Stanley Corvet Roberts (born February 7, 1970) is an American former professional
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
player who played
center
Center or centre may refer to:
Mathematics
*Center (geometry), the middle of an object
* Center (algebra), used in various contexts
** Center (group theory)
** Center (ring theory)
* Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...
. He was said to have the potential to be the best center of all time.
Early life
Roberts attended
Lower Richland High School
Lower Richland High School is a senior high school in unincorporated Richland County, South Carolina, north of, but not inside, the Hopkins town. It is a part of Richland County School District One. It is an International Baccalaureate school.
I ...
in Hopkins, where he led his team to two straight state championships, was a Parade first-team All-American his senior year, and considered a top five player nationally, holding his own against
Alonzo Mourning
Alonzo Harding Mourning Jr. (born February 8, 1970) is an American former professional basketball player who has served as vice president of player programs and development for the Miami Heat since June 2009. Mourning played most of his 15-year ...
in the Dapper Dan and McDonald's All-Star Games.
College career
Subsequently, he played
collegiately at
Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 nea ...
, teaming up in his (Roberts') only season with
Shaquille O'Neal
Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal ( ; born March 6, 1972), known commonly as "Shaq" ( ), is an American former professional basketball player who is a sports analyst on the television program ''Inside the NBA''. O'Neal is regarded as one of the greates ...
, during O'Neal's first season at LSU. Roberts was forced to sit out his freshman season at LSU due to academic ineligibility, and would only play one season before leaving LSU to join the professional ranks.
After his professional career ended Roberts returned to LSU to complete his degree.
Professional career
Real Madrid (1990-1991)
Roberts started playing professionally in Spain, with
Real Madrid
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid.
Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...
,
[Raptors sign troubled C Stanley Roberts](_blank)
ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
, 30 September 2003 sharing teams with another future
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...
player,
Venezuela
Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
n
Carl Herrera
Carl Víctor Herrera Allen (born December 14, 1966) is a retired Trinidadian-born Venezuelan basketball player. A power forward, he was part of the Houston Rockets National Basketball Association championship teams of the mid-1990s. He was the fi ...
. In his only season, he helped the
Liga ACB
The Liga ACB, known as Liga Endesa for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional basketball division of the Spanish basketball league system. Administrated by the Asociación de Clubs de Baloncesto (ACB), Liga ACB is contested by 18 teams, wi ...
club to the
Korać Cup Korać is a surname. Notable persons with that name include:
* Dušan Korać (disambiguation), multiple people
* Milorad Korać (born 1969), Serbian football player and manager
* Radivoj Korać (1938–1969), Serbian basketball player
* Vitomir Kor ...
final, an
overtime
Overtime is the amount of time someone works beyond normal working hours. The term is also used for the pay received for this time. Normal hours may be determined in several ways:
*by custom (what is considered healthy or reasonable by society), ...
loss against
Pallacanestro Cantù
Pallacanestro Cantù, known for sponsorship reasons as Acqua S.Bernardo Cantù, is an Italian professional basketball club that is based in Cantù, Lombardy. On the European-wide club competition scene, Cantù is second to Real Madrid – again ...
of Italy.
NBA (1991-1999)
Roberts was selected by the
Orlando Magic
The Orlando Magic are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The franchise was establ ...
in the 1st round (23rd overall) of the
1991 NBA draft, and went on to appear, in a career marred by injuries and other drawbacks, for the Magic,
Los Angeles Clippers
The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division in the league's Western Conference. The Clipper ...
,
Minnesota Timberwolves
The Minnesota Timberwolves are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. Founded in 19 ...
,
Houston Rockets
The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member team of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its ho ...
and
Philadelphia 76ers
The Philadelphia 76ers, colloquially known as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eas ...
in eight NBA seasons. Troubled by weight issues throughout his career,
[Once again, Roberts is playing for scale](_blank)
''Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
'', 7 October 1994 his best year in the league came during
his first season with the Clippers, when he appeared in 77 games and averaged 11.3 points and 6.2
rebounds
'Rebound' is a term used in sports to describe the ball (or puck or other object of play) becoming available for possession by either opponent after an attempt to put the ball or puck into the goal has been unsuccessful. Rebounds are generally ...
per game, with 141
blocked shot
In basketball, a block or blocked shot occurs when a defensive player legally deflects a field goal attempt from an offensive player to prevent a score. The defender is not allowed to make contact with the offensive player's hand (unless the de ...
s.
Roberts missed all but 14 games in the
1993–94 season, then all of
the next due to an
Achilles tendon
The Achilles tendon or heel cord, also known as the calcaneal tendon, is a tendon at the back of the lower leg, and is the thickest in the human body. It serves to attach the plantaris, gastrocnemius (calf) and soleus muscles to the calcaneus (h ...
injury, first in one leg, then the other.
Amazingly, he still bounced back for three more respectable seasons.
ABA and international play (1999-2004)
After an unassuming six-game spell with the Rockets, as a member of the 76ers in late 1999, Roberts was banned by the NBA for drug violations.
The cautionary tale of Stanley Roberts
APBR, 10 March 2010 Before retiring, he played in Greece, Turkey, the ABA and Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...
. In the 2003 off-season, the 33-year-old signed for the Toronto Raptors
The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. They play their home games a ...
, being waived shortly after.
References
External links
NBA.com profile
@ BasketballReference
One-On-One with Stanley Roberts
@ nbrpa.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roberts, Stanley
1970 births
Living people
American expatriate basketball people in Greece
American expatriate basketball people in Spain
American expatriate basketball people in Turkey
American men's basketball players
Anadolu Efes S.K. players
Aris B.C. players
Basketball players from South Carolina
Centers (basketball)
Doping cases in basketball
Greek Basket League players
Houston Rockets players
Liga ACB players
Los Angeles Clippers players
LSU Tigers basketball players
McDonald's High School All-Americans
Minnesota Timberwolves players
National Basketball Association players banned for drug offenses
Orlando Magic draft picks
Orlando Magic players
Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball)
People from Hopkins, South Carolina
Philadelphia 76ers players
Real Madrid Baloncesto players
San Diego Wildfire players