Ralph Sampson is kind of overlooked, if not forgotten today, but he was sort of the original Wemby, minus the three-point shooting, and he was a much better athlete than Victor Wembanyama is.
At Virginia, the 7-4 Sampson was a revelation. He was very thin, but was immediately dominant in the ACC, and he made Virginia a very tough out.
He made a great impression on many people, including a young Michael Jordan. Jordan was recruited by Duke, NC State and UNC, where he of course ended up, but at one point, Jordan very much wanted to team up with Sampson at Virginia.
For whatever reason, then-coach Terry Holland didn’t make a big push. In fairness, Jordan was a late bloomer who was famously cut as a high school sophomore. People knew he was special by the end of his junior year, but by then it was probably too late for Virginia.
For a moment though, imagine what might have been. UNC won a title during his freshman year. With Sampson and Jordan, Virginia might have won two or three, and arguably could have pulled off an undefeated season or two.
However, he chose UNC, and played against Sampson instead of with him. And as a Sampson opponent, Jordan pulled off one of the greatest plays in ACC history: when UNC visited Virginia in 1983, the 6-6 Jordan blocked the 7-4 Sampson’s shot.
He didn’t sneak up on him, either. It was a clean shot, under the basket.
You don’t see guys blocking shots on people who are 10 inches taller very often, but Jordan pulled it off.
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