Antonio Gates - basketball or football
Antonio Gates is listed at 6′ 4″ tall weighing 260 pounds. It is not only his imposing size that you notice, it is his ability to move that strikes you, and man, can he move.
My first exposure to Antonio Gates was from Michigan High School Basketball. He was listed as a 6′ 5″ forward and had very large legs. Yet even then, you could see the movement, the power, and the grace, that he exhibited with the basketball.
The game that your fortunate author saw was the class A semi-finals. Who is that guy with the big thighs, just ripping everyone up. Did he just bury another long 3 from the top of the key? The next day his high school team, Detroit Central, took the class A title.
Later, Antonio was a last minute surprise recruit for Michigan State Football. Your humble aspiring writer was very happy about this. He was going to play basketball for Tom Izzo as well. You see, we all thought he would be a basketball player. In football, he was recruited primarily as a linebacker.
There was only one problem with this. Nick Saban, the most intense man on Earth, was the football coach and no way was he letting Antonio play basketball. There was grades to get and weights to lift. Antonio’s response? He left.
Of Interest Don’t believe Nick Saban is intense? check out what sports illustrated wrote about him.
Back to Antonio He drifted around, playing basketball, and ended up at Kent State in Ohio, leading them to the great eight as an unstoppable forward.
To this day, it still blows all my friend’s alleged minds that Antonio became a tight end in the NFL for the San Diego Chargers. Last year he had 89 catches for over 1,000 yards. Truly a great year for a tight end or any receiver.
Special Note Antonio Gates was first team football and basketball in high school. He finished second in the balloting for Mr. Michigan in basketball.
Fan Question Who are your favorite football players that were good at other sports?
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POSTED IN: NFL Football
8 opinions for Antonio Gates - basketball or football
Bald Man
Jul 11, 2006 at 9:39 am
Who can forget Bo Jackson! What might he have done if not for the injury?
James
Jul 11, 2006 at 5:42 pm
Bald Man, you are psychic! Me and my buddies were just discussing great 2 sport athletes that played football. Jim Brown and Jim Thorpe being the best, but my contention is that Bo may have surpassed them, all if not for the injury.
Bald Man
Jul 11, 2006 at 9:16 pm
I’ll go one better: The decade long debacle that was the Cincinnati Bengals was just retribution by the Football Gods for inflicting Bo’s injury. :)
James
Jul 12, 2006 at 8:52 pm
Wow! and the squibster thought Lion’s Fans were hurting. The curse of the Bo. Man, when he got open down the sidelines it was a thing of beauty.
So how would you like to root for the team that drove a healthy Barry Sanders out of football?
Bald Man
Jul 12, 2006 at 9:32 pm
Let me be clear: I’m no Bengals fan; I just live in Ohio. But take heart: It only took the Vikes a decade to recover from the Walker debacle. 2012 is gonna be your year!
James
Jul 12, 2006 at 10:11 pm
Herschel was another great straight line runner. He used to practice by dragging a tire around the track. But wasn’t the trade for like 5 players? Keeping the Cowboys, young,inexpensive, and talented for a long time.
Bald Man
Jul 13, 2006 at 8:47 am
Yeah, the Vikes gave up draft picks for the next six or seven years! Totally set up the Cowboys for their run in the early 90’s.
To be fair, it only looks as bad as it does b/c Walker never duplicated his form for the Vikes. Had he been able to continue his high standard, we might be lauding the Vikes instead of rolling our eyes.
James
Jul 13, 2006 at 7:24 pm
The Vikes thought he could cut, but he was a straight ahead runner with awesome acceleration.
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