David "The Admiral" Robinson Earned His New Rank - Basketball Hall Of Famer

[duncan228]

David "The Admiral" Robinson earned his new rank - Basketball Hall of Famer - at Navy, San Antonio and Olympics
by The Republican Sports Desk
By Ron Chimelis

His nickname was "The Admiral," though David Robinson's rank in the Navy was actually Lieutenant, Junior Grade. He was a math major in college, but his impact on basketball is impossible to calculate, for it involved dignity as much as dunks. But when all was said and done, the 7-foot-1 San Antonio Spurs center was most of all a winner, which was all he really wanted.

"I think any player will tell you that individual accomplishments help your ego, but if you don't win, it makes for a very, very long season," Robinson once said. "It counts more that the team has played well."

Picking a signature moment for Robinson's career, which will be capped by induction to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, is imprecise and difficult. He won NBA les with San Antonio in 1999 and 2003. Individually, he was a superstar who scored 71 points in a 1994 game against the Los Angeles Clippers.

A Spurs guard in that game was Springfield's Vinny Del Negro, who had six assists while Robinson was putting on his electrifying performance. Robinson had played against Del Negro in college. The 1987 Hall of Fame Tip-Off Classic saw Del Negro's North Carolina State team edge Navy 86-84 in Springfield.

Two months prior to his 71-point game, Robinson had 34 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists and 10 blocked shots against Detroit. It stands as one of four quadruple-doubles in NBA history, and the most recent.

For college fans, though, Robinson's debutante moment probably came in the second round of the 1986 NCAA tournament. That game, perhaps more than any other, established Robinson's greatness against the best compe ion.

Seeded seventh in the East Region, the Midshipmen had ousted No. 10 Tulsa by 19 points. The end was expected to come against Syracuse, the No. 2 seed. Gliding through the paint at will, Robinson scored 35 points - 21 on free throws - and led the Middies to a 97-85 victory that was as decisive as it was revealing. Navy then won a 71-70 squeaker over Cleveland State before falling by 21 to Duke and missing the Final Four by one game.

Robinson was an anomaly at Navy, though a wildly popular and respected one. He entered Annapolis at 6-foot-7, one inch below the service academy's height limit. The academy does not dismiss students who grow past that limit while in college, though.

Late blooming was a Robinson specialty. He played for the last U.S. States Olympic team made up entirely of amateurs, the 1988 bronze medalists, and didn't win gold until the 1992 Games with the Dream Team. That team included all three 2009 Hall of Fame player inductees - Robinson, Michael Jordan and John Stockton.

Robinson waited two years after college to play in the NBA, due to a military commitment that was initially five years, but shortened with the Navy's approval. He did not win his first NBA le until he was 33. He second came in his final NBA season.

Only now is "The Admiral" getting his just due without waiting. He is entering the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.

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Career highlights

* Won NBA les with San Antonio Spurs in 1999, 2003

* Only NBA player to win all six of the following honors: Most Valuable Player (1995), Defensive Player of the Year (1992), Rookie of the Year (1990), rebounding leader (1991), blocked shot leader (1992), and scoring champion (1994)

* Selected as one of NBA's top 50 all-time players

* Member of 1992 U.S. Dream Team

* Olympic gold medalist (1992, 1996)

* 10-time NBA All-Star

* National College Player of the Year (Navy, 1987)

[spursfaninla]

* Only NBA player to win all six of the following honors: Most Valuable Player (1995), Defensive Player of the Year (1992), Rookie of the Year (1990), rebounding leader (1991), blocked shot leader (1992), and scoring champion (1994)

Wilt was the MVP, rookie of the year, rebounding leader (at least once), and scoring champion...They did not keep official track of blocked shots until after he stopped playing. Wilt got defensive 1st team in the late 60's, but again they did have defensive player of the year until 82, after he stopped playing.

Not to take away from D-rob's greatness, but the uniqueness of the stats mentioned here I think are in question.

[Phenomanul]

Wilt was the MVP, rookie of the year, rebounding leader (at least once), and scoring champion...They did not keep official track of blocked shots until after he stopped playing. Wilt got defensive 1st team in the late 60's, but again they did have defensive player of the year until 82, after he stopped playing.

Not to take away from D-rob's greatness, but the uniqueness of the stats mentioned here I think are in question.

Yeah but back in Wilt's time... half of those blocks would be goal-tends today... which leaves us back at an uncertain speculative conclusion.

[duncan228]

Hall of Famer David Robinson made smooth transition from U.S. Navy to San Antonio Spurs
by The Republican Sports Desk
By Ron Chimelis

SPRINGFIELD - One of the most remarkable aspects of David Robinson's basketball career was how well he came out of his longest timeout.

"I was not sure I would be able to enter the NBA and immediately become an impact player," Robinson said Friday, prior to his induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Upon graduating from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1987, Robinson was required to fulfill military obligations that could have stretched five years.

His unique case touched off a national discussion over whether the Navy should make an exception. Rarely did a service academy have a student with the potential to convey such a positive image to such a diverse audience, as Robinson could do in the NBA.

On the other hand, some military officials were concerned about setting a precedent with the appearance of favoritism to an athlete. In the end, the Navy split the difference.

Robinson served two years of active duty. Then, in 1989, he joined the San Antonio Spurs, who had made him the first pick of the 1987 Draft.

Even after his NBA career began, Robinson continued to serve the Navy in reserve duty and promotional campaigns. While others had debated his case in the late 1980s, the 7-foot-1 center said he would proudly serve all five years, if that were the Navy's decision.

Instead, he was the 1989-90 NBA Rookie of the Year.

"I spent most of two years at a submarine base in Georgia. I don't think anybody else on the base was over 6-foot-1, so I spent a lot of time by myself, running in the gym," Robinson said. "There were some international tournaments, though. The compe ion was there for me to stay in shape."

Robinson, 44, is equally proud of his record as a one-team player. In San Antonio, he has become a civic icon, providing educational opportunities for youths among other activities.

"I came to love the Spurs because of the fans," Robinson said. "When I came to San Antonio, I got a real sense of what the city was like.

"The Spurs were the only show in town, the only pro team, and people were offering me tamales and tortillas. There are more than a million people now, but it still has a small-town feel, where I can get out and get the feel of the community and the people."

[iilluzioN]

mehh who caresss