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Basketball great Ralph Lee Sampson, Jr. was born on July 7, 1960 in Harrisonburg, VA to the proud parents of Ralph & Sarah Sampson and the eldest of three children. Sampson credits his sound, small town upbringing in Harrisonburg, Virginia, as well as the love and support of his parents and high school basketball coach, for his success today. At a young age, Sampson learned both the importance of teamwork and leadership, as he led his high school basketball team to three state championships, becoming the most heavily-recruited prospect of his generation.
After high school, 7’4” Sampson went on to the University of Virginia where he posted an impressive 123-22 record, won a championship, and was voted National Player of the Year in three of his four seasons. He was on the cover of Sports Illustrated an unprecedented six times in a span of less than four years. All the while, Sampson handled his fame with class and dignity, never putting himself above his teammates.
Upon receiving a B.A. in Communications, Sampson was selected by the Houston Rockets as the Number One pick in the NBA Draft. As a rookie, he averaged 21 points and 11 rebounds and won the NBA Rookie of the Year. A five-time All Star during his career with the Rockets, he led his team to the NBA Finals in 1986. He went on to play for the Golden State Warriors and completed his NBA career with the Sacramento Kings. He has been inducted into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame, the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in 2011, and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2012.
During his professional career and afterwards as a coach at James Madison University, Sampson began to realize his calling for teaching and mentoring children, beginning with the “Winners Circle,” an organization Sampson founded to help youth in various cities. Sampson trained and prepared children as both players and people. As he watched kids turn F’s into A’s, Sampson was inspired to create his trademark program: Motivation, Attitude, Plan for success [MAP].
Whether nurturing a business or working with kids, Ralph Sampson’s guiding principle is the same: give back and stand for something. This college basketball legend and retired NBA great has made a second career out of doing just that as the founder of the Winner’s Circle Enterprises & the Sampson Family Foundation, organizations devoted to consulting, business development, motivational speaking & more importantly; the support & mentoring of our youth in education, career & social development.
Ralph Lee Sampson III (born January 5, 1990) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Maine Red Claws of the NBA Development League. He played college basketball for the Minnesota Golden Gophers.
Sampson attended Northview High School in Johns Creek, Georgia. As a senior in 2007–08, he averaged 19.3 points, 10.3 rebounds and 7.0 blocks per game in leading Northview to its first state tournament appearance and a 21-9 record.
During his freshman season at the University of Minnesota in 2008–09, Sampson started every Big Ten Conference game, helped the Gophers earn an NCAA tournament bid, and finished second on the team in both rebounds and blocked shots per game. Sampson started at forward and center in his sophomore and junior seasons for the Gophers and saw his minutes, points, and blocks per game increase each year.
Sampson joined the Charlotte Bobcats for the 2012 NBA Summer League. On November 2, 2012, he was selected by the Reno Bighorns in the third round of the 2012 NBA Development League Draft. He went on to average 2.3 points and 2.1 rebounds in 23 games for Reno in 2012–13.
On November 1, 2014, Sampson was acquired by the Maine Red Claws. In 51 games for the Red Claws in 2014–15, he averaged 5.9 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game. On October 31, 2015, he was reacquired by the Red Claws.
Robert Alan Sampson (born June 23, 1992) is an American professional basketball player who last played for KK Mornar. He is the son of Hall of Fame player Ralph Sampson and the younger brother of Ralph Sampson III.
Currently residing in Fishersville, VA, coach Lamont Goins is a Graduate of University of NC at Pembroke with a degree in Criminal Justice, obtained in 1988. He served in the US Army Reserves until he was injured, honorably discharged in 1987.
Coach Goins is currently employed with Best Buy, Inc. as the Sr. Logistic Asset Protection Area Manager in Staunton, VA. Additionally, he is a member of Victory Worship Center & World Outreach, where he serves in several capacities: on the Executive Council, as the Director/ Producer of Social Media Production, Executive Protection, and AAU High School Basketball Coach where he coached in the National Tournament.
Additionally, Coach Goins is an NCAA Registered Coach and National Registered AAU Coach,
Host, of the weekly Podcast, “Basketball More Than A Game” which has just gone on the national stage on iTunes, Stitcher & Spotify, and a FCA Monthly Supporter. He is married to the former Karen Barber and father to two children: Ashley & Thomas.
For 30 years between 1972 and 2002, Roger Bergey patrolled the basketball court at HHS displaying his unique wardrobe and characteristic “foot stomp” for Blue Streak fans. During this time his teams amassed a total of 428 wins, 2nd in school history. His Blue Streak teams won 6 regional championships, were state runners-up, and state champions in 1978 and 1979. Coach Bergey was known for his “wild kingdom” press defense, which caused havoc for his opponents and propelled the Blue Streaks to many victories.
