Sad news - Cliff Robinson has passed away

[superjohn]

Cliff didn't get enough credit for how good he was but he's certainly getting it today from former and current players around the league. A lot of players around the league wearing the headband to honor him and some beautiful words just now by Chris Webber about how good Cliff was, what a great guy he was, how good he would've been in today's era, and about the special bond the Connecticut basketball family has. All really cool to hear.

 

[formerlurker]

Shout out to Unc from Chris Webber just now during the Lakers-Portland game on TNT. They also pointed out multiple players wearing head bands in honor of Cliff.

Is it weird to smile that Cliff's death has gotten so much National/Global press? His good vibe spread so much further than I thought.

 

[nomar]

I’ll never forget watching him in the green room on draft night get passed over again and again. Nor will I ever forget watching him proving everyone wrong.

If Twitter was Rotten Tomatoes, he’d be 100 Fresh. Nobody’s got anything but incredibly nice things to say about him.

RIP Uncle Cliffy

 

[Mr. French]

The PAL league in the city of Buffalo that I played in through my grade school-high school years was run by Cliff, the Cliff Robinson league with his name on the T-shirts.

Was one of the best summer leagues around and I still have a few of my shirts.

Every baller had a couple Cliff Robinson PAL T-shirts.

He’s a city legend.

 

[olehead]

I can attest to Cliff's good nature. I took an unofficial recruiting visit to UConn and had none other than Uncle Cliffy and Phil Gamble as my hosts. This was one of my stranger visits and if I'm not mistaken those two had a bird or some type of pet in their dorm that loved to puff. Both were comedians and one seemed to crack the other up. I ended up having a ball. Those guys showed me a great time over that weekend from what I can recall.
Husky Nation has lost a great one. Prayers to his family.

 

[Woof 101]

Wow a tough one for UConn Nation and myself to absorb. He was such a special person and player.
A joy to watch in the day, a like for the @BugsyCT photo as this is how I remember Cliff. Possibly the fastest big in the nation at the time, he would often beat guards down the floor with his hand up waiting for the ball.

He would pout if someone did not get it to him and not hustle going back the other way, JC changed that quickly. Developed from a under recruited college player to a under drafted NBA player. All good as he proved them all wrong.
He wore the number 00, in hindsight it should have been #1. Thoughts, prayers and condolences to his family, friends and fellow fans. May he RIP.......

 

[Madmannsucks]

Wow tears. Listening to him laugh when they showed JC react to the FT he made during the Cuse upset.

Thank you for posting this, good memories.

I remember this night. My wife took me to dinner at Banquer's(The bar became very famous because it was owned by the Santa Claus robber/bandit) in New Britain. I had to sit near the bar so I could see the game. When he made the free throw, I let out a loud yell.

 

[Sly]

This hurts. Beat Cliff at darts a number of times at Teds and remember direct conversation supporting his perseverance around the time of his academic issues. I don't claim any tight connection, but he did remember me and the discussion years later in a chance encounter.

 

[uconnbill]

What a lousy two weeks for Husky fans to lose two great Husky's at such an young age.

Prayers with Cliff's family for comfort

 

[Chin Diesel]

I’ll never forget watching him in the green room on draft night get passed over again and again. Nor will I ever forget watching him proving everyone wrong.

If Twitter was Rotten Tomatoes, he’d be 100 Fresh. Nobody’s got anything but incredibly nice things to say about him.

RIP Uncle Cliffy

Amazing what happens when you pay respect to your craft by practicing and playing every game and taking on the tough assignments. Your peers always see and respect that dedication

 

[Adios]

That Finals series against the Bulls should have went 7 games.

 

[JellyBean]

RIP, Brother Cliff.

 

[mauconnfan]

I can attest to Cliff's good nature. I took an unofficial recruiting visit to UConn and had none other than Uncle Cliffy and Phil Gamble as my hosts. This was one of my stranger visits and if I'm not mistaken those two had a bird or some type of pet in their dorm that loved to puff. Both were comedians and one seemed to crack the other up. I ended up having a ball. Those guys showed me a great time over that weekend from what I can recall.
Husky Nation has lost a great one. Prayers to his family.

I am friends with Phil G on Facebook and his heart is very heavy as we can imagine. Reach out to him, a wonderful Husky and man if you find the time.

 

[djct1999]

Clifford Ralph Robinson. RIP. A great Husky and a great Pro. He was at UConn when I was there and was quite a talent. He bought a house in my hometown of Newtown in the '90s.

I can't explain how shocked I was one time when I ran into him at Costco in Brookfield. Made my day.

 

[djct1999]

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

Was it the Terry O'Connor camp? I remember how pscyched we all were to play a few rounds of knockout with him.

 

[djct1999]

I lived in Manhattan in 1988. After the hard fought loss to Pittsburgh (#1 seed, ranked #5 at the time, game was closer than 75-58 final) in the Big East quarterfinals, after finally winning an 8-9 game vs Providence, I made my way down to courtside. Managed to get up to Cliff. Told him "See you back here in 3 weeks". While nothing will ever replace the 1999 championship as the best UConn game of my lifetime, the 1988 NIT championship is 1a. Rest easy Uncle Spliffy

At the time, the NIT championship felt like the title game. After that, me and my 13 year old friends rocked out in UConn Huskies gear from head to toe! That men's team had the entire state buzzing.

