BleedGopher
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per Shooter:
"Gophers men's basketball coach Tubby Smith's team won the Killebrew golf tournament on the day he celebrated his 60th birthday.
Rick Rickert, who is just 28 years old, has played professional basketball in New Zealand, Germany, Greece, Spain, Slovenia, China, Japan, Australia, Argentina and now Puerto Rico.
"In this line of work, you never know where you're going to end up," Rickert said.
The 6-foot-11, 250-pound former Duluth East High School and Gophers standout who was the Timberwolves' second-round draft pick in 2003 was on the phone from Puerto Rico, where he's been playing for the Vaqueros team since the end of April.
Rickert has had two recent double- doubles - 14 points with 11 rebounds, and 24 points with 12 rebounds - as the Vaqueros head into the playoffs.
"I was supposed to go back to the Australian league, but my New Zealand citizenship fell through, so I had to go back to Europe," he said.
That was last spring in Ludwigsburg, where Rickert averaged 10 points and six rebounds before hopping a jet for Puerto Rico to replace Robert "Tractor" Traylor, who at the time was out of the lineup with a foot injury. The former Michigan star subsequently died of a heart attack, but that was after Rickert had arrived.
Rickert said he's "making a good living, and God willing, I'm going to play as long as possible. I know my basketball career won't last forever, but I love basketball."
Rickert said he's kept his dream of playing in the NBA alive.
It's "in the back of my mind, but with the NBA lockout and no summer leagues, it makes it tough," he said.
Rickert has been married to former Stillwater High School and Gophers tennis player CiCi Anderson for seven years. They have a 2-year-old daughter, Pepper.
"It's a lot of responsibility, and sometimes all the traveling with our young one is stressful, but CiCi's been a champion and really good about it," Rickert said. "That's not saying it doesn't bug her having to move all the time, but she takes it pretty much in stride. She knows this isn't going to last forever, that I'm not going to be playing for another 20 years, and that eventually we'll get settled, wherever that may be."
Rickert wants to play basketball for seven or eight more years.
"I feel really fortunate to have this worldly experience, to learn stuff about other countries, the cultures, how people of different cultures think," Rickert said. "It's something that's made me stronger. I've been to countries where the quality of life isn't close to what we have in the United States. It makes you feel very fortunate for what we have."
Rickert left the University of Minnesota after his sophomore year in 2003 for a chance at the NBA.
"People say I should have finished school, but my body is going to be young only so long," he said. "I can always go back to school to get my degree, and I intend to do that. That was never an issue.""
http://www.twincities.com/ci_18399508?source=most_viewed
Go Gophers!!
"Gophers men's basketball coach Tubby Smith's team won the Killebrew golf tournament on the day he celebrated his 60th birthday.
Rick Rickert, who is just 28 years old, has played professional basketball in New Zealand, Germany, Greece, Spain, Slovenia, China, Japan, Australia, Argentina and now Puerto Rico.
"In this line of work, you never know where you're going to end up," Rickert said.
The 6-foot-11, 250-pound former Duluth East High School and Gophers standout who was the Timberwolves' second-round draft pick in 2003 was on the phone from Puerto Rico, where he's been playing for the Vaqueros team since the end of April.
Rickert has had two recent double- doubles - 14 points with 11 rebounds, and 24 points with 12 rebounds - as the Vaqueros head into the playoffs.
"I was supposed to go back to the Australian league, but my New Zealand citizenship fell through, so I had to go back to Europe," he said.
That was last spring in Ludwigsburg, where Rickert averaged 10 points and six rebounds before hopping a jet for Puerto Rico to replace Robert "Tractor" Traylor, who at the time was out of the lineup with a foot injury. The former Michigan star subsequently died of a heart attack, but that was after Rickert had arrived.
Rickert said he's "making a good living, and God willing, I'm going to play as long as possible. I know my basketball career won't last forever, but I love basketball."
Rickert said he's kept his dream of playing in the NBA alive.
It's "in the back of my mind, but with the NBA lockout and no summer leagues, it makes it tough," he said.
Rickert has been married to former Stillwater High School and Gophers tennis player CiCi Anderson for seven years. They have a 2-year-old daughter, Pepper.
"It's a lot of responsibility, and sometimes all the traveling with our young one is stressful, but CiCi's been a champion and really good about it," Rickert said. "That's not saying it doesn't bug her having to move all the time, but she takes it pretty much in stride. She knows this isn't going to last forever, that I'm not going to be playing for another 20 years, and that eventually we'll get settled, wherever that may be."
Rickert wants to play basketball for seven or eight more years.
"I feel really fortunate to have this worldly experience, to learn stuff about other countries, the cultures, how people of different cultures think," Rickert said. "It's something that's made me stronger. I've been to countries where the quality of life isn't close to what we have in the United States. It makes you feel very fortunate for what we have."
Rickert left the University of Minnesota after his sophomore year in 2003 for a chance at the NBA.
"People say I should have finished school, but my body is going to be young only so long," he said. "I can always go back to school to get my degree, and I intend to do that. That was never an issue.""
http://www.twincities.com/ci_18399508?source=most_viewed
Go Gophers!!