sampson III officially declares for draft

QUESTION: Will the Gophers have a better bb team next year ---- let me hear from you.
 

QUESTION: Will the GOPHERS have a better bb season then last year?
 

QUESTION: Will the Gophers have a better bb team next year ---- let me hear from you.


ANSWER: Make no more posts for the next 3 days, observe the board, and then ask your question again.


QUESTION: Will the Gophers have a better bb team next year ---- let me hear from you.


ANSWER: Make no more posts for the next 3 days, observe the board, and then ask your question again.
 

CBS takes a sarcastic shot at RS3:

"Ralph Sampson III, Minnesota: Man, that 5.4 rebounds and 47 percent shooting from the field must be catching the eyes of all sorts of NBA executives."

Considering how much he shoots from outside, why is 47% laughable?

Trent Tucker apparently weighs in

"@MnHoops: Trent Tucker arguing Ralph Sampson could be a good fit to be drafted by Lakers late first round?"

If they saw potential in a guy and didn't need him to play for a few years maybe, big stretch though.
 

Shama on RS3:

NBA D-League or Europe May Await Sampson

Sources with second-hand information told Sports Headliners last week that Ralph Sampson III was declaring for the NBA draft. Thursday’s early entry list from the NBA confirmed his intent.

But neither Sampson, his family nor the Gophers have made it known whether a professional sports agent has been retained. If so, Sampson can’t return to Minnesota for his senior season. Players who don’t have representation have until May 8 to change their minds about entering the draft and return to college teams.

Sampson’s three year career has been characterized by inconsistency and mediocrity. The 6-11 junior center-forward has averaged 8.2 points and 5.2 rebounds. His best career season scoring was 2011 when he averaged 10.2 points per game while his top rebounding average was a year ago when he finished at 5.8.

News of his sniffing at the pros has been met by surprise and even cynicism by Gophers fans. A finesse big man with not even honorable mention all-Big Ten honors during his career, Sampson seems an improbable candidate to be chosen even on the second round of the June NBA draft.

Yes, the NBA is always looking for length and athleticism, and it doesn’t hurt that his bloodlines include dad Ralph II, among the most famous college centers of all time. But Ralph III is a classic example of a tall player that could benefit from one additional season of college basketball, adding more muscle, plus strength and versatility for his game.

What fans should be asking is why this development? If Sampson has hired an agent then he knows there’s no return to Gopherville. That means facing the real possibility of not making an NBA team next fall either through the draft or as a free agent. Even if he were drafted on the second round or signed as a free agent, neither designation guarantees him a roster spot next fall in the NBA.

In this scenario what Sampson has to be prepared for is a future later this year playing in the NBA Development League, in Europe, or some other professional league. Sampson may feel those options are better for his career than another season at Minnesota.

If Sampson returns to the Gophers he faces less competition for playing time than it appeared a few weeks ago. Center Colton Iverson, who for three years shared playing time with Sampson, has transferred. During the last 12 months or so the Gophers have lost three players who were juniors but chose not to return for their senior seasons. Paul Carter transferred last spring, then Devoe Joseph and Iverson this year.

Gophers fans are hoping Sampson doesn’t become No. 4.

http://www.shamasportsheadliners.com/

Go Gophers!!
 


My personal belief is that Sampson will leave. I have never seen a player who looked less happy/involved while on the court.

I wonder if Ralph would rather not be playing basketball and wishes he wasn't the 6'11" son of one of the greatest college basketball players ever. If so, the passive agressive way to get out of the situation is declare for the draft, not get drafted, go to D-League or Europe for a couple years and then move on with your life.

Anyways, complete and utter speculation on my part with a little pop psychology thrown in for good measure.
 

IMO

In this scenario what Sampson has to be prepared for is a future later this year playing in the NBA Development League, in Europe, or some other professional league. Sampson may feel those options are better for his career than another season at Minnesota

Strong possibility.
 

Shama on RS3:

..............................

If Sampson returns to the Gophers he faces less competition for playing time than it appeared a few weeks ago. Center Colton Iverson, who for three years shared playing time with Sampson, has transferred. During the last 12 months or so the Gophers have lost three players who were juniors but chose not to return for their senior seasons. Paul Carter transferred last spring, then Devoe Joseph and Iverson this year.

