Durham native and former Wake Forest basketball player Rodney Rogers is paralyzed as the result of an all-terrain vehicle accident, according to The News & Observer. | ESPN.com
Dave Odom, who coached Rogers when he earned All-America honors at Wake Forest and was the 1993 ACC Player of the Year, said Wednesday that his former star is paralyzed from the shoulders down.
“Say a prayer for Rodney and his family,” Odom said.
Barry Saunders writes that Rogers had a “legendary physique,” and that’s what struck me as especially stunning when I heard about his paralysis: The Durham Bull, an athlete defined by his body, is now rendered helpless by it.
I watched Rogers beat N.C. State in Reynolds Coliseum when I was in school. He had two 360-degree dunks in a display of his body as art.
Career statistics: Wake Forest | NBA
4 comments:
This is just horrible. I guess the positive aspect of this is he should have the financial ability to handle these expenses(?).
I have a couple of good Rodney Rogers stories. Around '90, my high school's basketball team was pretty darn good (I wasn't on the team). We had a stud of a player on the team that was being hailed -- along with Durham's Rodney Rogers -- as one of the better players in the state. Well, in the playoffs (eastern finals?), our two schools met. Rogers' team won -- and Rogers DESTROYED out stud player.
I also remember that between the time his career at Wake had ended and the NBA draft, Rogers had put on a few lbs. On draft night, one of the TV talking heads asked him about it, and he laughed and attributed the weight gain to his "mama's biscuits." I became an even bigger Rodney Rogers fan right then; he was one of us.
Good luck, Durham Bull. Our prayers are with you.
I remember my senior year in high school when a good friend of mine was picked to be in the NC McDonald's East - West game. (Rogers was the biggest of the big names there.) The day before the actual game, all of the attendees had a day of skills sessions with very accomplished players and coaches. Free throws, post play, etc. My friend said that when they got to the part about how to a charge, the coach went through his extensive lesson and then one of the guys asked, "What if it's Rodney coming down the lane?" The quick consensus from everyone was to get out of the way as fast as possible. This is just awful news and I hope the best for him, his family, and fellow fans.
Those two 360s Rodney dropped on us were legendary. In fact they were the first thing I thought of when I heard he'd been paralyzed. You just don't ever forget that kind of performance.
Randolph Childress may have been the point guard during Wake Forest's mid-1990s dominance, but Rogers absolutely laid the foundation in a program that was little more than a novelty or the Big Four's little brother for a long, long time preceding that. You can make a good argument that Rogers made Wake Forest the nationally renowned program it is today.
Owen, I think that's a very fair assessment.
Post a Comment