It's been a rough few weeks for UConn Nation. First, the unexpected passing of Stanley Robinson stunned everyone. Then on Saturday came news that one of Jim Calhoun's first stars, Cliff Robinson (no relation), also died at age 53 after a year-long battle with lymphoma, one of multiple health issues he'd dealt with over the years.
A Husky from 1985-89, Robinson was a two-time All-Big East selection who helped lead the Huskies to the 1988 NIT championship, then had an 18-year NBA career. His "00" is hung in Gampel Pavilion in the Huskies of Honor, and he helped pave the way for all the success the program would have over the next three decades. Here are some facts about Uncle Cliffy that show just how good he was.
He had the longest NBA career of any former Husky. Believe it or not, no former UConn player appeared in more NBA games than Robinson's 1,521 between the regular and postseason (Ray Allen and Donyell Marshall are the only others with more than 1,000). A second-round pick in the 1989 draft, Robinson parlayed that chance into 18 years in which he scored 19,591 points, went to an All-Star Game, was a two-time All-Defensive Team member and was the 1993 Sixth Man of the Year. And he did all that while being ahead of his time: standing at 6-foot-11 with range (he made 1,293 career three-pointers) he was the prototypical "Stretch 4" that is so popular in the modern NBA.
He was the first former Husky to make an NBA All-Star Game. Robinson made a lone All-Star appearance in his career, in 1993-94 when he started a three-year stretch of averaging over 20 points per game. It made him the first Husky to be voted to the All-Star Game. Since then, he's been joined by Ray Allen, Richard Hamilton, Caron Butler, Andre Drummond and Kemba Walker. Robinson's Sixth Man of the Year award in 1992-93 also made him the first ex-UConn player with an award to his name.
He was Jim Calhoun's first star. When Calhoun took over in 1986, the best player in the program had just graduated in Earl Kelley. As a sophomore Robinson would lead the team in scoring 18.1 points per game that first season, but was declared academically ineligible and missed half the season as UConn stumbled to a 9-19 record. From there, Calhoun gave Robinson a choice, per the Courant's Dom Amore: "You're either going to have your butt kicked out of here by my size 12's, or you're going to be a great NBA player."
He returned to become Calhoun's first All-Big East selection in both 1988 and '89, and was the leading scorer on the 1988 NIT team that started it all in Storrs.
He's one of four UConn players ever with at least 1,500 points and 600 rebounds. Robinson sits 13th all-time in scoring at UConn with 1,664 points, while he grabbed 668 career rebounds. Only Robinson, Scott Burrell, Corny Thompson and Tony Hanson have hit both the 1,500-point and 600-rebound benchmarks while with the Huskies.
He's one of five UConn players with multiple 600-point seasons. Robinson scored exactly 600 points as a junior in 1987-88, when the Huskies won the NIT. As a senior he followed it up with 619 points over the course of the season, putting him in rare company. The only other Huskies with multiple 600-point campaigns are the best of the best in program history: Richard Hamilton, Ray Allen, Ben Gordon and Chris Smith.
He became the first former NBA player to appear on "Survivor". The wildly popular CBS reality show, Robinson appeared on Season 28 of the show in 2014. While multiple former athletes have appeared before and since, Robinson was the first NBA player to do so. Since his appearance, two other NBA players have appeared in Mitchell Olson and Scott Pollard. Uncle Cliffy finished 14th out of 18 contestants.