I.
Ralph Sampson showed up in 1979, along with Isiah Thomas, Dominique Wilkins, and James Worthy, while Michael Jordan and Patrick Ewing came along in 1981.
Also arriving in 1981, but with far less fanfare, was Hakeem Olajuwon at Houston.
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In that era, international players were just beginning to show up in the U.S. Part of this story we can verify, but not all:
One of the guys who first saw Olajuwon’s potential was named Chris Pond, a native of Raleigh. His brother, Nick, was a sports anchor for WRAL in North Carolina’s capital city.
Reportedly, Pond recommended Olajuwon to NC State coach Norm Sloan, who was not interested, and he ended up a Houston Cougar, after some ugly, cold weather when he arrived in New York persuaded him to pass on St. John’s and to look south.
Olajuwon was not an immediate star for Houston. As a freshman, he was somewhat uncertain, but his talent and footwork were clearly exceptional.
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By 1984, Olajuwon had emerged as a huge star, and would meet Ewing in the NCAA championship.
Here are some highlights from that game. They would have many more battles in the NBA, and are now both Hall of Fame members. However, most people would say that Olajuwon had the better overall career.
Bit of trivia: According to Olajuwon, apparently there was a proposed trade before the 1984 draft that would have sent Sampson to Portland for Clyde Drexler and the #2 pick in the 1984 draft.
If it had happened, Houston would have had Olajuwon, Drexler, and probably Michael Jordan, all under the age of 23. It might have taken a few years to get that group up to NBA championship speed, but it would have been astonishing.
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Now imagine if, in the 1986 draft, the Rockets had had the foresight to take Georgia Tech’s Mark Price with the #20 pick (Price ended up being the first pick of the second round).
It’s inconceivable to go undefeated in the NBA, but a team with Olajuwon, Drexler, Jordan and Price might have won 75 regular season games.
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