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 (appro ...

player who played center. He was said to have the potential to be the best center of all time. He played college basketball for

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

(LSU) before being drafted 23rd overall 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 Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NB ...

in the 1991 NBA draft.

Early life

Roberts attended Lower Richland High School in Hopkins, where he led his team to two straight state championships, was a Parade first-team All-American his senior year, and was considered a top-five player nationally, holding his own against Alonzo Mourning in the Dapper Dan and McDonald's All-Star Games.

College career

Subsequently, he played collegiately at

, teaming up in his (Roberts') only season with

Shaquille O'Neal Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal ( ; born March 6, 1972), commonly known as Shaq ( ), is an American former professional basketball player who is a sports analyst on the television program ''Inside the NBA''. He is a and Center (basketball), center ...

, 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 (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...

,Raptors sign troubled C Stanley Roberts

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

, 30 September 2003 sharing teams with another future

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

player,

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

n Carl Herrera. 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. Administered by the Asociación de Clubs de Baloncesto (ACB), Liga ACB is contested by 18 teams, w ...

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 ...

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 – agai ...

of Italy.

NBA (1991-1999)

Roberts was selected by the

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 the Greater Los Angeles area. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. The ...

Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves (often referred to as the Wolves or T-wolves) are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Divisio ...

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 of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA) ...

and

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, also known colloquially 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 Atlan ...

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'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'', 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 per game, with 141 blocked shots. 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 calcane ...

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 ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

. 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 Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), E ...

, being waived shortly after.

References

External links

NBA.com profile
@ Basketball Reference
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 men's basketball players McDonald's High School All-Americans Minnesota Timberwolves players NBA 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 20th-century American sportsmen