In Which Xmastime Meets His First Hero, Jeff Lamp.

Jeff Lamp was my first hero as a kid, a smooth-shooting All-American forward who hit clutch shots like most people breathe air. I'd watch Virginia play on Raycom Sports and then sprint outside and pretend I was Jeff Lamp, falling out of bounds from the corner and hitting yet another big shot to send the Cavaliers to the Final Four. I probably dreamed of him and me and Lee Raker rooming together and going out for pizza after big games, which of course is to say that I absolutely dreamed of him and me and Lee Raker rooming together and going out for pizza after big games and generally shooting the shit about what great friends we all were.

As you most hardcore, dedicated to the point at which your family is beginning to worry about you fans of Xmastime know, I've spent the past few years wondering where in the hell on the Internet Jeff Lamp is. Yes, he graduated from college in 1981, way before the Internet (so was WWII but there's plenty of photos/info on that!) but for a guy who led UVa in scoring 4 times, was all-ACC 2 years and an All-American while playing alongside Ralph Sampson, I've always been surprised at how little stuff on him I could find online. It's not like he was a damn scrub, he was one of the ACC's all-time great players. Yet he's always remained a bit of an enigma, an enigma draining yet another 17-footer in his Adidas.

Incredibly, a coupla weeks ago longtime Xmastime buddy The Gnat let me know that the 1981 Final Four team was being honored as part of a scholarship program in Richmond. This was my all-time favorite college basketball team. It's hard to imagine now, but back in those days UVa was the biggest team in the country, veritable rock stars like teams like Duke et al would become later on. Well, in my eyes anyway. It was the prefect storm of their being a great team, me being a 9 year old boy living in the sticks with nothing else to do and the time being what many people still consider to be the ACC's Golden Age.

I was of course absolutely thrilled when I saw Jeff Lamp's name on the "expected to appear" list for the event. Now, as great of a college player as he was, and he had a cup of coffee in the NBA, it's not like anyone really knows where he is, or what he's doing. His is not exactly a universal name. It's not like he's popping up on ESPN every week - you have to be a pretty hardcore fan of that era to know who he is. As years (decades, ugh) have passed a sort of mythology has built up in my mind, my childhood idol worship of him intertwined with his lack of presence on the Internet. I mean hell, of course Ralph was a bigger, more famous player but if you REALLY wanted to meet him you probably could, at any of the events he participates in throughout the basketball season. Or just go to Harrisonburg and sit around for a while. Lamp, meanwhile, seemed like a character dreamed from a past life, fantastical unicorn out there never to be seen or heard from again.

I was thrilled, but also skeptical...what if I went to the event and he didn't show up? Don't get me wrong - it'd still be a thrill meeting the other guys: Sampson. Gates. Othell. Ricky. Jeff Jones. Terry Gates. But the dream meeting, my white whale so to speak, would be Jeff Lamp.

So the Gnat and I walk into the Virginia Historical Society lobby in Richmond, and there’s a spread of appetizers along with a small and surprisingly open bar, and before we could really adjust ourselves to the setting we practically bumped into "The Blitz Brothers," "The Smurfs", Othell Wilson and Ricky Stokes. We were like wow, Othell & Ricky! And they couldn’t have been more welcoming; it was as if they spent all their days greeting complete strangers to gawk at people who hadn’t touched a basketball court in decades. Boom – right away, it was arms around shoulders and pictures being taken and The Gnat & I talking about going to school in a neighboring country from the high school his brother Bobby had starred at before going on to be a part of the first (and only until 2 years ago) Virginia team to win the ACC Tournament. And of course as we’re talking to them you couldn’t help but notice a particular 7’4” guy lurking within a few feet of us, greeting and taking pictures with anyone who came up to him. We waited our time to see Ralph with Othell & Ricky, and Othell mentioned “yeah, plenty of the guys are here, there’s Jeff, and…” and I looked in the direction where he was waving a hand at and even with his back turned, I knew I was looking at the great Jeff Lamp.

HE HAD SHOWN UP!!!!  HE WAS THERE!!! I WAS GOING TO MEET HIM!!!!

Playing it super cool, natch, we got our turn to talk to Ralph, and he was cool too. I told him about my brother going to his basketball camp and how pleased he’d been with the experience re: how hands-on Ralph was throughout it, which Ralph seemed to appreciate. More so, he got a kick out of me telling him that my brother had attended the camp under false pretenses by claiming to be me, what with my not being allowed to go thanks to my shitty grades.

