Rick Roberson

Rick Roberson (July 7, 1947 – May 3, 2020) was an American professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association. Born and raised in Memphis, Tennessee, he played at Mitchell High School, graduating in 1965. Although he said he had a chance to be the first African-American basketball player at Memphis State, he chose to attend the University of Cincinnati. As a sophomore in 1966–67, Roberson led the 17-9 Bearcats in scoring at 14.3 points per game and in rebounding at 12.5 rebounds per game. On January 17, 1967, he recorded a triple-double with 16 points, 10 rebounds and 10 blocked shots against Bradley University; no Bearcat would record another triple-double for 30 years, until Kenyon Martin did so in 1997. Roberson's 10 blocks in that game remains a Cincinnati single-game record. In the NBA, he played for the Los Angeles Lakers (1969–1971), Cleveland Cavaliers (1971–1973), Portland Trail Blazers (1973–1974), New Orleans Jazz (1974–1975) and Kansas City Kings (1975–1976). His son, Chris, played in Major League Baseball for two seasons in 2006 and 2007, and had a long professional baseball career from 2001 to 2023.