Rumeal Robinson watching M BB in prison (Yahoo article)

Submitted by Wolverine Devotee on

Interesting article on Rumeal Robinson. Trey Burke talks about Rumeal and how he pays high regard to him. 

Sad story that Rumeal Robinson is but it still is nice that he is watching his former team. 

Quote from Robinson-

"I'm not satisfied," Robinson said during correspondence with Yahoo! Sports over the past two months. "This is where Michigan should be and always should be."

Link: http://sports.yahoo.com/news/michigan-s-trey-burke-pays-high-regard-to-rumeal-robinson--who-ll-be-watching-maize-and-blue-from-a-federal-prison--065111903.html

BigBlue4U2NV

March 29th, 2013 at 12:02 PM ^

when you think about his journey over the past 24 years.  From being the floor general 24 years ago and sinking those 2 clutch free throws to send Wolverine nation into a frenzy, to now wondering what life could have been if not for behind prison bars.  

stephenrjking

March 29th, 2013 at 12:12 PM ^

What life could have been if he had not chosen to live a life of criminal, vile dishonesty and fraud. He didn't just get a bit caught up in the wrong event; he willfully defrauded, stole, and conned people. He destroyed his own mother's well-being. It doesn't get much lower than that. The bars are just a consequence of evil choices.

Owl

March 29th, 2013 at 3:25 PM ^

Aren't you a professor? I vaguely remember you mentioning that you're a professor. I even pretended that you're a professor that I've had because he mentioned Michigan football a lot, even though that's a silly thing for me to do. It would be weird for me if you were in fact that professor, because part of that class dealt with the existence of God.

gbdub

March 29th, 2013 at 3:02 PM ^

Did you see the comment he was responding to? The quoted bible passage works as a nice, clever comeback to the preceding barb. Banter is not bible thumping, and overreaction to any innocuous mention of religion is indeed pretty flamebait-ey.

jmblue

March 29th, 2013 at 2:31 PM ^

I don't think he's saying that Robinson is beyond redemption, but that he is now suffering for choices he made.  From the article, it appears that Robinson is blaming his adoptive mother for his incarceration, and it's hard to believe him about that.  He needs to accept that he made terrible decisions as the first step towards his rehabilitation.

 

ChiefLB

March 29th, 2013 at 12:11 PM ^

I'm old school UM, I was a big Rumeal fan when him & TMills signed with UM... I loved their mohawks at the Anchorage classic (after their Prop 48 frosh year)... Rumeal's D was suspect & his ball handling was too... but he could score and he hit the two OT free throws v Seton Hall so I was a fan of his... until I learned he is a swindler.

What Rumeal did to his Mom, and others, is horrible.  Rumeal sucks.

TMills, in contrast, is awesome.  The Iceman from Romulus is on my Top 10 UM all time basketball player list.  Go Blue!

dj89

March 29th, 2013 at 12:14 PM ^

I will never forget watching that game my senior year; my girlfriend, roommate and I holding hands watching Rumeal at the line, praying ... Breathless. Sadly, I can still recount much of Billy Packer's tedious commentary.

I don't know what to think of Rumeal's claims of innocence. But regardless, he will always have a special place in my Wolverine heart for his performance that night.

Thanks for the link.

buddhafrog

March 29th, 2013 at 12:19 PM ^

Honestly, I would be happier if I never had to hear his name again.  He shamed this university far, far worse than Webber.  Shame on him.  I don't care if he's watching UM basketball in prison - I certainly would prefer that negative publicity to be ignored.  I hope his mom is alright and that he finds a way to lead a redeemed and fulfilling life. 

Lordfoul

March 29th, 2013 at 12:19 PM ^

"I'm not satisfied," Robinson said during correspondence with Yahoo! Sports over the past two months. "This is where Michigan should be and always should be."

As a representative of the University, perhaps Rumeal should look in the mirror and realize where Michigan shouldn't be...

MichiganManOf1961

March 29th, 2013 at 12:22 PM ^

What an embarassment to the University.  It's not what you do on the court that matters the most... 