So then it was finally time. Jeff Lamp was kind of standing there by himself in a small sea of moving bodies, and I moved in (with the Gnat guiding my ass which was in a bit off a stupor – were it not for him I’m pretty sure I woulda just stood around commenting on the cheese plates all night.) Jeff Lamp happily shook my hand, and I told him how much he was my favorite player as a kid, he was my hero blah blah blah. He laughed and said something like “gee, don’t tell me you were like in third grade or something!” which I laughed off as in oh don’t be ridiculous of course I wasn’t that young when OMG IN 1980-81 I WAS EXACTLY IN 3RD GRADE!!!!! Then I moved on to my whole thing about not being able to find him online and suddenly he says oh yeah, someone found and passed that along to him and he’d seen it.

JEFF. LAMP. HAS. SEEN. XMASTIME. YA’LL!!!!!!!!!!!!   

Long story short, I did not hold back on the gushing. What the fuck, I know I’ll never see him again, and I wanted him to know how much he'd meant to me as a kid. He didn’t seem like the type who was really used to strangers coming up to him and telling him how awesome he is, but he was nothing but incredibly friendly and polite.

Meeting Jeff Lamp is something I’ll never, ever forget.

The rest of the night was great – there was a panel where the players told stories and answered questions, and then The Gnat and I met Terry Gates and Jeff Jones as well. The event was only half-filled so there was total access to the players, all of whom happily received anyone who wanted to talk to them.

Then somehow we all found ourselves next door at the bar, where I quickly decided not to stalk my hero. I played it cool, casually hanging out talking to Jeff Jones and Terry Gates while Jeff Lamp spent most of the time talking to the woman who’d coordinated the event. He was the first to leave, after about 20 minutes. He had to catch a flight back to LA in the morning. I didn’t try some last-ditch “let’s be BFF!!!” thing; I simply watched him walk out of the bar into the parking lot and then into the night, and I was fully satisfied with the friendly encounter we’d had earlier that would be burned in my mind forever.

Once my hero was gone I exhaled and just had a blast over the next couple of hours with Othell, Ricky, Ralph  & Terry Gates, who let me look at his 1980 NIT ring. I didn’t even ask to hold it, I simply asked if that’s what the ring was and before I even realized it he was giving it to me to hold and look at. Very cool.

Although I’ve blathered away for a few thousand words here, none of them could actually convey what it meant for me to meet Jeff Lamp. I don’t even feel silly at all for being a man in his 40s acting like a schoolgirl meeting Taylor Swift. After all, if you ever had a hero as a kid, a part of them never truly goes away. If you’re lucky.

Xmastime & Jeff Lamp hanging out, no big whoop.

 Xmastime & The Gnat chilling with Ralph fucking Sampson.

Othell & Ricky! And Xmastime! "The Guys!"

Xmastime & The Gnat with point guard Jeff Jones

(l-r) Othell Wilson, some guy, Jeff Lamp, Ralph Sampson, Terry Gates, Ricky Stokes, some guy

Stumped by my thoughtful question, "what the hell IS dry ice?"

Ricky Stokes just as I'm cutting one. Whoops.

Terry Gates' 1980 NIT ring. I'll prolly send it back, found out it's only worth $19.95 on ebay.

Othell Wilson, just before I hit him up for some cash.

Xmastime, Ralph & The Gnat on a Saturday night. No biggie.

A big thank you to The Gnat for making this possible for me. Here he is with Jeff Lamp.

3/30/1981

You many, many, MANY fans know that over the years I've blathered on and on about Jeff Lamp being my first basketball hero, and today marks 40 years since he played his last college game for UVa. It was in what was to be the final consolation game in the NCAA tournament, making that team the last one to win their last game and NOT be champs.

My post about when I met him (no big whoop for me):

Jeff Lamp was my first hero as a kid, a smooth-shooting All-American forward who hit clutch shots like most people breathe air. I'd watch Virginia play on Raycom Sports and then sprint outside and pretend I was Jeff Lamp, falling out of bounds from the corner and hitting yet another big shot to send the Cavaliers to the Final Four. I probably dreamed of him and me and Lee Raker rooming together and going out for pizza after big games, which of course is to say that I absolutely dreamed of him and me and Lee Raker rooming together and going out for pizza after big games and generally shooting the shit about what great friends we all were.

As you most hardcore, dedicated to the point at which your family is beginning to worry about you fans of Xmastime know, I've spent the past few years wondering where in the hell on the Internet Jeff Lamp is. Yes, he graduated from college in 1981, way before the Internet (so was WWII but there's plenty of photos/info on that!) but for a guy who led UVa in scoring 4 times, was all-ACC 2 years and an All-American while playing alongside Ralph Sampson, I've always been surprised at how little stuff on him I could find online. It's not like he was a damn scrub, he was one of the ACC's all-time great players. Yet he's always remained a bit of an enigma, an enigma draining yet another 17-footer in his Adidas.

