I've always enjoyed playing the "Whatever happened to..." and finding out where my favorite players wound up after leaving the spotlight. Like Bootsy Thornton -- one of my all-time favorite Johnnies -- who has had a successful career playing in Turkey. Another ex-Johnnie, Willie Shaw, is now a Harlem Globetrotter.
But there's a down side to "Where Are They Now." Sometimes, where they are is not a good place.
Take Rumeal Robinson, for example. Robinson was one of the heroes of the 1989 NCAA Tournament, hitting two free throws with seconds left in the title game to lift the Wolverines to the title over P.J. Carlesimo and the Seton Hall Pirates.
Like many other March Madness heroes, Robinson didn't have much of an NBA career. He was selected by Atlanta in the first round of the 1990 draft, and spent six undistinguished seasons bouncing around the league.
Since then?
To call his post-basketball career "undistinguished" would be a compliment. He stands accused of swindling his adoptive mother out of her home and is facing charges for a variety of financial crimes. And the money he made during his NBA career? Most of it, apparently, went to strippers.
Personally, I'd rather remember him in maize-and-blue, hitting those freebies and cutting down the nets.
Comments