This topic contains 14 replies, has 7 voices, and was last updated by 
JoeWolf1 13 years, 9 months ago.
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- Posted on: Sun, 07/31/2011 - 4:05pm #32255
WizardofOzParticipantI was watching some YouTube videos of this guy, and he was a CRAZY athlete! He was the #1 player in his HS class. He was teammates with Kevin Garnett in HS, and I heard most people were saying he was better than KG, which is kind of hard to believe now.
He broke his neck in a car accident in 1996. After that, he signed with DePaul, but was ruled academically ineligible. He then declared for the 1996 CBA draft, and after that, declared for the 1997 NBA draft, but withdrew and was eligible for the 1998 NBA Draft, but went undrafted.
I’m a youngin, so I don’t knowmuch about him. Has anyone here ever seen him play? Is hIs the neck injury the reason why he didn’t make the NBA? If he never got injured, how good would he have been. Is he still playing in any kind of league, and if he is, where?
0 - Posted on: Sun, 07/31/2011 - 4:06pm #582181
WizardofOzParticipantI got all my information from Wikipedia BTW.
0 - Posted on: Sun, 07/31/2011 - 4:06pm #581942
WizardofOzParticipantI got all my information from Wikipedia BTW.
0 - Posted on: Sun, 07/31/2011 - 4:14pm #582189
PlatypusParticipant - Posted on: Sun, 07/31/2011 - 4:14pm #581951
PlatypusParticipant - Posted on: Sun, 07/31/2011 - 4:18pm #582191
mikeyvthedonParticipantBut, he was indeed a major legend for a long time around basketball circles. People had a lot of stories about Ronnie Fields, and they did indeed believe he was a legit NBA prospect. Even back than, the people saying he was better than Kevin Garnett were indeed hard to believe, as KG was indeed the #1 player in his class (at least by most accounts). Still, Fields was compared to Jordan and given Vince Carter like props as far as his athleticism was concerned.
He did indeed have that car accident and I believe he was never the same. Never came to close to making it to the NBA, though he did play in a few pro leagues. He definitely was given a lot of props, and was constantly talked about in SLAM magazines early years and he could definitely throw it down. I always heard his shooting and handles needed work, plus his not being eligible for college hurt. He was a bit undersized as a 2 as well. I am guessing Ronnie more than likely would have been alright had he remained healthy, but it appears that he more than likely never would have lived up to his ridiculously high expectations.
0 - Posted on: Sun, 07/31/2011 - 4:18pm #581953
mikeyvthedonParticipantBut, he was indeed a major legend for a long time around basketball circles. People had a lot of stories about Ronnie Fields, and they did indeed believe he was a legit NBA prospect. Even back than, the people saying he was better than Kevin Garnett were indeed hard to believe, as KG was indeed the #1 player in his class (at least by most accounts). Still, Fields was compared to Jordan and given Vince Carter like props as far as his athleticism was concerned.
He did indeed have that car accident and I believe he was never the same. Never came to close to making it to the NBA, though he did play in a few pro leagues. He definitely was given a lot of props, and was constantly talked about in SLAM magazines early years and he could definitely throw it down. I always heard his shooting and handles needed work, plus his not being eligible for college hurt. He was a bit undersized as a 2 as well. I am guessing Ronnie more than likely would have been alright had he remained healthy, but it appears that he more than likely never would have lived up to his ridiculously high expectations.
0 - Posted on: Sun, 07/31/2011 - 5:34pm #582232
jinbahjiParticipantRonnie Fields was nasty.
In HS at least. If he did not get injured and went to a proper college and got good coaching I wondered how he would have been in the pros.
A couple of things working against him: small for a SG in the pros, underdeveloped jumpshot and lacked other intangibles to carve out a niche in the NBA. Also, he had a hard time going left and did not mesh well with KG. They should have won it all but lost to Harvey Thorton HS in semi-finals or quarter finals of the Illinois State HS Tournament.