Incredibly, a coupla weeks ago longtime Xmastime buddy The Gnat let me know that the 1981 Final Four team was being honored as part of a scholarship program in Richmond. This was my all-time favorite college basketball team. It's hard to imagine now, but back in those days UVa was the biggest team in the country, veritable rock stars like teams like Duke et al would become later on. Well, in my eyes anyway. It was the prefect storm of their being a great team, me being a 9 year old boy living in the sticks with nothing else to do and the time being what many people still consider to be the ACC's Golden Age.

I was of course absolutely thrilled when I saw Jeff Lamp's name on the "expected to appear" list for the event. Now, as great of a college player as he was, and he had a cup of coffee in the NBA, it's not like anyone really knows where he is, or what he's doing. His is not exactly a universal name. It's not like he's popping up on ESPN every week - you have to be a pretty hardcore fan of that era to know who he is. As years (decades, ugh) have passed a sort of mythology has built up in my mind, my childhood idol worship of him intertwined with his lack of presence on the Internet. I mean hell, of course Ralph was a bigger, more famous player but if you REALLY wanted to meet him you probably could, at any of the events he participates in throughout the basketball season. Or just go to Harrisonburg and sit around for a while. Lamp, meanwhile, seemed like a character dreamed from a past life, fantastical unicorn out there never to be seen or heard from again.

I was thrilled, but also skeptical...what if I went to the event and he didn't show up? Don't get me wrong - it'd still be a thrill meeting the other guys: Sampson. Gates. Othell. Ricky. Jeff Jones. Terry Gates. But the dream meeting, my white whale so to speak, would be Jeff Lamp.

So the Gnat and I walk into the Virginia Historical Society lobby in Richmond, and there’s a spread of appetizers along with a small and surprisingly open bar, and before we could really adjust ourselves to the setting we practically bumped into "The Blitz Brothers," "The Smurfs", Othell Wilson and Ricky Stokes. We were like wow, Othell & Ricky! And they couldn’t have been more welcoming; it was as if they spent all their days greeting complete strangers to gawk at people who hadn’t touched a basketball court in decades. Boom – right away, it was arms around shoulders and pictures being taken and The Gnat & I talking about going to school in a neighboring country from the high school his brother Bobby had starred at before going on to be a part of the first (and only until 2 years ago) Virginia team to win the ACC Tournament. And of course as we’re talking to them you couldn’t help but notice a particular 7’4” guy lurking within a few feet of us, greeting and taking pictures with anyone who came up to him. We waited our time to see Ralph with Othell & Ricky, and Othell mentioned “yeah, plenty of the guys are here, there’s Jeff, and…” and I looked in the direction where he was waving a hand at and even with his back turned, I knew I was looking at the great Jeff Lamp.

HE HAD SHOWN UP!!!!  HE WAS THERE!!! I WAS GOING TO MEET HIM!!!!

Playing it super cool, natch, we got our turn to talk to Ralph, and he was cool too. I told him about my brother going to his basketball camp and how pleased he’d been with the experience re: how hands-on Ralph was throughout it, which Ralph seemed to appreciate. More so, he got a kick out of me telling him that my brother had attended the camp under false pretenses by claiming to be me, what with my not being allowed to go thanks to my shitty grades.

So then it was finally time. Jeff Lamp was kind of standing there by himself in a small sea of moving bodies, and I moved in (with the Gnat guiding my ass which was in a bit off a stupor – were it not for him I’m pretty sure I woulda just stood around commenting on the cheese plates all night.) Jeff Lamp happily shook my hand, and I told him how much he was my favorite player as a kid, he was my hero blah blah blah. He laughed and said something like “gee, don’t tell me you were like in third grade or something!” which I laughed off as in oh don’t be ridiculous of course I wasn’t that young when OMG IN 1980-81 I WAS EXACTLY IN 3RD GRADE!!!!! Then I moved on to my whole thing about not being able to find him online and suddenly he says oh yeah, someone found and passed that along to him and he’d seen it.

JEFF. LAMP. HAS. SEEN. XMASTIME. YA’LL!!!!!!!!!!!!   

Long story short, I did not hold back on the gushing. What the fuck, I know I’ll never see him again, and I wanted him to know how much he'd meant to me as a kid. He didn’t seem like the type who was really used to strangers coming up to him and telling him how awesome he is, but he was nothing but incredibly friendly and polite.

Meeting Jeff Lamp is something I’ll never, ever forget.

