JB CARROLL & RALPH SAMPSON: TOP PICKS THAT DID NOT REACHED THE TOP

The story of these two players had a lot in common. Both were former number one picks over-all in the NBA draft. Both were college standouts in the US NCAA and both stands seven feet and above. Both were traded for each other during their NBA stints. But alas, both did not reached the full stardom in their respective NBA careers. Until now, both Ralph Sampson and Joe Barry Carroll remains an enigma to those cage pundits, who followed their basketball playing careers.

Sampson, 7'4", was hailed as the next Kareem Abdul Jabbar when he played four years of college hoops for the University of Virginia Cavaliers. He was a 3-time college player of the year awardee and became one of only 98 players to compile 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds in US college basketball history. He was drafted the top pick over-all in the 1983 NBA draft by the Houston Rockets and played nine years in the league.

Sampson belongs to a rare breed of seven footers. He dribbles like a point guard and runs the floor very well. But despite all the media hype and excitement of his first NBA season, the Rockets slumped to a disappointing 29-53 record. Sampson averaged 21.0 ppg and 11.1 rpg to win the Rookie of the Year award. He was also selected to the 1984 NBA all-star game. He was selected anew in the 1985 all-star game and won MVP honors as he poured in 24 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to power the West squad to victory. Upon Hakeem Olajuwon's entry into the Rockets line-up during the 1984-85 season, the "twin towers" were finally born. Olajuwon, who stands seven feet tall and Sampson eventually led the Rockets to the 1986 NBA finals but fell in six games to the Boston Celtics.

Various injuries led to Sampson's trade during the 1986-87 season to the Golden State Warriors, who in return gave away Carroll and Eric "Sleepy" Floyd to the Rockets. That trade started Sampson's career downtrend as he never regained his old form. He never averaged in double figures in scoring and rebounds since then. Sampson later played for the Sacramento Kings and Washington Bullets but clearly, he had become just a marginal player. He closed out his career in Europe where he played 8 games for Spanish club Unicaja Ronda in 1992.

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Carroll was one of my favorite NBA players during the 1980s. He is a 7'1" center out of Purdue University, where he holds the school's all-time record in career rebounds with 1,148 caroms. I can still vividly remember an article from a Sports Illustrated issue in 1979, which described Carroll as team USA's answer to the then USSR feared slotman, 7'4" behemoth Vladimir Tkatchenko. But their dream match-up did not materialized in the 1980 Moscow Olympics due to US boycott of the games brought about by the Soviets invasion of Afghanistan.

Before the 1980 NBA rookie draft took place, the Boston Celtics traded their No. 1 and 13 picks in the first round to the Golden State Warriors for Robert Parish and the No. 3 pick. The Warriors then selected Carroll as the top pick and tabbed Mississippi State power forward Rickey Brown with the 13th pick. The Celtics on the other hand drafted Minnesota forward Kevin McHale at No. 3. That trade will go down in history as the thing that made it happen for the Celtics as both Parish and McHale became the vital cogs of their three championships during the decade.

There were 3 celebrated rookies in the Warriors' line-up during the 1980-81 season, which were led by veteran acquisitions Bernard King and World Free. Aside from Carroll and Brown, the bay city outfit also drafted rebounding demon Larry Smith out of Alcorn State. Carroll had an outstanding season as a rookie, wherein he averaged 18.9 ppg and 9.3 rpg. The Warriors barely missed the play-offs during that season as they finished with a 39-43 card no thanks to the team's unexpected tailspin in their last 5 regular season games. Carroll enjoyed his best NBA season during the 1983-84 campaign when he submitted norms of 24.1 ppg and 8.7 rpg. He was branded as a reluctant center during his Warrior days because of his moody attitude and before the 1984-85 season, he suddenly bolted out the Warriors camp to sign with Italian team Simac Milano, which he later led to the league title. He came back to the team just before the 1985-86 season began and averaged an identical 21.2 points in 1985-86 and '86-87 seasons. He was also selected to the 1987 NBA all-star game.

Carroll's tenure with the Warriors ended in December 1987, when he was traded along with Floyd to the Houston Rockets for Sampson. He later played for other clubs such as the New Jersey Nets, Denver Nuggets and Phoenix Suns. He ended his NBA career in 1991 with career totals of 12,455 points and 5,404 rebounds.

Both Sampson and Carroll were prime examples of college hoop superstars who did not live up to the expectation of sterling pro basketball careers.

INSPIRING STORY: THE 1975 NBA CHAMPIONS WARRIORS

It was the year which opened my eyes to NBA basketball. They were my first and last favorite team, the bay area outfit, the unlikely NBA champions of the 1974-75 season, the Golden State Warriors. The team was led by the legendary Rick Barry, who is in the history books as the only player to lead the NCAA, ABA and NBA in scoring. In short, Barry was the "heart and soul" of coach Al Attles' overachieving squad. The team featured a not-so-impressive roster during that year with players like the late Phil Smith, then rookie Keith (later Jamaal) Wilkes, Butch Beard and a gangling slotman in Clifford Ray.

It was a "Cinderella finish" for the Warriors, which Attles later quipped "I guess no one took us seriously". Barry was angered by the team's lack of respect from the media despite winning the NBA title, "Sports Illustrated wouldn't even do a cover story on us". But still, the bottom line is they won the diadem and they shocked the basketball world.

It was truly a "magical mystery tour" for the Warriors as they qualified for that year's play-offs. They beat the Seattle Supersonics in the early round, in 6 pulsating games. The Sonic fans were badly disappointed by the play-off loss to the upstart Warriors, as in the end of game six, they harassed Barry and Beard and tried to instigate a fight. In the Western Conference finals, they were pitted against a powerful Chicago Bulls squad led by superstars Bob Love and Chet Walker. Nobody gave a china man's chance for the Warriors to win the series. But alas, they eliminated the Bulls in seven gruelling games. Tremendous air-tight, man-to-man defense made things possible for the Warriors. They held the Bulls scoreless in the last seven minutes of the deciding game. The Warriors are now in the finals, their first since the 1967 championship year.

The Warriors entered the best-of-seven finale as heavy underdogs against the KC Jones mentored Washington Bullets. The Bullets roster is a like a who's who in pro hoops as they paraded future Hall of Famers Elvin Hayes and Wes Unseld and backstopped by the likes of Phil Chenier, Bobby Dandridge and Kevin Porter. On paper, there is no way the powerhose Bullets will blew this championship series. But no one can never ever under estimate the big heart of the Warriors. On May 25, 1975, the Golden State Warriors edged the Washington Bullets, 96-95 and swept the series in 4 games and the rest is history.