WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (WBTV) - A Wake Forest legend and former NBA basketball player died this past week, the university said.
Rodney Rogers -- who starred for the Demon Deacons from 1991-1993 -- passed away on Friday, Nov. 21.
The 54-year-old grew up in Durham before he went to Wake Forest, then went on to play 12 years in the NBA, where he won the Sixth Man of the Year award in 2000 with the Phoenix Suns.
Rogers was named an All-ACC player in each of his three years with the Demon Deacons, and earned ACC Player of the Year honors after the 1992-1993 season.
Former Wake Forest basketball coach Dave Odom called Rogers “truly one of the greatest athletes to ever play in the Atlantic Coast Conference,” and “every bit as remarkable as a human being.”
The player known as “The Durham Bull” had his life changed in 2008, when an accident left him paralyzed from the shoulders down. In a statement, Rogers’ wife said his death stemmed from natural causes related to that injury.
“Rodney is the strongest person I have ever met -- physically and mentally -- and his resilience was evident in the fight he showed every single day,” Wake Forest teammate Randolph Childress said. “I’ve said this before and I still mean it today: he was the best athlete ever to walk onto Wake Forest’s campus. He meant so much to so many people.”
In the three decades since his playing days at Wake Forest, the university retired his No. 54 jersey and hung it in the rafters at its basketball arena, Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
Rogers had three children, including two daughters who also played college basketball in the ACC.
Former Wake Forest basketball star Rodney Rogers (54) died from natural causes related to a...
Former Wake Forest basketball star Rodney Rogers (54) died from natural causes related to a spinal injury.(Pat Murphy-Racey | AP)
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