The rest of the night was great – there was a panel where the players told stories and answered questions, and then The Gnat and I met Terry Gates and Jeff Jones as well. The event was only half-filled so there was total access to the players, all of whom happily received anyone who wanted to talk to them.

Then somehow we all found ourselves next door at the bar, where I quickly decided not to stalk my hero. I played it cool, casually hanging out talking to Jeff Jones and Terry Gates while Jeff Lamp spent most of the time talking to the woman who’d coordinated the event. He was the first to leave, after about 20 minutes. He had to catch a flight back to LA in the morning. I didn’t try some last-ditch “let’s be BFF!!!” thing; I simply watched him walk out of the bar into the parking lot and then into the night, and I was fully satisfied with the friendly encounter we’d had earlier that would be burned in my mind forever.

Once my hero was gone I exhaled and just had a blast over the next couple of hours with Othell, Ricky, Ralph  & Terry Gates, who let me look at his 1980 NIT ring. I didn’t even ask to hold it, I simply asked if that’s what the ring was and before I even realized it he was giving it to me to hold and look at. Very cool.

Although I’ve blathered away for a few thousand words here, none of them could actually convey what it meant for me to meet Jeff Lamp. I don’t even feel silly at all for being a man in his 40s acting like a schoolgirl meeting Taylor Swift. After all, if you ever had a hero as a kid, a part of them never truly goes away. If you’re lucky.

These two teamed up to score 2,317 points in college!

Finally!

Speaking of the ACC Glory Days, as many of you know I've been on a years-long search for Jeff Lamp on the internet, an online presence which curiously for a 2-time All-American doesn't seem to exist; so TA-DA!!  Found an article HERE!

Mac McDonald was hired as the play-by-play man for the Cavaliers before the 1980-81 season. The young broadcaster from the Midwest was immediately impressed by the senior guard and team captain.

“It was my first college job coming from Iowa, and I was just in awe of him,” McDonald said of Lamp. “He had a great personality. And nobody wanted the ball in the final minute more than Jeff.”

Ironically enough, posting today started with Ronald Reagan and is closing with Jeff Lamp and...Jeff Lamp's last game with UVa came on the day Reagan was shot.

Freaking out?  Mind blown?  I'll stand by respectfully waiting for you to collect your composure.

Side note: as for Lamp/Raker/Gates, has there ever been another instance of THREE high school teammates going on to take a team to the NCAA Final Four?  Three WHITE guys?!??!!?  And how ironic that all three plus Jeff Jones all came from Kentucky, where Ralph Sampson (who has been oddly under-rated), the ONE recruit Terry Holland actually got, almost went to? (To say nothing of the fact that Ralph's the reason Obama won!)

Where in the World is Jeff Lamp?

I've been conducting an online search for my first hero, Jeff Lamp, throughout the years...one of the greatest players in ACC history, and apparently there's 4 pictures of him on the whole internet. Hmm.

I think this is from the UVa Walk of Fame (yes? no?) It's a cheesy photo of him, whoever put that together should be fired; but that is his retired #3 jersey. Which means a lot to me, and the countless hours I spent in our backyard kicking up dust as I pretended I was Jeff Lamp draining a 23-footer from the corner to go to the Final Four. His shot, my shot. Fucking nailed it, every time.

Happy Armistice Day

Where Have You Gone Jeff Lamp, an Xmas Turns His Lonely Eyes to You (cause he’s gay, looks like)

As I've mentioned before, I've been in an overly-gay mood lately re: crying nostalgic over the Virginia teams from my youth that featured Jeff Lamp and Lee Raker. To the point that I stumbled upon this:



and then like a stalker tracked down the author of this on Facebook, where I am currently pounding him for info on this movie parody.

But I am still mystified as to the paucity of pictures of Jeff Lamp on the internet. Dude graduated as the highest scoring player in UVa history. Led the team in scoring 4 times, and this was back when UVa basketball was a national big deal. Yet I've found 3 pictures of him total. wtf. I AM ABOUT TO CALL "BULLSHIT" ON THE INTERNET!!

Where Have You Gone Jeff Lamp, an Xmas Turns His Lonely Eyes to You

As I've mentioned before, I've been in a mood lately re: crying nostalgic over the Virginia teams from my youth that featured Jeff Lamp and Lee Raker. To the point that I stumbled upon this:   and then like a stalker tracked down the author of this on Facebook, where I am currently pounding him for info on this movie parody. But I am still mystified as to the paucity of pictures of Jeff Lamp on the internet. Dude graduated as the highest scoring player in UVa history. Led the team in scoring 4 times, and this was back when UVa basketball was a national big deal. Yet I've found 3 pictures of him total. wtf. I AM ABOUT TO CALL "BULLSHIT" ON THE INTERNET!!

