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RIP Clifford Rozier

shadow force

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Jun 8, 2010
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Clifford Rozier, the only NBA first round pick to come out of Manatee County, passed away Friday after suffering from a heart attack according to a Facebook post from his family.

Rozier, 45, played at Southeast High School and was named the state's Mr. Basketball in 1990. He went on to star at Louisville after transferring from North Carolina. He averaged 18.1 points and 11.1 rebounds a game as a senior, and his 15-of-15 shooting performance in a win over Eastern Kentucky that season remains an NCAA record.

Rozier fell on hard times after his professional career came to an end. According to a 2010 Herald-Tribune story Rozier was diagnosed with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

He was a recovering crack addict who spent five years wandering the streets, sometimes carrying a pistol, often hearing voices. Voices telling him to jump in front of cars, confront police so they would shoot him, or jump from a building to see if he could fly.

After spending time in jail cells and psychiatric wards, Rozier lived in a Bradenton halfway house with nine other men.

"Ain't nobody heard from me in almost 10 years," Rozier said at the time. "I don't go nowhere. I keep to myself. I want to stay here."


Condolences to his friends and family. Drug addiction and mental illness are terrible things to deal with. RIP.
 
Sad news. Just heard it on Wave 3 had to rewind it to make sure I heard it correctly. Much to young.
 
You youngsters don't know how dominate Rozier was.
One of my favorite Cards of all time.

I'll expound on him later.

Very sad.
RIP Clifford. #44.
 
You youngsters don't know how dominate Rozier was.
One of my favorite Cards of all time.

I'll expound on him later.

Very sad.
RIP Clifford. #44.
It's true. He was a dominate player for the Cards. I personally think he's 2nd all time for centers at UofL and that's saying a lot. Pervis Ellison is #1 then Clifford Rozier, Wes Unseld, Samaki Walker and Felton Spencer are my 5 all time best centers at UofL.
 
It's true. He was a dominate player for the Cards. I personally think he's 2nd all time for centers at UofL and that's saying a lot. Pervis Ellison is #1 then Clifford Rozier, Wes Unseld, Samaki Walker and Felton Spencer are my 5 all time best centers at UofL.
Got to put Giorgi in that top centers list for sure! Rozier was a huge get for Denny and A great player.
 
It's obvious now you go and get your money, however Cliff had one more year of eligibility, and we all were hoping he came back.

I believe the Cards would hav made the final four, provided Samaki comes here.

The 94-95 team would hav consisted of ;

Rozier
Samaki
Osborne
Alvin
Dajuan

With Tick, Kiser and Eric Johnson off the bench. Very thin bench but Cliff and Samaki would hav dominated inside.
 
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Unreal..... It just goes to show that no matter how great your physical prowess, mental issues can dominate and destroy ones life. Be at Peace Cliff. You're a loved part of Cardinal History.
 
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