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

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 ...

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
''

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