Bird, Lamp, and the Future That Never Was

It’s cemented in legend that Larry Bird enrolled at Indiana University in the Fall of 1974, setting him on course to have been on Indiana's perfect 1976 team, not to mention the 1975 one which was just as good until Scott May broke his arm. Presumably, this already-historical team would have reached even more dizzying heights with Bird.

Of course, it's also part of the legend that he left IU after 24 days.

Meanwhile, it’s cemented in MY head even if nobody else cares, University of Virginia legend - and my first sports hero! - Jeff Lamp was leaning into going to Indiana in the Fall of 1977, but grumblings from the IU players about Bobby Knight had him reconsider, which led to him and high school teammate and fellow UVa legend(ish) Lee Raker going to UVa instead.

So Lamp's my favorite college basketball player of all time, Bird's my favorite pro basketball player of all time, I consider myself to be a bit of a student on Indiana basketball, and yet it’s only NOW that it’s occurred to me that Bird and Lamp could've actually played together, in 1977-78 - Lamp's freshman year & what would've been Bird’s senior year!!!! 😲🤯

Between playing with an already great Indiana team with Bird and then a few years with Isiah Thomas, could Lamp have easily won 3-4 national titles? Would this have cemented him nationally as an all-time great college player?

Would Ralph Sampson have gone to Virginia if Lamp wasn't already there? (Probably not, he probably goes to Kentucky).

Does the whole Bird/Magic thing even happen? Maybe, but certainly not as dramatically as it really did play out.

Sampson going to Kentucky changes the whole Bowie/Turpin thing at Kentucky, which would have affected the 1984 Bowie Draft, meaning Jordan may have not gone to the Bulls, which means goodbye the 90s basically.

ANYway…mostly, I can’t believe it took me until July 2025 to piece together he whole Bird/Lamp at IU together thing. 🤷‍♂️

My Life in Championships

NBA: Celtics 1984, 1986…2008!!!!! I feel like I saw every game of that 1986 season, was definitly the greatest season ever...even though I saw Bird/Magic in 1979 NCAA Final, I don’t remember 1981 NBA Finals at all. Sorry Larry!!

College Basketball: closest I came was my 1987 Indiana team…THANK YOU, TERRY HOLLAND!!! You suck!!! Virginia Final Four Teams: 1981, 1984. My favorite sports team ever:

1981 Virginia Cavaliers.
Ralph Sampson
Jeff Lamp
Lee Raker
Othell Wilson
Jeff Jones

Lost to UNC (for the THIRD TIME) at the Spectrum in Philly in the Final Four.

Side note: this UVa team won the last ever consolation game in NCAA history - beating LSU on the day it was announced Ronald Reagan was shot. Lamp and Raker's last game. Jeff Lamp graduated as the leading scorer in UVa history, with 2,317 points. I believe Lee Raker had 1,849....though actually, I think that might be Wally Walker's scoring totals. Sorry!*

NCAA Football: 1988 Notre Dame. SIDE NOTE: ND shoulda won the next year too, were it not for a questionable holding call on a Rocket kickoff return with less than 2:00 left against Colorado in the Orange Bowl. Fuckers.

MLB: YANKEES 1998, 1999, 2000…lost the World Series in 2001 and 2003

NFL: COWBOYS 1992, 1993, 1995. I remember that Super Bowl they lost to the Steelers 35-31, but I have no recollection of them beating Denver the year before. Them losing three straight NFC Championship Games in a row sucked. Eagles, 49ers, Redskins. Grrrrrrr.

* Wally Walker had 1,849 points...Lee Raker had 1,432

Lamp & Moi

As you huge fans know, I've spent years bitching about the fact that Jeff Lamp is the least-represented All-American on the Internet, you practically need goddam Magnum P.I. to find any mention of him online. And knowing as I am about such things ("know thyself" - XMASTIME), I'm kinda shocked that I didn't make a bigger deal about this after meeting him:

Then I moved on to my whole thing about not being able to find him online and suddenly he says oh yeah, someone found and passed that along to him and he’d seen it.

JEFF. LAMP. HAS. SEEN. XMASTIME. YA’LL!!!!!!!!!!!

Then I kinda forgot about it? ME??!?! Wtf?

"That makes me sad bro let's go for some Arby's on me."

Networking

Many of you already know the generosity of Kelly from The Hachette Book Group - War As They Knew It AND Outliers having been given out by Kelly to my loyal readers. What a world...I write about a book I love, and the publisher sends around a bunch of free copies!!!