 

[djct1999]

Didn't see this posted anywhere:

 

[bill6319]

 

[huskymedic]

 

[BugsyCT]

Cliff's passing is really hitting home. Many of us grew up around the time he and JC changed the trajectory of UConn basketball with that '88 NIT run - that was such a big thing for Connecticut at the time. It was the first stepping stone in the rise of the program into the 1990s & beyond - Dream Season, Donyell, Ray, Rip, 77-74, etc. From what everyone here has posted who knew him & had interactions with Cliff, we not only lost a great man and basketball player and part of the UConn family, but we also lost a part of our youth. RIP Cliff-o.

To this day the only time I've ever been to MSG was the 1988 NIT semis vs BC. What a night. What a time. Thanks for the memories, #00.

 

[Dove]

It was incredible that Perno got Cliff to UConn from under Cuse' picked nose. Many see Smitty as JC'S biggest recuit at the time. But keeping Cliff was huge, too. Not sure if Cliff thought about leaving. Was he in JC's doghouse at one point?

 

[Waquoit]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned the story about his daughter. That confirmed what a class act Cliff was. Perhaps someone who knows it better than I?

 

[bill6319]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned the story about his daughter. That confirmed what a class act Cliff was. Perhaps someone who knows it better than I?

So fatherhood was not something he understood all that well, except as a source of abandonment or disappointment—or, in the case of Jessica, as a reason to write a check. The girl's mother, he claims, dinged him for half his rookie salary, which he thought was way out of line. "I didn't mind paying money," he says. "I just thought this was too much." In trying to get the child-support case reopened two years ago so his payments might be reduced, Robinson suffered the shock of his young lifetime. The blood tests, which are done as a matter of course in such proceedings, showed that he could not have been Jessica's father. This was stunning. It was his out, of course. He was free and clear. Except that he would lie awake at night and wonder about Jessica. The girl's mother was still going it alone, back in his old neighborhood, and she had been burdened with two additional children. So he would lie awake, worried. What kind of life lay ahead for Jessica? Of course, it wasn't his problem. He liked Jessica, was crazy about her, in fact. But she did slow him down. No way it was his problem. The fact of the matter, and this is what kept him awake, was that it was Jessica's problem. So, with the tenuous blessing of Jessica's mother, Cliff brought the little girl to Portland in October. Jessica lives with him and his sister, Alisa, herself a single parent and a basketball player for the AAU Portland Saints. This summer he plans to begin the process of legally adopting Jessica—taking her in the second round, you might say.

 

[uconngb]

It was incredible that Perno got Cliff to UConn from under Cuse' picked nose. Many see Smitty as JC'S biggest recuit at the time. But keeping Cliff was huge, too. Not sure if Cliff thought about leaving. Was he in JC's doghouse at one point?

Cliff did not get along w JC at all in the beginning. He had tons of talent but a bit of an attitude. JC’s in your face style did not sit well w Cliff. He and Phil both talked about transferring. But Cliff would later tell you how much JC did for him and how much he ended up appreciating the “tough love”.

 

[Chin Diesel]

Cliff did not get along w JC at all in the beginning. He had tons of talent but a bit of an attitude. JC’s in your face style did not sit well w Cliff. He and Phil both talked about transferring. But Cliff would later tell you how much JC did for him and how much he ended up appreciating the “tough love”.

In an era where HS coaches still had significant sway over recruits' college choices, you can bet they saw how JC was able to reel in Cliff and get him to play the JC way and it made a positive impression on those HS coaches. JC had a coaches coach persona and those HS guys knew JC worked his ass off to get to where he was at UConn. Showing JC could get buy in from his most talented and sometimes malcontent player was one of those building blocks us fans like to talk about.

 

[HuskyHawk]

This one really hits hard. Cliff was my classmate, played foosball with him at Teds. Was such an impactful player here and in the NBA. RIP Uncle Cliffy.

 

[ChrisSmithsPart]

Rest in Power (Forward) Uncle Cliffy

 

[dvegas]

The ESPN announcers on the Mavs Clippers game just gave a nice shout out to Clifford with about 6.30 left in the 3rd Quarter...

And the moderators have taken down my link to this article before, perhaps the greatest piece ever published about UConn in the NYT. Its a hard paywall. Worth free registration to read.

Sports of The Times; 'My Nephew Says 'Boom' '' (Published 1988)

www.nytimes.com

 

[HooperScooper]

The ESPN announcers on the Mavs Clippers game just gave a nice shout out to Clifford with about 6.30 left in the 3rd Quarter...

And the moderators have taken down my link to this article before, perhaps the greatest piece ever published about UConn in the NYT. Its a hard paywall. Worth free registration to read.

Sports of The Times; 'My Nephew Says 'Boom' '' (Published 1988)

www.nytimes.com

Looks like it's free to read.

Why would any moderator take down the link to this article?

 

[TheChamps990411]

Unfortunate to hear of our second Robinson pass away in 2020.

RIP to Uncle Cliffy.

This year is just brutal. The first page of topics on this forum has 4 topics on people that have passed just recently. I dont ever remember that happening in the time ive been here. This year cannot end soon enough. Hopeffully `21 is as good as this years been bad.