He is another classic case of "what could have been…"
Others I’d put in that category: Ben Wilson, Len Bias. Though I think Len Bias was definite more proven because he played 3 years of college ball in the ACC when it was vicious.
0 - Posted on: Sun, 07/31/2011 - 5:34pm #581993
jinbahjiParticipantRonnie Fields was nasty.
In HS at least. If he did not get injured and went to a proper college and got good coaching I wondered how he would have been in the pros.
A couple of things working against him: small for a SG in the pros, underdeveloped jumpshot and lacked other intangibles to carve out a niche in the NBA. Also, he had a hard time going left and did not mesh well with KG. They should have won it all but lost to Harvey Thorton HS in semi-finals or quarter finals of the Illinois State HS Tournament.
He is another classic case of "what could have been…"
Others I’d put in that category: Ben Wilson, Len Bias. Though I think Len Bias was definite more proven because he played 3 years of college ball in the ACC when it was vicious.
0 - Posted on: Sun, 07/31/2011 - 6:45pm #582282
ChrispyParticipantRonnie Fields was the truth. His rep was so nasty that I heard about Garnett because he was Fields’ teammate!!
0 - Posted on: Sun, 07/31/2011 - 6:45pm #582043
ChrispyParticipantRonnie Fields was the truth. His rep was so nasty that I heard about Garnett because he was Fields’ teammate!!
0 - Posted on: Sun, 07/31/2011 - 7:38pm #582304
GrandmamaParticipantYes he would have made the NBA if he hadn’t been injured. The kid was an absolute stud, gifted with world class athleticism. Luckily I got to see him play once in high school. The first year I went to watch the state finals in Illinois I got to see Faragaut vs Thornton, I was probably 11 or 12. KG was a senior, Fields was a junior, and Thornton had Melvin Ely who was a sophomore. Thornton actually upset Faragaut in the quarterfinals. I can remember one dunk Fields had in that game, off a missed free throw he came crashing through the lane and tip dunked it something nasty.
It’s very tragic he never got a chance to fulfill his true potential. There’s no doubt he would have been a special player in the NBA. I believe he had a successful career in the CBA, but he was never the same player after the accident. He’s pretty lucky he even survived his crash.
It’s really ironic this was posted today. There was an NFL signing today for a Ronald Fields and I got to thinking about Ronnie when I saw the signing. I was going to post one of his highlight reels from youtube but never got around to it.
0 - Posted on: Sun, 07/31/2011 - 7:38pm #582065
GrandmamaParticipantYes he would have made the NBA if he hadn’t been injured. The kid was an absolute stud, gifted with world class athleticism. Luckily I got to see him play once in high school. The first year I went to watch the state finals in Illinois I got to see Faragaut vs Thornton, I was probably 11 or 12. KG was a senior, Fields was a junior, and Thornton had Melvin Ely who was a sophomore. Thornton actually upset Faragaut in the quarterfinals. I can remember one dunk Fields had in that game, off a missed free throw he came crashing through the lane and tip dunked it something nasty.
It’s very tragic he never got a chance to fulfill his true potential. There’s no doubt he would have been a special player in the NBA. I believe he had a successful career in the CBA, but he was never the same player after the accident. He’s pretty lucky he even survived his crash.
It’s really ironic this was posted today. There was an NFL signing today for a Ronald Fields and I got to thinking about Ronnie when I saw the signing. I was going to post one of his highlight reels from youtube but never got around to it.
0 - Posted on: Mon, 08/01/2011 - 5:12am #582377
JoeWolf1Ronnie Fields was always on my radar. Kevin Garnett was my favorite player not named Michael Jordan growing up, so I was well aware of who he was, but he’s just one of those "what might have been" names right now.
0 - Posted on: Mon, 08/01/2011 - 5:12am #582138
JoeWolf1Ronnie Fields was always on my radar. Kevin Garnett was my favorite player not named Michael Jordan growing up, so I was well aware of who he was, but he’s just one of those "what might have been" names right now.
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