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Rodney Rogers was a phenomenal talent. A native of Durham who attended Hillside High, Rogers chose Wake Forest and at Wake Forest, he was sort of a prototype for Zion Williamson.
Rogers was 6-7 and 235 and he was unbelievably strong. He was just naturally strong and he had a natural instinct for the game.
At Wake Forest, he became a dominant force and beat out Grant Hill for ACC Rookie Of The Year in 1991. When he moved to the NBA, that continued.
Rogers, known as the Durham Bull (it’s a bit of a reversal and a play on Durham’s long and storied history with tobacco), carved out a role as a power player despite being just 6-7.
When he retired, Rogers surprised many by continuing to work as a heavy equipment operator for the City of Durham.
In 2008, Rogers had an accident on an ATV which left him paralyzed. It’s hard to believe that an athlete who was so vibrant and powerful now can’t so much as move his fingertips.
Despite the devastating accident, he maintains a positive attitude and continues to live as full a life as he can. In short, he’s as admirable today as he was in his playing days if not more so. We hope he knows that he is far from forgotten.
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