From: tseng-neill@CS.YALE.EDU (Neill Tseng)
Subject: Re: Shaquille/Sampson
Organization: Yale University Computer Science Dept., New Haven, CT 06520-2158
Distribution: na
Date: Mon, 5 Oct 1992 14:12:04 GMT

In article <1992Oct05.123248.9179@brtph560.bnr.ca> markham@brtph600.bnr.ca (Andrew Markham P205) writes:
>tseng-neill@CS.YALE.EDU (Neill Tseng) writes:
>>I was just thinking about Shaquille O'Neal the other day and all the hype 
>>he's received.  Being from Houston, it couldn't help but remind me of all 
>>the hype Sampson received when he was selected with the first pick in 1983.  
>>Sampson was a chronic underachiever until injuries ruined his career, but 
>>mainly because expectations were unrealistically high.  Just wondering, does 
>>anyone think the same thing might happen to O'Neal, that he might be the 
>>next "bust"? Also, it'd be nice if someone could compare the college stats 
>>of the two.  I think that would provide for interesting perusal.
>
>I agree that expectations were always a little too high, but to call Sampson 
>a chronic underachiever until injuries ruined his career shows that you 
>simply did not follow Sampson in the pros.  

On the contrary, I lived in Houston and followed him for his whole career. In
fact, I was one of his biggest fans.  In fact, you are actually restating my
point, which is that even though he put up respectable numbers, people
continued to hound him and call him an underachiever.  That's the point I'm
trying to make, that even though the Shaq may put up good numbers, they may not
be good enough to satisfy the critics because expectations are so high.
Nothing Sampson could have done short of winning the NBA championship and the
MVP award could have shut up his detractors.
>
>As we all know (or may not know), Sampson was drafted Numero Uno by Houston 
>in 1983.  During his first three seasons in the NBA, Sampson averaged 10.4 
>RBG, 2.7 APG, 20.7 PPG, and shot 50.4% from the floor.  He also played in 
>the All-Star Game in his first three seasons and was MVP in 1985 at 
>Indianapolis.  He was NBA Rookie-of-the-year during his first season and, 
>at that time during his career, could dominate a game by himself.  He was 
>also an excellent defensive rebounder and outlet passer.
>
>If it weren't for the injuries, we would likely be saying his name when 
>talking of the modern-day centers, such as Ewing, Olajuwon, and Robinson.  

I don't think anyone believes that.  Even when he was in his prime, it was
clear that all the positive media  attention focused on Olajuwon, and Sampson
received all the negative publicity.  Like I said, no matter what his numbers,
no one regarded him as one of the top two or three centers in the game.  While
he played, people considered Olajuwon, Parish, and Abdul-Jabbar the top 
centers.  And I have a hard time believing he would have been productive even
without injuries.  His attitude was horrible, and his problems were compounded
by all the negative publicity he received.  Even after he was traded to Golden
State, when he was still healthy, he didn't put up great numbers at all,
definitely not good enough to be listed among the top three centers.  And when
he and Olajuwon went one-on-one when Houston played Golden State, Olajuwon
absolutely schooled him.  Olajuwon scored like 20+ points that game and I think
Sampson had maybe 10 at most (though someone can check on that).  And remember,
I'm one of Sampson's biggest fans.  He was good, but would never be in the top
echelon of centers in the league.

>Compare his first 3 season stats with Olajuwon and Ewing, and he didn't 
>look much like a 'chronic underachiever'...
>
>*Sampson
>Season  Games  FG%   FT%   Rebs  Asts    PPG
>83-84      82 .523  .661    913   163   21.0
>84-85      82 .502  .676    853   224   22.1
>85-86      79 .488  .641    879   283   18.9     
>
>*Olajuwon
>Season  Games  FG%   FT%   Rebs  Asts    PPG
>84-85      82 .538  .613    974   111   20.6
>85-86      68 .526  .645    781   137   23.5
>86-87      75 .508  .702    858   220   23.4     
>
>*Ewing
>Season  Games  FG%   FT%   Rebs  Asts    PPG
>84-85      50 .474  .739    451   102   20.0
>85-86      63 .503  .713    555   104   21.5
>86-87      82 .555  .716    676   125   20.2     

This is addressed above.  And the point is, Sampson did get injured and never
was productive after his first three years.  My original post, anyway, was
saying what if the same happened to O'Neal?  It's certainly possible, and it's
an interesting possibility to consider.
>
>
>On a side note, what the hell got into me to defend Sampson so much?

It's not a crime, he was a good player.  But I'm just interested in relating
his situation to O'Neal's.  There are many striking similarities between the
two.
>
>-- 
>Andrew W. Markham (markham@bnr.ca)
>Bell Northern Research, Inc.



-- 
Neill Tseng (neill@minerva.cis.yale.edu)
The Showdown:  Outrage 7, Whip Appeal 5
Hurt Me...The Legend Lives On (3-on-3 champs of the world)
Proud to be a Taiwanese-American!
Newsgroups: rec.sport.basketball.pro