~Herm

UWSBlue

March 29th, 2013 at 5:00 PM ^

Gregory Andrew Skrepenak (born January 31, 1970) is a convicted felon, a former Luzerne County, Pennsylvania commissioner and a former professional American footballoffensive lineman in the National Football League (NFL) for the Los Angeles/Oakland Raiders and the Carolina Panthers. He was convicted after admitting he received kickbacks for public contracts.

stephenrjking

March 29th, 2013 at 12:34 PM ^

I'm on record with an opinion that Michigan is a "family" and that even people who don't hold 100% to the party line should be considered a part of the family, even if we recognize faults and problems. Of course, that was in the context of some unfortunate comments by Jim Harbaugh, not in the wake of a serious criminal career.

But my belief still stands. Robinson has embarrassed the family and tarnished the uniform; it is impossible to watch those free throws without thinking about what he has done (to see how this works from the outside, watch any OSU game that Maurice Clarett played in and note your personal feelings and thoughts when Clarett is on the screen). But, while I lament what he has done and feel that his actions have been despicable, I do not lose the joy of the memory that he was involved in, nor do I wish him ill. He is a prodigal son, but he is our prodigal son. I hope he changes direction. But he fully deserves the consequences he is experiencing right now.

SAvoodoo

March 29th, 2013 at 12:40 PM ^

As a younger fan (relatively speaking) I was 4 when they won the championship and only know peripherally about the situation? Is there a good link/article about the whole story, preferably with both sides? From the article he claims innocence but as the saying goes, everyone in prison is innocent. I'm curious to read more about it for completion sake. Thanks to anyone who has any info.

CRex

March 29th, 2013 at 1:23 PM ^

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/7649638/ncb-rumea…

He took out loans claiming he was starting a company.  Instead he bought luxury items and lived the high life for awhile until the banks caught up to him.  To stave off the wolves he managed to get his adoptive mother to put up her house and get him a loan by showing her forged business documents.  She ended up losing the house.  

Wolverine Devotee

March 29th, 2013 at 1:01 PM ^

 

Love/Hate seems to be the theme of Michigan Basketball is you really think about it.

  • Johnny Orr was a great coach that continued the success of Dave Strack in the 70s. But he left Michigan for Iowa State and knocked Michigan out of the NCAA Tournament.
  • Bill Frieder won 2 B1G Championships and brought tons of talent to Michigan which culminated in the NCAA National Championship. But he dumped his eventual National Championship team the eve of the NCAA Tournament to take a job at Arizona State.
  • Steve Fisher coached Michigan in that 89 tourney to the national championship, recruited the Fab Five and led them to two Final Fours. But he was associated with the scandal and is despised by many in the fanbase (not me though).
  • Chris Webber was arguably one of the most dominant players in Michigan Basketball history. A man among boys out there. But obviously he is disliked by many due to the scandal and still some bitterness about the timeout.

jmdblue

March 29th, 2013 at 2:03 PM ^

well, much of the latter part of the evening is lost in a glob of dead brain cells, but.....there is a difference between US and THEM....WE feel shame regarding R. Robinson's crimes, much of what went on during the Fab 5 era, and for smaller things like Mr. Clark's appropriation of a classmate's laptop (I do, however, feel very proud Willie Duke Campbell's hood slide)   .....THEY feel that "everyone kills people...everyone murders....everyone steals from you, steals from me."  THEY felt Andy Katzenmoyer's course load was of no concern.  THEY felt Mo Clarrett's life as a pro baller in Columbus is a part of the business of their winning a championship.

Go Blue.  Beat Kansas!

rlcBlue

March 29th, 2013 at 3:18 PM ^

(From the video embedded in the article) was one of the first things that popped in to my head after the loss to Indiana in Crisler this year. I hope Trey's story parallels Rumeal's that far - and ONLY that far.

DonAZ

March 29th, 2013 at 6:44 PM ^

I too vividly recall the free throws to win the championship.  What stands out even more in my mind is the put-back to win at the buzzer against Illinois in the Final Four game.  What stands out even more in my mind was the insane 3-point shooting by Glen Rice throughout the tournament.

All that said, the following season I thought showed some of the deficiencies of Fisher as coach and Robinson as player ... it was sloppy, with Robinson trying to do too much ... often without positive effect.  Or so my memory seems to recall.   I could be recalling incorrectly.