The 1978 & 1979 teams were led by Ralph Sampson, the #1 high school player in the nation in 1979 who went on to star at the University of Virginia and in the National Basketball Association. In addition to coaching the basketball team, Coach Bergey was the JV baseball coach for 5 years, Assistant Athletic Director for 5 years and Athletic Director for 13 years.
Coach Bergey is a graduate of Strasburg high school where he played basketball and baseball all four years of high school. He led the district in scoring his senior year. He then went to Massanutten Military Academy on a basketball scholarship for a year of prep school. Roger led the state in scoring and was named 1st Team All-State. He entered the College of William and Mary in 1959 and played four seasons of basketball. Roger was captain of the basketball team his junior and senior seasons, led the team in scoring his junior year and was All-Big Five 1st Team and 2nd Team All-Southern Conference his senior year. In 1986 Roger was elected to the William and Mary Athletic Hall of Fame.
After graduation from William and Mary, Roger coached for five years at Patrick Henry High in Ashland, where he was head basketball coach, and four years as an assistant coach at Varina High School before coming to HHS in 1972. Coach Bergey has been active in the Virginia High School Coaches Association for many years and has served in a variety of official positions including the Legislative and Executive Committees and the Hall of Fame Screening Committee. Coach Bergey was elected to the Virginia High School League Hall of Fame in 2008.
Paul Hatcher’s achievements in basketball began as a Bridgewater College player and continued to grow as a legendary coach in the Virginia High School League.
Paul is most noted for his work as the head coach at Robert E. Lee High School in Staunton, where in 1998 he became the winningest coach in VHSL history. During Paul’s 31 seasons at Lee, he has compiled a 630-127 overall record and his teams have captured two state championships, four state runner-up performances, 11 state tournament berths, 10 regional titles, 16 district championships, and an amazing 24 regular season district titles. Two of his Lee teams went unbeaten en route to winning Virginia state crowns, and Paul has been honored by state and local media as a Coach of the Year an extraordinary 16 times over the course of his career. He compiled the most wins of any coach in Virginia during the 1970s and the 1980s, and in 1995 was inducted into the VHSL’s Hall of Fame. Paul also has twice been one of eight finalists for the National High School Coach of the Year, once in 1985 and again in 1996.
Prior to his success at Lee, Paul was a standout on the hardwood for Bridgewater, earning four letters from 1961 to 1966. A two-time All-Virginia Little Eight and All-Mason-Dixon Conference selection, Paul led the conference and placed third among all state collegiate players in scoring during the 1964-65 season. Paul finished his college career with 1,358 points, an average of better than 16 points a game, and he currently stands 13th on the Bridgewater career list in scoring. He also was a four-year letter-winner in golf and was the team’s number one player during his senior season.
Paul has been recognized a number of times by the City of Staunton for his work with young people in the community. He received the Outstanding Citizen and Community Service award from the Staunton City Council in 1977, and in 1984 Paul was cited by the city for his contributions to the youth of Staunton. In 1990, Paul and the R.E. Lee team were recognized by the Virginia General Assembly, and the following year the House of Delegates passed a resolution honoring both Paul and his players. Most notably, the gym in Robert E. Lee High School was named “Paul Hatcher Gymnasium” in 1990, and the mayor of Staunton proclaimed a day in his honor.
Michael Terrence Holland (born April 2, 1942) is an American college athletics administrator and former basketball player and coach. He is currently the Emeritus Director of Athletics and special assistant to Chancellor Steve Ballard at East Carolina University. Holland served as the head men’s basketball coach at Davidson College from 1969 to 1974 and at the University of Virginia from 1974 to 1990, compiling a career college basketball coaching record of 418–216. While coaching at Virginia, he was responsible for signing the nation’s top-ranked high school basketball player, seven-foot-four-inch Ralph Sampson, who went on to become a three-time consensus collegiate national player-of-the-year as a Cavalier. Following his retirement from coaching, Holland was the athletic director at Davidson from 1990 to 1994, at Virginia from 1994 to 2001, and at East Carolina from 2004 to 2013.
In 1995, Holland returned to the University of Virginia to take on the athletic director position. One of the lasting legacies Holland left in Charlottesville was the facility expansion. With the help of generous alumni, Holland initiatives include: the $86 million expansion of Scott Stadium and creation of the Carl Smith Center; construction of the Aquatics and Fitness Center, home to Virginia’s swimming and diving teams and one of the nation’s top collegiate recreation facilities; expansion and naming of the Sheridan Snyder Tennis Center; the University Hall Turf Field; and The Park, home to the Cavalier softball team.
In 1998–99, Virginia achieved its then highest ever finish in the Sears Directors Cup, an all-sports competition among NCAA Division I universities based on their performance in NCAA championships, taking eighth nationally. In 1999, The Charlotte Observer named Holland one of the 50 most influential figures in ACC basketball history.
In 2001, Holland stepped down from the AD position and was appointed as a Special Assistant to the President of the University of Virginia.