Sampson mini-documentary on ACC Network tonight at 7

By Jerry Ratcliffe

ralph terry

Former UVA head coach Terry Holland courtside at JPJ with his wife, Ann, and his former three-time player of the year, Ralph Sampson. (Photo: Matt Riley, UVA Athletics).

The great Ralph Sampson will be featured tonight as part of the ACC LEGENDS series on the ACC Network.

Sampson, one of the most heralded players in basketball history, is the topic of tonight’s, 30-minute, documentary-style episodes created by the ACC Network. The show airs at 7 p.m.

The legends series highlights legendary coaches and athletes from across the Atlantic Coast Conference, having debuted with a feature on former Florida State football coach Bobby Bowden a couple of months ago.

Sampson, who resides in Charlottesville, dominated college basketball during his four-year career at Virginia from 1980-83. The 7-foot-4 center was a three-time National Player of the Year (UCLA’s Bill Walton is the only other three-time winner of the award) and three-team ACC Player of the Year. Sampson was a four-time All-American, who won three consecutive Rupp Trophies and Naismith Awards and two consecutive John Wooden Awards.

Taken No. 1 in the NBA Draft by the Houston Rockets, Sampson was NBA Rookie of the Year. He was inducted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in 2011 and Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2012.