It’s no secret that ACC basketball is a major part of life at Wake Forest and across the Southeast. We have decades of history of amazing players – and the names of some of the more recent players are ones you might likely know: Muggsy Bogues, Randolph Childress, Josh Howard, Chris Paul. Oh, and that quiet guy who keeps doing good work in the postseason: Tim Duncan.
The golden age of the modern Wake Forest program could be characterized as the early to mid 90s, when we had a string of incredible talents all one after the other. One of the leaders of that pack was Rodney Rogers. A mountain of a man, he was. He looked like a man among boys – enormous physically, chisled like a Greek God, 1,000 watt smile. I didn’t know him myself, but he seemed like a nice guy, a happy guy, a generous guy.
And boy, could he dominate on the court. One of my circle of friends’ most cherised WFU basketball moments was Rodney doing a breakaway 360 slam dunk against Carolina. I have often said this of Randolph Childress’ “The Shot” – and I will say it about Rodney’s 360 too – it was a thing of beauty and a joy forever.
Rodney went on to a good NBA career, and returned to NC. He loved trucks and trucking and outdoor pursuits, and he sadly had an accident that has left him paralyzed. The ACC has published a touching and poignant look at Rodney’s life and the accident that left him paralyzed. It is a beautifully done film, and worth a watch.
