Throw It Back: Ronnie Fields

Since unveiling the From Courtside High School All-American Team, I received quite a few emails asking about Ronnie Fields. After surfing through youtube highlights for the “Throw It Back” player of the week, I came across this documentary.

For those that don’t know:
As high school teammates Kevin Garnett and Ronnie Fields dominated the Chicago hoops circuit. It was only a matter of time before they were lacing up in the NBA, but unfortunately only one story went according to plan.

As a high school senior, Fields was a man among boys averaging 32.4 points, 12.2 rebounds, 5.1 assists, 4.5 blocked shots, four steals and 4.5 dunks. But it was his 48-inch vertical and unreal dunks that helped Fields become a Chicago basketball legend.

During his senior year, Fields had a bad car accident that left him with a broken neck. Then he failed to qualify academically, derailing his college career at DePaul. The story never got any better and instead of earning millions of dollars in the NBA, Fields has collected $1,000 checks from the CBA and USBL. He’s also spent time overseas in Venezuela, Turkey, Lebanon and Greece. It’s a far cry from what many people envisioned.

Dim the lights and turn the volume up, it’s quite a piece (2 parts):





Could you imagine watching this in high school?