Dual-sport athletes are becoming exceedingly rare in collegiate sports. Specialization starts at such a young age, so oftentimes children don’t have the time to develop skillsets in multiple sports. But there are still some people who managed to play both football and basketball at a high level. In this article, we’ll delve into the unknown basketball careers of some famous football players.
4. Jimmy Graham
Before becoming a nightmare mismatch on the Saints, Graham was a dual-sport athlete for the Miami Hurricanes. While Graham was not a star player on the hardware, he played decent minutes for some solid Hurricanes teams. He often made terrific weak-side blocks, finished dunks around the rim, and used a variety of face-up moves to score layups.
In his lone year of college football in 2009, he accumulated 17 catches for 213 yards. His potential was salivating to scouts, and the Saints drafted him in the third round of the 2010 NFL Draft. Graham went on to be a 5x pro bowler and put up some of the best TE seasons of all time. Not bad for a guy who picked up football his fifth year of college.
3. Tony Gonzalez
While attending UC Berkeley, Gonzalez lettered in both basketball and football. Gonzalez scored a lot of points in transition, where he effectively used his athleticism to finish at the rim. He also possessed the ability to make mid-range jump shots in half-court settings.
On the football field, Gonzalez had a slow start to his career, but then had a star junior season. That year, he amassed 44 catches for 699 yards. Because of his performance, Gonzalez was selected by the Kansas City Chiefs in the first round of the NFL draft. This effectively put an end to his basketball career. But it seems he made the right choice, as Gonzalez is arguably the best tight end in NFL history.
2. Julius Peppers
Peppers not only took the field as a football player for North Carolina, but also walked-on to the basketball team. In 2001, Peppers won the Chuck Bednarik Award, which goes to the best defensive player in college football. He accumulated 30.5 sacks, 53 TFL, and 167 total tackles while in college. On the hardware, Peppers was the fifth-leading scorer on a team that earned a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament. Peppers was often used in the dunker spot or in post-ups. He would often use his impeccable athleticism to finish around the rim.
The Carolina Panthers eventually drafted Peppers with the No. 2 overall pick in 2002. Peppers enjoyed a long, illustrious NFL career, and is a sure-fire lock to be enshrined in Canton.
1. Charlie Ward
Ward won the Heisman in 1993, and led the Florida State Seminoles to a national championship win over Nebraska. But did you know Ward also was a high-level basketball player? He led the FSU basketball team to some deep runs in the NCAA tournament, including an Elite Eight and two Sweet Sixteen appearances. Ward is still the program’s all-time leader in steals and is sixth all-time in assists. He was eventually drafted in the first round of the 1994 NBA Draft and opted to forgo playing in the NFL. Ward had a 12 year NBA career, and he helped guide the Knicks to the 1999 NBA championship.
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