatest to play the sport. But Sampson isn’t overly convinced.
“Everybody thinks Michael Jordan is the best player who has played,” said Sampson, who mentioned previous greats such as Bill Russell. “I’m not saying he’s not. I’m not saying he is. I’m just saying he is one of the best.”
Sampson was familiar with Virginia and its arena and eventually selected the Cavaliers with some influence from his mother.
Development was more important than money to Sampson, who said that Boston Celtics executive Red Auerbach arrived with a briefcase containing $1 million to try and sway Sampson to declare for the NBA draft after his freshman year.
Sampson stayed at Virginia all four years, regretting not going pro only one time, after the 1982 draft following his junior year. Sampson declined to declare for the draft by the deadline and before a coinflip that would determine whether the Lakers or the then-lowly Clippers would get the first pick.
The Lakers won the flip, prompting Sampson to later ask Hall of Fame coach Pat Riley if the Lakers would have selected Sampson had he declared himself for the draft.
Riley, according to Sampson, nodded his head.
“I wish I would have come out then,” said Sampson, relishing the thought of playing with Magic Johnson.
Sampson implored students to be prepared for school and work. Dwight Anderson, a McDonald’s All-American and his host on his Kentucky visit, succumbed to addiction. During Sampson’s season with the Suns, Michael Beasley, the second overall pick in the 2008 draft, became homeless and was beset with financial problems.
Sampson said he gained his work ethic while working on a farm where he would do chores before going to school and baling hay after classes.
The farm, owned by his grandfather, is now a project Sampson said he’s trying to resurrect so it can be the focus of an HGTV show named “Down on the Farm with Ralph Sampson.”
At the end of his talk, Sampson reminded students of the contributions of Jerry Colangelo, the Basketball Hall of Fame chairman for whom GCU’s College of Business is named.
“I wouldn’t be in the Hall of Fame if it wasn’t for him,” said Sampson, who asked students to write a hand-written note to Colangelo.
Sampson concluded his visit by meeting members of GCU’s men’s basketball team. He and other Hall of Fame members were in the Valley to participate in 13th annual Jerry Colangelo Golf Classic at the Arizona Biltmore Golf Club.
GCU News senior writer Mark Gonzales can be reached at [email protected]
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