Norfolk State grad named one of Milwaukee's best

Dandridge proud of legacy he left with Milwaukee Bucks team.

The way Bob Dandridge sees it, he is the one who started a forward-thinking tradition with the Milwaukee Bucks.

The skinny player from Norfolk State was the first in a line of talented frontcourt players for the Bucks. When Dandridge looked around the room at a gathering to honor the Bucks' 40th anniversary team Friday morning inside the Bradley Center, he saw a few of his most successful replacements.

Marques Johnson, the third overall pick in the 1977 draft and former UCLA star, was sitting at one table.

Vin Baker, the eighth overall pick in the 1993 draft, was at another table.

And sitting nearby was Glenn "Big Dog" Robinson, the former Purdue star and No. 1 overall pick in the 1994 draft.

"I'm proud when I look at Marques, Glenn Robinson, Vin Baker," Dandridge said. "I can look down the line and say this tradition started with me."

CONTINUE READING, CLICK ON BLOG TITLE.

Bobby Dandridge legacy is even greater with the 1978 Washington Bullets NBA World Championship, i.e., Washington Wizards today.

Ex-NBA star remembers when race trumped talent

As a Milwaukee Bucks scout, Bobby Dandridge periodically attends games at the University of Richmond. The Richmond native and former NBA all-star never considered coming to UR as a student, however, because the school's basketball coaches didn't recruit African-Americans during the mid-1960s.

Dandridge, 60 and a former Maggie Walker High School standout, recalled during a visit to UR's Robins Center this season that "We didn't even come to this section of the city. To go to a white school, that wasn't even a thought." Dandridge, a 6-6 forward, went on to play 13 seasons in the NBA. In passing on him, UR had plenty of company. No predominantly white school recruited Dandridge, he said.

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY BY CLICKING ON THE BLOG TITLE.