Gophers fans are hoping Sampson doesn’t become No. 4.

http://www.shamasportsheadliners.com/
Disregarding the effect of the big line-up on playing time for the bigs last season, the lion’s share of Colt’s minutes will be distributed to Mo, EE, and Andre (and probably a couple of minutes for Otto when he gets to play inside once in a while). What is left will be shared by Sampson and TM.

Considering that TM logged about 31mpg and Sampson 29mpg last season, it is reasonable to assume that Sampson may not get more than 32mpg with TM back. That would be the best case scenario.

I would guess Sampson’s playing time being around 30mpg nest season. The increase in playing time by a minute or two or three, therefore, may be meaningless to build up stats for the next draft.

However, the way paragraph is structured and the way the whole article is structured make me wonder if Shama is getting cute with this to suggest something other than Sampson’s current move. :cool02:
 

Shama on RS3:

..............................

If Sampson returns to the Gophers he faces less competition for playing time than it appeared a few weeks ago. Center Colton Iverson, who for three years shared playing time with Sampson, has transferred. During the last 12 months or so the Gophers have lost three players who were juniors but chose not to return for their senior seasons. Paul Carter transferred last spring, then Devoe Joseph and Iverson this year.

Gophers fans are hoping Sampson doesn’t become No. 4.

http://www.shamasportsheadliners.com/
Disregarding the effect of the big line-up on playing time for the bigs last season, the lion’s share of Colt’s minutes will be distributed to Mo, EE, and Andre (and probably a couple of minutes for Otto when he gets to play inside once in a while). What is left will be shared by Sampson and TM.

Considering that TM logged about 31mpg and Sampson 29mpg last season, it is reasonable to assume that Sampson may not get more than 32mpg with TM back. That would be the best case scenario.

I would guess Sampson’s playing time being around 30mpg nest season. The increase in playing time by a minute or two or three, therefore, may be meaningless to build up stats for the next draft.

However, the way paragraph is structured and the way the whole article is structured make me wonder if Shama is getting cute with this to suggest something other than Sampson’s current move. :cool02:

He's not being cute, he just hasn't stopped to check the facts. RSIII may well get fewer minutes next year if he does not improve a lot.
 



RSIII needs to finish his degree. His future in basketball does not look promising.
 

RSIII needs to finish his degree. His future in basketball does not look promising.

Going pro doesn't mean he can't finish school, especially if his academics are as important as they are saying to his family.
 

MPM Strib-

Will he stay? Who knows? Seriously, those connected to Sampson and the Gophers don't have any definitive answers at this point. And Sampson hasn't made any public statements about his draft status.
Grover refused to talk about Sampson when I contacted him Tuesday.
"I’m not doing any interviews on Ralph at this point. Thank you," he told me.
His former AAU coach, Norman Parker, said Sampson may not return to school.
"I think he’s leaning toward staying in," Parker said.
 




It is beginning to appear that Ralph's decision to enter the draft is not based on any rational thinking that he will actually be drafted. Is he that unhappy about playing BB at MN. This is a mystery to me.
 

Andy Katz on RS3 (article from May 3):

"On Tuesday afternoon, Georgia Tech announced that Iman Shumpert would remain in the draft. He was one of the players whose decision was considered a bit of a mystery heading into these final few days. Here are the others:

Troy Gillenwater, New Mexico State
Scotty Hopson, Tennessee
Cory Joseph, Texas
Shelvin Mack, Butler
Cameron Moore, UAB
Ralph Sampson III, Minnesota

Losing Sampson will hurt but won't crush the Golden Gophers, although it might be more humbling for him since he's a borderline second-round pick."

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-bas...z_andy/id/6472413/draft-decisions-coming-wire

Go Gophers!!
 

Interesting lists of reasons for Ralph's actions stated or touched on in this thread.

-Totally delusional.
-Simply wants to see where he stands.
-Has some skills and some team might take a late second round chance on him.
-Passive aggressive way of getting out of here and defying his dad.
-Another indication of player unhappiness with Tubby.
-Doesn't enjoy playing basketball and this is actually a way of hastening its end.
-Ralph feels his minutes are going to be cut next year or at least not going to increase.
-He's improved as much as he's going to here.

