Sad news - Cliff Robinson has passed away

[HCCForever]

Hard to believe that three members of the 1988 NIT championship team have passed. Jeff, Spider and now Uncle Cliffy. Life is precious. RIP

 

[swami7774]

A classic late-bloomer. Who of us thought he would have an 18-year NBA career? RIP, Uncle Cliffy.

 

[husky429]

Minimumm of a 10x all-star if he played today. No one realized his value. He was ahead of his time. 6'11, versatile, draining clutch 3s.

Amazing player. And from what I'm seeing here, an even better person.

RIP.

 

[AZHuskiePop]

He has to be considered one of the original “stretch 4s” right?

He played the 3-4-5 on that great Portland team and earned the 6th man honors. His headbands became so popular fans started wearing them in his honor. I actually went to a Suns game just to se him play later in his career.
He never made first team Big East and not being drafted Until in the second round was stupid . I believe his career lasted longer than anyone taken in that draft. He was big but could run the court and had a nice 15 footer.
One of my favorite Huskies
I know there is a tendency to minimize the NIT but I believe that Championship upped are recruiting profile significantly.
He is a significant building block of the Calhoun Legacy maybe even a cornerstone.
RIP Cliff

 

[huskymedic]

 

[Kathy]

RIP Cliff - you helped start it all. Thanks for being so good to my nephew at Calhoun's camp in '88. Great meeting you when we picked him up - you always took time out for people.

 

[Dogdeacon]

Cliff was a resident of McMahon when I was there. What a wonderful basketball player he was and I enjoyed exchanging "hellos" when we'd pass in the hall.
...RIP, Cliff. Sending condolences to his family.

Ditto, I lived on 5th floor of McMahon with Cliff his freshman year. I often tell the story of the first party of the semester when Cliff couldn't pay the $3 fee for Schaeffer bar bottle party, we let him come anyway & I enjoyed some extracurriculars with him at the party. Next, I vividly remember a McMahon dance where he stood in the middle of the dance floor and slowly spun around with arms spread - both he and everyone there marveling in his outsized body.
Cliff & UConn were ROBBED in his last game at the Fieldhouse in the NIT when he was called for a BS charge on a monster dunk in the last minute of the game.
Cliff was of course a fixture at Ted's, there's an apocryphal story that I'm sure is true (and probably happened multiple times) of Cliff throwing a dart into someone's arm or back.
Cliff always said hello & recognized me the few times I saw him after UConn including once at an NBA game and most recently at one of the Calhoun charity classics. A great player, nice gentle soul.

 

[superjohn]

The news just gets worse and worse, I'm done. RIP Cliffy, our first truly great player who really made it big in the basketball world.

 

[Madmannsucks]

My all time favorite Husky. Rest easy "Uncle Cliffy"/ I remember I think his final year, when Uconn won at the dome.

 

[AZHuskiePop]

I was shocked that he was a 2nd round NBA draft choice as he was 6'11", athletic, and he could shoot. Had a long and great NBA career and his game would have been perfect for today's NBA. Loved that he was on Survivor as well.

RIP

I remember watching that draft as we , Cliff included expected him to go in the first round. He was there in person
and was so embarrassed he left after the first round when he wasn’t taken. I think that snub motivated him to prove the naysayers wrong.

 

[cohenzone]

Cliff and Earl Kelley were my first favorite players.

I was at a game Cliffy’s freshman year when Perno was still coach. They were in the old field house playing CCSU, way too close if I recall, and Cliff got into a scuffle with somebody. Perno properly yanked him but then let Cliff get away with a big time sulk. Cliff went to the end of the bench but wouidn’t sit, kinda pacing. I know he was blocking a lot of views from lower seats. Perno either ignored him or was afraid to do anything and it was Earl Kelley who finally went to him to calm him down and sit.

 

[gsmooth]

Cliff was a resident of McMahon when I was there. What a wonderful basketball player he was and I enjoyed exchanging "hellos" when we'd pass in the hall.
...RIP, Cliff. Sending condolences to his family.

Oh I remember McMahon. That's where we would eat for summer tennis camp. I remember speaking to Phil Gamble there as a 11 year old kid. Phil was so humble and really didn't have t spend time talking to me, but he did. That's what made me so sad to see him, Cliffy, Jeff King etc. graduate and move on.

It's a tough year. Sticks and then Cliffy. Calhoun is correct-Cliff gave UConn legitimacy before UConn was remotely a household name.

 

[noeynox]

. Many of us remain fans to this day because of Cliff and that team that won the NIT. The first true stretch 4, and a guy that saw change coming in Marijuana laws and made it a legit business venture. Represented UConn well forever. RIP.

 

[Chin Diesel]

Some random thoughts on Cliff's impact on and off the court.

His highlight clips really look similar to Charlie V's clips. Big guys who could face the basket, use the backboard, run and were generally a tough match up skill wise for college 4's and 5's.
After seeing the beast that the BE conference would become in the early 80's, Cliff was the first UConn player who could match up with the best of the conference. Check out the highlights against 'Cuse and Coleman or G'twon and Alonzo Mourning.
Off the court, Phil Gamble and Cliff becoming academically ineligible their sophomore seasons can be looked at as having a huge impact on UConn going forward. Their ineligibility shone the light on UConn's lack of resources for players and having a staff to monitor progress and eligibility. In some ways, those forced changes should have made UConn more attractive for other recruits since the recruits could had tangible evidence of UConn's support.
Cliff was supposed to be a sure fire first round pick and was invited to NY for the draft telecast. Him not being selected until the second round was a shock.
His NBA clips of his early years running the break and his dunks showed a level of athleticism he rarely got to show at UConn.

