There are a lot of ACC legends we like, respect, and miss, but there aren’t many that we think more highly of than Durham native Rodney Rogers.
Rogers, who was one of the two greatest players to come out of Hillside High (the other was Maryland’s John Lucas), was an amazing talent. At 6-7, and listed at 270, even though that seems too high, Rogers was not an obvious fit in the NBA. He was too short to be a power forward and too thick to be a small forward. But whether at Wake Forest or in the NBA,
Rogers was brilliantly athletic, and like the best players, he forced opponents to adapt to him.
He was something special. Somewhat like Zion Williamson, his power and agility allowed him to do things most players could not. He was just an unusual talent.
Sadly, he suffered an ATV accident in 2008, which left him paralyzed from the shoulders down. His spirit shone through after the accident though, and he made the best of a bad situation.
Rogers passed away in November of 2025 at the age of 54. He wasn’t anyone you wanted to deal with on a basketball court, but in the bigger picture, he was a good and decent man, and he is missed.
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