Sixers' spark plug, channeling SpongeBob

ONE GLANCE at rookie guard JaKarr Sampson and you smile, too. With his endless energy, his 6-9, 214 frame of coiled athleticism and his full-mouthed, gap-toothed smile, Sampson has sparked the Sixers out of their season doldrums.

A long-term project as an offensive player, he was expected to linger in the NBA Development League with the Delaware 87ers, but his size and his commitment to playing stultifying defense on every player led coach Brett Brown to use him as an example of what to do for his young, virtually leaderless reconstruction project of a team. Sampson has played in 47 games.

After leading scorer Tony Wroten was lost for the season to knee surgery, Sampson got his chance to start regularly. He averaged 7.8 points, 1.3 steals, shot 59 percent from the field and made 46 percent of his three-pointers. More to the point, the Sixers went 4-4 in those eight starts.

Sampson grew up in Akron, Ohio, and played for St. Vincent-St. Mary, the same high school as LeBron James. He played for James' AAU team and played with him over some summers. Like all of Ohio, he endured the pain when LeBron famously took His Talents to South Beach - and rejoiced when James returned to Cleveland last summer. Marcus Hayes spoke with Sampson last week.

Q You just played (and lost to) LeBron and the Cavs. When you were growing up, did you fantasize about getting an alley-oop from the King and dunking? Or did you fantasize about dunking in the face of a King James who was wearing a Heat uniform?

I feel like you can't go wrong, either way. It would be cool for me to dunk on him, but it would be cool for me to get a lob from him, too.

Q Would you rather be here with a team like the Sixers, a team near the bottom of the league but where you are getting decent experience, or would you rather be with a winner, getting no playing time?

Definitely here. We're doing a great job developing a lot of players, and definitely, my offense is developing here. I need to be here.

Q Your last name is Sampson, and your middle name is Jordan. Is your game more like Ralph Sampson's or Michael Jordan's?

Ha ha ha! Uh . . . I'm trying to think . . . Who is Ralph Sampson? People always ask me if I am related to him, but I don't know. I don't even know his game.

I guess mine's more like Michael Jordan's.

Q When you were in high school you had a pregame ritual of grabbing the rim. Has that stayed with you?

Well, that was high school. Now, I end warm-ups with a big-time warm-up dunk. I used to hang on the rim, but I don't do that anymore. In college, too.

The dunk, now . . . it gets me going. But, you know, sometimes people say I have too much energy.

Q JaKarr is an unusual name. What is its origin?

My mom was going to name me Drakkar. Like, after the cologne, Drakkar Noir. But it came out JaKarr.

I like Drakkar. I like it a lot. It's my No. 2 go-to scent. After Armani.

Q Thank goodness she didn't like Aqua Velva. What is your fascination with SpongeBob SquarePants? Does it have anything to do with your incisor similarities?

He's just a funny, funny guy. A funny cartoon I've been watching since I was little. He makes me laugh. And yeah, we look alike.

I used to get picked on about my teeth, but this is me. All me. Like Michael Strahan. I'd never change it. I'll never change.