Ronnie Robinson (March 9, 1951 – May 8, 2004) was an American

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 (appro ...

player. Robinson played high school basketball at Memphis Melrose High School, where one of his teammates was his future college and professional teammate,

Larry Finch Larry O. Finch (February 16, 1951 – April 2, 2011) was an American player and coach for the University of Memphis men's basketball team. He led the Memphis Tigers to the NCAA men's basketball championship game in 1973, where they lost to the ...

. Robinson played college basketball in his hometown at

Memphis State University The University of Memphis (Memphis) is a public university, public research university in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1912, the university has an enrollment of more than 20,000 students. The university maintains the Herff Col ...

. Robinson, Finch and

Larry Kenon Muhsin Kenon (born Larry Joe Kenon, December 13, 1952), is an American former professional basketball player, known in his playing career as Larry Kenon. A 6'9" forward who had a productive career in both the American Basketball Association ( ...

led Memphis State to the 1973 Final Four; the Tigers lost to the undefeated,

Bill Walton William Theodore Walton III (November 5, 1952 – May 27, 2024) was an American basketball player and television Sports commentator, sportscaster. He played college basketball, collegiately for the UCLA Bruins men's basketball, UCLA Bruins an ...

-led

UCLA Bruins The UCLA Bruins are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Los Angeles. The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Big Ten Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF ...

in the Finals. Affectionately nicknamed "The Big Cat" for his leaping ability, Robinson is one of eight University of Memphis Tigers basketball players to have his jersey number retired by the school. A 6'8", 225 pound forward, Robinson finished his college career prior to the ABA-NBA merger and thus was selected in the fourth round of the

1973 NBA draft The 1973 NBA draft was the 27th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on April 24 and May 5, 1973, before the 1973–74 season. In this draft, 17 NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college baske ...

by the

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Suns compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA), We ...

and in the first round of the 1973 ABA Draft by the

Utah Stars The Utah Stars were an American Basketball Association (ABA) team based in Salt Lake City, Utah. Under head coach Bill Sharman the Stars were the first major professional basketball team to use a pre-game shootaround. History prior to moving to ...

. Robinson opted for the

American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major professional basketball league that operated for nine seasons from 1967 to 1976. The upstart ABA operated in direct competition with the more established National Basketball Association thr ...

and began the 1973–74 season with the Stars. In January, the

Memphis Tams Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memph ...

traded

Johnny Neumann Carl John Neumann (September 11, 1951 – April 23, 2019), nicknamed "Johnny Reb", was an American professional basketball player and coach. At 6'6" and 200 pounds, he played at the shooting guard and small forward positions. High school and c ...

to Utah for Robinson,

Glen Combs Glen Courtney Combs (born October 30, 1946, in Hazard, Kentucky) is a retired American basketball player. A 6'2" guard from Virginia Tech, Combs was nicknamed "The Kentucky Rifle" for his long-range shooting. He was drafted by the National Bask ...

, Mike Jackson and cash. With the Stars and Tams throughout the 1973–74 season, Robinson appeared in 62 games, averaging 6.4 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. Robinson spent the 1974–75 season with the

Memphis Sounds The Memphis Sounds were an American professional sports franchise that played in Memphis, Tennessee from 1970 until 1975 as a member of the American Basketball Association. The team was first founded as the New Orleans Buccaneers in 1967. Known d ...

. With the Sounds, Robinson appeared in only 10 games, averaging 4.0 points and 2.7 rebounds per game.Ronnie Robinson page at DatabaseBasketball.com
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, Ronnie 1951 births 2004 deaths American men's basketball players Basketball players from Memphis, Tennessee Memphis Sounds players Memphis Tams players Memphis Tigers men's basketball players Phoenix Suns draft picks Utah Stars draft picks Utah Stars players