This weekend I somehow landed upon Mad About U: Four Decades of Basketball at University Hall and flipped my wig...HOLY SHIT!! You people have heard me dither like a schoolgirl re: Jeff Lamp et al, and guess what? He was interviewed for this book. A book about Lamp, Raker, Sampson, and before - a book about fucking U-Hall, which I saw for countless hours on my tv as a kid, dreaming one day I'd BE Jeff Lamp.

Anyways, I was marveling that such a book had been published at all, when I thought heeeeeeeeeey....why not email the publisher, ask for a freebie? Send me a copy, and I'll write about it on Xmastime! I always hear about people "deciding what they want and then taking it, or simply asking for it," which I've never done...until now (side note - Foot Locker's generosity with me has been OFF THE CHARTS, but it never came about because I asked for it; I never really thought of it as some sort of "deal" that I concocted.) What's the worst he can do - not answer my email? OUCH!! So I write the U-Hall book guy (Chris), ask for a copy, and BLAMMO! Dude writes back, OF COURSE he'll send me a copy! (AND made himself available for an interview in the future!) How awesome is that...what a generous thing to do, I was thinking. But then hey, I AM giving his book a bunch of publicity. Is this what the world's like - exchanging something you have to offer for something someone else does? What do you know. So now I'm sitting back and thinking well hell, I might as well wonder what ELSE I'd like to get for free. What can I ask for in exchange for a review on Xmastime, I'm thinking...

Finally I came up with what I think is a great place to start. Below is my email; I have not heard from the company yet, but I just sent it, so...seems like if they're HALF as nice and generous as Kelly and Chris have already been, I'll get what I want, and be able to write about it on Xmastime. Keep your fingers crossed!!

Dear Sir/Ma’am

I am the proprietor of a blog called XMASTIME, and from time to time I am given free products ("freebies") in exchange for reviews/publicity on my blog. I have a very loyal readership – a “thumbs up” from me is a guarantee for more sales of your product.

Therein, I would like to offer you the chance for me to critique and review the products of your company - in exchange for free goods, I will do my best to promote your company on my blog.

I think a fair sample would be for you to send over a girl of each ethnicity – one white, one black, one Asian/Latin/whatever. That way, I can really get a grip on what you have to offer – are the Asians REALLY “submissive”? If my reader asks for a black girl, will he know for sure he is getting “a night in the jungle of passion”? And what DOES "hard candy from a lonely TS" mean? The more I can tell my readers, the more likely they'll buy from your company.

I suggest we dedicate one week to each type of girl; then on the 4th week I will post my review on XMASTIME. Thank you in advance, and I look forward to hearing from you soon.

XMASTIME

39 Years Ago Today

My first hero and all-time favorite college basketball player Jeff Lamp played his final game at Virginia, a win against LSU in what would be the final consolation game ever played. (Oh yeah, and President Reagan was shot earlier in the day because of Jodie Foster.)


Pretty much forgotten on the internet, grrrrrr, here's an article about him being a forgotten living legend.  Incredibly, Lamp was just one of four teammates at Ballard High that year who would be selected in the NBA draft (only one of whom I've ever heard of, Lee Raker, plus back then the NBA draft had like 200 rounds. I think I got picked once.)

"But Xmastime", you say in the voice of Craig “Ironhead” Heyward from those soap commercials (RIP), “didn't you actually meet Jeff Lamp once?"

Sigh. YES faithful readers, yes I did. You may read all 1,508 words about the historic meeting of hardwood legends HERE.

Yep, Today's Gonna Be a LOT About Jeff Lamp, People

My first hero and all-time favorite college basketball player Jeff Lamp played his final game at Virginia, a win against LSU in what would be the final consolation game ever played. (Oh yeah, and President Reagan was shot earlier in the day because of Jodie Foster.)

Pretty much forgotten on the internet, grrrrrr, here's an article about him being a forgotten living legend.  Incredibly, Lamp was just one of four teammates at Ballard High that year who would be selected in the NBA draft (only one of whom I've ever heard of, Lee Raker, plus back then the NBA draft had like 200 rounds. I think I got picked once.)

The Case for Ralph Sampson's Redemption

Flipping through The Sports Guys massive NBA tome this weekend at Brothattime!!'s, I read Simmons' claim that Ralph Sampson should've come out after his freshman year at UVa when Red Auerbach wanted him, claiming that Ralph stagnated for three years thanks to being on a team with no other threats and therefore being able to be triple-teamed, driven to such boredom that he'd try running the floor as if he was the point guard.  As much as I loved those teams, his sophomore year being my favorite team of all time, he's probably right.  If Ralph had gone to the Celtics he'd be banging against Bird/Parrish/McHale every day, instead of playing with the fucking mites he was surrounded with.  The best player he ever played with at Virginia was the All-American Jeff Lamp, but even he, while my idol, was merely a great 6'6" scorer who petered out after a few years in the NBA.  Meanwhile, Ralph was playing with...Jimmy Miller? Tim Mullen? Othell, Ricky, Kenton Edelin?  Really? And as much as I love them like I did Lamp, Lee Raker and Terry Gates weren't exactly Jordan/Perkins to Ralph's James Worthy.