Cliff was on the wrong end of one of MJ's most memorable on court moments. The jumper over Craig Ehlo, the shrug at Cliff after hitting all those 3's in NBA and the jump shot over Russell and the Jazz. Cliff had the best career of those three on the receiving end of those clips.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Condolences to UConn Nation. I was a big Trail Blazers fan back in the day. I loved watching "Uncle Cliffy" spark the team in his 6th man role. Sad news for everyone.

 

[superjohn]

Cliffy would've killed it in today's NBA...

Ballislife.com on Twitter: "@ShamsCharania Cliff Robinson is also one of 3 players (w/ Sheed & Dirk) in NBA history with more than 1,000 3PTS, BLKS & STLS. Best Game: 50 PTS (17/26 FG) https://post original url/L3e7pcO01l" / Twitter

 

[HooperScooper]

My wife lived in McMahon when Cliff lived there. When he was down the hallway and someone was going down the elevator he always used to yell, "Hold the 'vator!" I hope someone is holding the 'vator for him today on his way to heaven.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Cliff Robinson is one of those rare college athletes that changes the trajectory of an entire program, and in our case, an entire university. UConn was a doormat in the Big East and a nonentity on the national stage when Cliff committed to our school. The school not only won 4 national championships on the foundation Cliff built, but also raised billions through UConn 2000, other state funding, and private fundraising leveraging the popularity of the basketball programs.

Many coaches, administrators and players were instrumental in making that happen, but few were as important as Cliff Robinson.

Rest in peace.

 

[Kitaman]

My favorite Uncle! RIP

 

[olehead]

I'm 34 and Cliff was one of the first NBA players I remember thinking to myself "woah, he went to UConn". Somewhere in the kindergarten/first grade timeframe when the brain is so influential and you're at an age where you can start making decisions for yourself that last a lifetime. Arguably, he sparked my interest in UConn before Ray Allen, Travis Knight, Kevin Freeman...

In a way, my UConn fandom and degree is indebted to his hard work before, during and after his time in Storrs. RIP Cliff.

Great share. Thank you for this.

 

[olehead]

He has to be considered one of the original “stretch 4s” right?

No doubt!

 

[olehead]

Some random thoughts on Cliff's impact on and off the court.

His highlight clips really look similar to Charlie V's clips. Big guys who could face the basket, use the backboard, run and were generally a tough match up skill wise for college 4's and 5's.
After seeing the beast that the BE conference would become in the early 80's, Cliff was the first UConn player who could match up with the best of the conference. Check out the highlights against 'Cuse and Coleman or G'twon and Alonzo Mourning.
Off the court, Phil Gamble and Cliff becoming academically ineligible their sophomore seasons can be looked at as having a huge impact on UConn going forward. Their ineligibility shone the light on UConn's lack of resources for players and having a staff to monitor progress and eligibility. In some ways, those forced changes should have made UConn more attractive for other recruits since the recruits could had tangible evidence of UConn's support.
Cliff was supposed to be a sure fire first round pick and was invited to NY for the draft telecast. Him not being selected until the second round was a shock.
His NBA clips of his early years running the break and his dunks showed a level of athleticism he rarely got to show at UConn.

Cliff was on the wrong end of one of MJ's most memorable on court moments. The jumper over Craig Ehlo, the shrug at Cliff after hitting all those 3's in NBA and the jump shot over Russell and the Jazz. Cliff had the best career of those three on the receiving end of those clips.

I would 100% agree.

 

[uconngb]

Ditto, I lived on 5th floor of McMahon with Cliff his freshman year. I often tell the story of the first party of the semester when Cliff couldn't pay the $3 fee for Schaeffer bar bottle party, we let him come anyway & I enjoyed some extracurriculars with him at the party. Next, I vividly remember a McMahon dance where he stood in the middle of the dance floor and slowly spun around with arms spread - both he and everyone there marveling in his outsized body.
Cliff & UConn were ROBBED in his last game at the Fieldhouse in the NIT when he was called for a BS charge on a monster dunk in the last minute of the game.
Cliff was of course a fixture at Ted's, there's an apocryphal story that I'm sure is true (and probably happened multiple times) of Cliff throwing a dart into someone's arm or back.
Cliff always said hello & recognized me the few times I saw him after UConn including once at an NBA game and most recently at one of the Calhoun charity classics. A great player, nice gentle soul.

I was in McMahon at the same time, I lived on 3. We met Cliff and Phil (who did not live in McMahon) the first week of school. I have many great stories I could share, but most are not appropriate or might be misinterpreted. Suffice to say, we partied a LOT w those two and several other players (including Spider, who was a GREAT guy that nobody knew about). I’ll settle for a couple innocuous ones:

1. Most afraid I ever was: when I let Cliff and Earl Kelley borrow my car for a night to do god knows what.
2. Funniest PG-rated story about Cliff: we partied before one home football game freshman year. It was raining out. He grabbed one of those big tables umbrellas and walked around all day with it to shield himself from the rain. It was probably 8 feet in diameter. But he was so damn big it actually fit him appropriately.
3. PS: Cliff and Phil were AWFUL at drinking games. We used to destroy them.

 

[StllH8L8ner]

One of my favorites and was the man when I first started watching the Huskies. I bought his 'jersey' at a game before wearing college jerseys to school was a thing. It was basically a white Fruit of the Loom tank top with "Connecticut" on the front with 00 under it and on the back. Was a prized possession until I grew out of it. RIP Uncle Cliffy

 

[rman726]

I went to a basketball camp as a kid that was hosted by him.