Hell of it is, they all sound as if they could be reasonable. Okay, maybe not some team might take a chance. Hope he comes back. However frustrating it is to watch him, we can't afford to lose anyone.
 

Sampson III working with Tim Grover (former Jordan trainer, has worked with a ton of Chicago area NBA players and, I think, Royce White at this time last year) http://www.startribune.com/sports/blogs/121192199.html

The interesting news to me is that Sampson's AAU coach thinks that Ralph is leaning towards staying in the draft.
 

His former AAU coach, Norman Parker, said Sampson may not return to school.
"I think he’s leaning toward staying in," Parker said.


I won't miss watching Ralph mope around the court. It's not like he's was an All-Big Ten player.

As a fan of the team I admit the Gophers would be slightly better with Ralph, selfishly I want to move forward with Big Mo and EE.
 


TWITTER CREEPER-

Nolen to Carter … yo is your boi staying in the draft
Carter- man to be real I dunno he hasn't said
Nolen- u think he will?
Carter- man your guess is as good as mine lol

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From Bleed's link:
The workout, which will also feature five-on-five competition as well as the usual combine measurements and skill tests, didn’t originally feature Sampson III. However, with some of the more high-profile players electing to pull out due to varying circumstances, the junior big man will get a chance to prove that he belongs with the rest of this year’s NBA Draft class.

May 8 could be the most important day in Sampson III’s basketball to date as just hours after this workout, he’ll have to decide if he’s going to return to Minnesota or stay in the Draft.


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A full list of the players working out in front of executives from 26 of the NBA's teams is included after the jump. It'll be interesting to find out what the other teams have planned that they aren't sending somebody to New Jersey to watch 44 players.




SATURDAY, MAY 7


Player POS HT WT College
Olu Ashaolu F 6'7" 220 Louisiana Tech
Deangelo Casto F 6'8" 231 Washington State
Mamadou Diarra C 7'0" 240 USC
Kim English G/F 6'6" 200 Missouri
Diante Garrett G 6'4" 190 Iowa State
Ashton Gibbs G 6'2" 190 Pittsburgh
Troy Gillenwater F 6'7" 225 New Mexico State
Josh Harrellson C 6'10" 275 Kentucky
Tu Holloway G 6'0" 185 Xavier
Scotty Hopson G/F 6'6" 195 Tennessee
Reggie Jackson G 6'3" 208 Boston College
Terrence Jennings F 6'9" 220 Louisville
Orlando Johnson G 6'5" 205 UC Santa Barbara
Reggie Johnson C 6'10" 303 Miami
Cory Joseph G 6'3" 170 Texas
DeAndre Liggins G 6'6" 180 Kentucky
Guy-Marc Michel C 7'0" 270 Indiana
Jamine Peterson
(D-League) F 6'6" 230 Providence/New Mexico
Carleton Scott F 6'8" 218 Notre Dame
John Shurna F 6'8" 210 Northwestern
Hollis Thompson F 6'7" 205 Georgetown
Mychel Thompson F 6'8" 200 Pepperdine

SUNDAY MAY 8

Player POS HT WT College
Jeff Allen F 6'7" 258 Virginia Tech
Jon Diebler G 6'6" 200 Ohio State
Lacedarius Dunn G 6'4" 200 Baylor
Mustapha Farrakhan G 6'4" 181 Virginia
Gary Flowers F 6'8" 214 Southern Mississippi
Austin Freeman G 6'4" 195 Georgetown
Andrew Goudelock G 6'2" 200 College of Charleston
Jerai Grant F 6'8" 220 Clemson
Cory Higgins G 6'5" 185 Colorado
Justin Holliday F 6'6" 185 Washington
Rick Jackson F 6'9" 240 Syracuse
Delroy James F 6'8" 220 Rhode Island
Ravern Johnson F 6'7" 205 Mississippi State
Kevin Jones F 6'8" 248 West Virginia
Ralph Sampson III C 6'11" 241 Minnesota
Damian Saunders F 6'7" 205 Duquesne
Xavier Silas G 6'5" 200 Northern Illinois
Greg Smith F/C 6'10" 250 Fresno State
Julyan Stone G 6'7" 200 UTEP
Malcolm Thomas F 6'8" 220 San Diego State
Isaiah Thomas G 5'8" 180 Washington
Chris Wright G 6'1" 180 Georgetown
 




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