Which is why it's always driven me crazy whenever people try to claim Ralph was a "choke artist" who "under-achieved."  Looking back at those UVa teams, how the hell they won 30 games a year and spent months at a time ranked #1 is nothing short of a miracle.  The point people have missed isn't that Ralph under-achieved, but that Terry Holland was the worst recruiter ever, including barely getting Ralph in the first place.  Jeff Lamp only came to UVa after witnessing a Bobby Knight meltdown after he had committed to Indiana, and Lee Raker, whom he played with at Ballard High along with Terry Gates, said fuck it, come to UVa with us.  Holland didn't get JR Reid, Alonzo Mourning, the list of Virginia studs who left the state goes on.  He surrounded Ralph with scrappy role players who had no right to even be in the stands of the ACC, and look at what Ralph did with them. Ralph Sampson, underachiever? More like a fucking miracle worker.

Buzzed

The University of Virginia actually played a game that mattered last night, which has happened about 3 times in 30 years, and I got this tweet earlier:

While TECHnically he might be right about Mike Scott  since Ralph Sampson graduated two years after Jeff Lamp, it's always good to see Lamp get some attention since as you know the Earth has chosen to forget his existence.

Even more forgotten however is the original Virginia scoring machine, Buzzy Wilkinson, who averaged 28ppg during his career at Virginia.  And if you thought UVa has been in a dry spell for the last few decades, when Buzzy was there were the REAL Dark Ages.  I first heard about Buzzy back in 7th grade when I found this incredible book but had never seen anything else about him until I just now stumbled upon an article in SI during his senior year, which shows the talent he had around him:

There has been good reason for the lack of publicity about Wilkinson—namely his attitude toward his fellow players which is somewhat like that of a seasoned mother catbird pushing her young ones from the nest. He thinks it's high time the other players straighten up, fly right and start making baskets themselves. Several games this season he has spent the entire first quarter feeding the ball to his hand-wringing teammates before giving up and resigning himself to stardom. This holds his individual score down but Wilkinson is looking ahead to next year, when he won't be around. He is sincerely willing to sacrifice his individual acclaim if he can only get the Virginia team to stand on its own feet.

Interestingly, UVa almost never had him in the first place:

"Right up to the time I packed my bags I still didn't know whether I was going to Virginia or Kentucky," Buzzy says. "I'd spent a whole week at Kentucky, fooling around in the gym every day, but in that whole week nobody ever showed me the campus. That's all they showed me at Virginia. My home's just about halfway between Virginia and Kentucky but Dad kept talking about the folly of going 'out west.' He made it sound like the Indians were waiting for me."

Just like you-know-who 25 years later, UVa lucked into getting a superstar instead of Kentucky (and weren't even supposed to get Jeff Lamp, who was headed to Bobby Knight.)

There's No Place Like 3rd Place

I didn't really know they still for some reason played a Pro Bowl in the NFL, but this guy has a suggestion:

But what if there was a football game played during this week that wasn’t between hastily thrown-together teams? What if there was a game this week that wasn’t an exhibition game? I have a proposal: The week before the Super Bowl, the two teams that lost their conference championship games should play against each other in an official NFL third-place game.

It's an interesting thought, though one that has no chance in hell of happening. The last thing NFL players want to do is play another "real" game in which they could get hurt that pretty much means nothing. 

But it does make us think about what I thought 7 years ago:

Some people see March 30, 1981 as the day President Reagan got shot. I see it as the final game Jeff Lamp, Lee Raker and Terry Gates ever played for UVa, beating LSU in the last NCAA Final Four consolation game ever played, somewhat perversely becoming the last team ever to win it's final tourney game without winning the tournament.

Looking on it now, kinda surprised they haven't brought this game back, as I'd be another game to squeeze $$$$$ from tv. You got people sitting around waiting for the Monday night game, why not play the consolation game on Sunday?

I really don't understand why this hasn't happened.

"But Xmastime", you say in the voice of Craig “Ironhead” Heyward from those soap commercials (RIP), “didn't you meet your hero Jeff Lamp?"

Sigh. Yes I did faithful readers, yes I did. 

 

Where in the World is Jeff Lamp?

