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Hall of Famer

Ralph Sampson takes his place among basketball’s greatest stars

Ralph Sampson

Former Virginia basketball player Ralph Sampson (Col '83) has been named to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame's Class of 2012. Sampson will be inducted during this year's enshrinement ceremonies, held Sept. 6 to 8 in Springfield, Mass.

Sampson, a 7-foot-4 center, was a three-time National and ACC Player of the Year, and remains the only player to win the John R. Wooden Award twice. During Sampson's time in Charlottesville, the Cavaliers compiled an overall record of 112-23, were ranked in the Top 10 by the Associated Press for 49 consecutive weeks, and reached the Final Four in 1981. He is the Cavaliers' career leader in rebounds and blocked shots, and ranks fourth in scoring.

Selected by the Houston Rockets as the NBA's No. 1 draft choice in 1983, he earned NBA Rookie of the Year honors. During his nine-season NBA career, he helped lead Houston to the 1986 NBA Finals and later played for the Golden State Warriors, Sacramento Kings and Washington Bullets.

Sampson will be the first UVA player to be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. He will become the sixth ACC player to be enshrined, joining Billy Cunningham, Michael Jordan, Bob McAdoo and James Worthy of North Carolina, and David Thompson of N.C. State.