Ralph Sampson III

January 26th, 2009

For anyone that saw the game today-and even the Purdue game for that matter- you can agree: Ralph Sampson III is going to be a great player.

The kid is this close, he is an absolute beast on the boards and pretty much anywhere in the lane. Once he develops an offensive game, he's going to be unstoppable. I can't wait, I think it's 1-2 years away. He's an exciting player. I think he's the type of guy that Tubby recruited, knowing that he would be a bench player right away, capable of contributing somewhat, not a major performer in his freshman year, but capable of being a truly dynamic player eventually. It's all a matter of how long he stays in school. He's going to make a huge jump from this year to next year and it's going to continue as long as he stays at school. If he stays at the U of M until his senior year, I think he is in Big Ten Player of the Year talks.

In one sense, I would liken him to Kevin Durant/Kevin Garnett. You all remember Garnett when he came out of high school I'm sure-and Durant is the same way-thin as bones. Imagine a Sampson when he starts to mature and put on muscle. That's 1-2 years away probably. We all remember when it happened with Garnett; he became one of the best players in the NBA. And it's starting to happen with Durant, he's going to be an unstoppable force in a couple of years. Wait for Sampson, once he puts on some pounds, he's going to be a force in the Big Ten.