As many of you know I've been on a years-long search for Jeff Lamp on the internet, an online presence which curiously for a 2-time All-American doesn't seem to exist; so TA-DA!...here he is - at the 1:52 mark of this news clip about Ralph Sampson as a high school senior, standing around the hallway. Now see, that wasn't so hard, was it?

Opening Day/Title Game Night

I almost just had a fucking heart attack. For some reason the clock on my computer is wrong...just looked, and it said 1:16pm. Shit!!!!!!! I missed the start of the Yankees game!!!!!!! Christ.

And actually, I guess it didn't SAY 1:16pm.

Trying to think of what my favorite Final Four is. Will keep you posted. A particular favorite is 1981. Don’t remember the final, but of course followed UVa making the Final Four. Completely crushed by Al Wood. Also was the last consolation game played, and was on the day Reagan got shot I think. Jeff Lamp, Lee Raker and Terry Gates’ last game (whupped LSU.) I’m sure I cried. And I'm working on my screenplay "Where the Hell is Jeff Lamp?"

Dr. Dunkenstein (I Guess?)

As you people well know Jeff Lamp was my first superhero but even I never would have guessed the words "Jeff Lamp" and "dunk contest" would ever show up together. 🤷‍♂️😜🕺🏀

Jeff Lamp, II

Anyone who's read this blog over the years know how much I've always bitched about the paucity of info about Jeff Lamp on the internet; just now I stumbled an article about him being a, wait for it, forgotten legend.

Must say, I'd never really heard about his impressive overseas career (probably because there's  paucity of info about him on the internet!)

Tourney Week!

originally posted in 2007, ie back when Xmastime was funny
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Is there anything more exciting than ACC Tournament Week? Maybe the first plate being handed to you at a buffet, but that’s about it. Desperately trying to sprint out of school to get home to watch the first round games, hearing rumors every year re: Maryland upsetting UNC etc. As a young buck I prided myself on being a great - nay, amazing - shooter. I was what you’d call a “chucker.” My brother called me the Black Hole, cause once the ball came in to me, it wasn’t going back out. Pass? Why would I pass it to anyone else? MAYBE I would if it was a Bird-esque number that would draw ooohs and aaahs from the crowd; otherwise, head back on D cause I’m firing it up. And defense? On defense, I’d rest up for my next shot. Hey, the quicker my guy gets by me and scores, the quicker I’m gettin the ball back! 

How I became such an amazing, show-stopping shooter is a bit of a mystery, since 1) I have such bad depth perception I was laughed out of my Air force physical by the doctor “oh, I’m not flying with you!!” and 2) I learned to shoot on an 11-foot goal. When Brothatime!! and I were about 8 or 9 years old, we had the hoop and backboard and finally we found a downed telephone pole to mount it on. Dragged it over to our backyard, started digging. And digging. And digging. Finally we’re like fuck it, we ain’t digging no more, we’re puttin the fucker in. 10 feet high, 20 feet high, whatever. Course, it didn’t occur to us to just cut the pole, but hey. So now we gotta get the fucker up. And it’s killing us. We’re both about 5 feet tall and 80 pounds; we’re even trying the laws of science, using a barrel as a fulcrum. No dice. Pole must be 1000 pounds! Finally, after about an hour of watching through the window and laughing each time the pole would fall and narrowly miss his sons’ heads, my dad came out and with one hand threw the pole up; my brother and I hurriedly filled the hole in with dirt and were finally ready to gun the rock in our own backyard. Heaven. I can’t begin to fathom the number of hours we spent on that court. Me in my “God may have made the sky Carolina blue, but he made Ralph a Wahoo” t-shirt. All day, all night, dribble dribble dribble. Thump thump thump. Even the time I left the ball next to a heater and a baseball-sized lump appeared and we couldn’t get a new ball for a few weeks. Thump thump....chase ball down in the garden. Every serious decision I had to make between 1980 and 1990, I made there. Every piece of advice my brother gave me, was there. All the laughing, all the crying, all there. I’d daydream about girls while shooting, or I’d fantasize I was Jeff Lamp (ed note - the for some reason somewhat impossible to find online Jeff Lamp!) , 5 seconds left against Carolina and down by one. At least once a day my brother would piss me off, and my fury would be white hot, I’d hurl the ball at his head, clamp my teeth down on my bottom lip and go after him. After he was done laughing, we’d keep playing. Sometimes just casually shooting/yapping, other times clawing each others eyes out trying to beat each other. There was no grass there for a decade, just solid packed dirt. Bout a year ago I rode by our old house for the first time in years. The goal was still there, but all the grass had grown back in and I just wanted to fucking cry.