Houston coach Ralph Sampson: Chris Cenac Jr. will be a 3-point shooter with Boston Celtics

Justin Quinn, Celtics WireMon, August 24, 2026 at 12:13 AM UTC

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The Boston Celtics have had great success developing big men in recent years (look no further to Neemias Queta for their latest example). And have thrived when they have had a center able to shoot the ball, with vets like Al Horford to Kristaps Porzingis the most recent examples.

This tendency has not been lost on Ralph Sampson, the college coach of new Boston big man Chris Cenac Jr., the former of which recently shared his perspective on why the Celtics could be an ideal team for the former University of Houston center to grow his game as a pro. "There’s a reason why the best organizations have the best cultures, because things like that matter," said Sampson in a recent interview with Boston Globe reporter Adam Himmelsbach.

"Little things like that are big things when it comes to work ethic and getting better," he continued. "I don’t know that (Payton) Pritchard would be a great player everywhere, but he made it in Boston, and I don’t think it was a coincidence that it was in Boston."

"Jayson Tatum is going to be good everywhere, but some of those other guys might not be," he added. "I think Chris can develop there ... Chris is going to be a 37-39 percent shooter (from 3). He’s got a great release, and the ball comes off his fingertips with a good rotation and a good arc, and he’s a worker. He’s not like a guard who has been shooting 3s his whole life."

And while his 27.3 percent rate from deep with Boston in Las Vegas Summer League play affirms the latter take by Sampson, his 71.4 percent efficiency rate from the stripe and his work ethic makes one think the Houston coach might just be right about his potential as a long-distance marksman.

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This article originally appeared on Celtics Wire: Houston coach Ralph Sampson: Chris Cenac Jr. will be a 3-point shooter with Boston Celtics

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