Ralph Sampson mentors Lynchburg youth at Boys & Girls Club
Basketball Hall of Famer Ralph Sampson visited the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Lynchburg on Friday, July 17, 2026, to mentor local kids with court drills and life lessons. The NBA all-star stopped in the Hill City while traveling from Harrisonburg toward Roanoke, urging youth to focus on motivation, attitude and a plan.
Key Takeaways
- Ralph Sampson spent Friday morning at Lynchburg’s Boys & Girls Club shooting, sharing career stories and offering life advice.
- The 7-foot-4 Virginia legend told kids that success starts with being a good person and a clear “MAP”: motivation, attitude and plan.
- Club leaders and Mayor Larry Taylor greeted him; two of his sons plan a future basketball clinic at the club.
- Sampson said he wants a lasting footprint in Virginia, including clinics and a scholarship program for kids.
The visit quickly became more than a celebrity drop-in. According to WSET, Sampson used the stop to pour into the next generation—something he called one of the most rewarding parts of his career.
For readers following celebrity breaking news, the Lynchburg stop stood out as a hometown-style give-back from a Virginia icon, not a red-carpet appearance.
What did Ralph Sampson do in Lynchburg?
On Friday morning, Sampson invited children from the gym bleachers onto the court and ran basketball drills with a handful of them. News & Advance photos show kids such as Lamar Jones and Yalan Lacy working under his direction.
He took questions, talked about a positive attitude, and framed his own Hall of Fame path around supportive coaches, motivation and hard work. “To come back to this Boys and Girls Club and to see these kids has been always something that is in our family to do and give back,” Sampson told WSET. “So I enjoy it, and seeing their smiles and faces like that is really special for me.”
Why does the visit matter for Lynchburg youth?
Stephanie Reed of the Boys & Girls Club—who also serves as an at-large city council member—said getting someone with Sampson’s background in the building mattered. Board President Lisa Calloway had been in touch with him; he offered the meet-and-greet while headed to a golf fundraiser near Roanoke.
Mayor Larry Taylor and Ward II Councilman Sterling Wilder also attended. Children from Wilder’s Jubilee Family Development Center were invited as well. Reed said the kids thought it was “really cool” to have someone famous doing drills with them—and that they will remember meeting someone so tall for a long time.
Will Ralph Sampson return to Lynchburg?
Yes—at least through his family. Sampson told the children that two of his sons will come back for a basketball clinic, likely a three-hour session at the club. He and his sons already run clinics in Harrisonburg and Charlottesville and want to expand across Virginia.
“Especially in the state of Virginia, we like to leave our footprint,” he said. “We've got some programs we want to institute here with the city and a scholarship program for kids. So we want to leave an impact.”
The 7-foot-4 all-star, a three-time college national player of the year at the University of Virginia and the No. 1 overall pick by the Houston Rockets in 1983, also played for the Golden State Warriors, Sacramento Kings and Washington Bullets. In Lynchburg, his message stayed simple: become a successful athlete by first being a good kid—and map the way forward.