He’s no Ralph Sampson, but he is one of his sons. Robert Sampson, the youngest son of former Virginia Cavaliers star Ralph Sampson, has left East Carolina and is transferring to Georgia Tech.
Here’s what head coach Brian Gregory had to say:
“We’re excited about Robert joining our program,” said Tech coach Brian Gregory. “His size, length and proven rebounding ability fits in well with our style of play. The fact that he comes from a successful basketball family that values education makes Georgia Tech a great fit.”
Starting 33 games as a junior, Sampson is a force inside. He averaged nearly a double-double with 9.1 points and 9.2 rebounds. He ranked 83rd in the nation in rebounding percentage, according to Ken Pom. As a bonus, he blocked nearly two shots per game.
As I mentioned before, he is not his father, who was National Player of the Year and the first player taken in the 1983 NBA draft. Those are just too big of shoes to fill. However, he’s a good player and this move to Georgia Tech is clearly the case of a young player moving to a more high-profile team/league, in hopes of getting a look from the NBA.
Sampson will have to sit out a year and will have one year of eligibility and he should have a solid shot at a spot in the starting rotation.
Center Daniel Miller is gone after this year (Man, it feels like he’s been there forever), as will key reserve Kammeon Holsey. This leaves just Robert Carter as the only legitimate “big man” inside.
Right now, Brian Gregory has eight offers out on the table for a combination of power forwards and centers, including two top-100 seven-footers (Trayvon Reed & Elbert Robinson). However, even if Tech lands one if not more of these guys, it’s not like size can just walk onto campus and produce.
This is why Sampson is such a nice grab. He’ll have the experience the Yellow Jackets will desperately need in 2014-15.
