The first time Mississippi State forward Lawrence Roberts played organized basketball was almost his last time.

At the urging of his parents, Lawrence and Cynthia, a then 10-year-old Roberts attended a church basketball tournament. Tall for his age, he easily scored over the much smaller opponents.

But still, his team struggled. With only seconds left, Roberts received the ball in the paint with his team down by one point. Spotting a teammate who had yet to score open in the corner, Roberts passed the ball.

Defenders immediately swarmed to the ball and surrounded the small child, fouling him. With one last chance to win the game, Roberts’ teammate missed both free throws. After the game, a dejected Roberts took the blame for the loss. He swore to his parents he would never play basketball again.

Mississippi State is glad Roberts gave the sport another chance. The Bulldogs face Syracuse tomorrow night at 9 in Madison Square Garden.

It’s been a strange journey to basketball stardom for Roberts.

He never thought he’d play basketball after that game. Instead, he moved on and replaced the first sport he ever played with tennis. He took lessons from a private coach and worked on the sport he thought was his calling. Two years after learning how to play tennis, Roberts advanced to the youth Super Championships, one of the most prestigious tournaments in Texas.

But his 6-foot frame was hard to ignore. Once again, his parents pleaded for Roberts to try basketball. He obliged, trying out as a freshman at Bellaire High School in Houston.

Roberts returned to basketball, but not without stiff competition. The Bellaire High School freshman team boasted current Oklahoma State guard John Lucas and Emeka Okafor, now in the NBA.

Not deterred by the team’s star power, Roberts spent much of his extra time working on basketball. After team practices, he worked on all areas of his game until Lucas’ father, a former NBA coach, came to bring the boys to another gym for more practice.

‘He’s a hard worker and a good, clean, hard-nosed basketball player,’ Bellaire basketball coach Dave Hudek said. ‘He deserves a lot of credit. He would always hang around after practice. He wanted something extra. You could see it in him.’

Just as it seemed Roberts could finally settle down in one place, life threw him another curve. His parents pulled him out of Bellaire High School after his freshman year and enrolled him in Lamar High School, just two miles away from Bellaire.

Roberts continued to grow at Lamar, both in stature and in talent. His now 6-foot-9-inch body grabbed the attention of the Baylor University coaching staff. After gaining All-District honors for three years, he accepted Baylor’s scholarship offer.

Roberts excelled at Baylor. In his first two years, he averaged 16 points per game and started 55 games.

But in the summer before his junior year, disaster struck. Patrick Dennehy, Roberts’ teammate, was found murdered in July 2003 after weeks of searching. Amid the confusion, and in an attempt to protect his job, then-Baylor head coach Dave Bliss instructed players to lie about Dennehy’s disappearance and death to investigators.

‘It was devastating to everybody,’ Hudek said. ‘When you put your trust in a coach, especially when you’re young like that, and something happens, it’s rough.’

Bliss’ instructions led to his dismissal and an NCAA ruling allowing Baylor players to transfer to a different school without sitting out the normal one-year period. Roberts seized the opportunity for a fresh start and enrolled at Mississippi State.

While Roberts excelled on the court, winning the Southeast Conference Player of the Year award and leading the Bulldogs to a 29-4 season, his quiet nature made the transition off the court more difficult.

‘He’s a soft-spoken young man,’ MSU head coach Rick Stansbury said. ‘When he came in last year it was a tough situation with new teammates and new surroundings – that was tough for him. But he handled it great. There’s no question that he became more comfortable as the year went on. It’s just been one thing after another. He’s had a little bit of bad luck.’

And Roberts continues to have more than a fair share of bad luck this season.

Last spring, Roberts attended a workout for the NBA’s Portland Trailblazers. Portland originally paid for Roberts’ expenses, including airfare, a hotel room and meals, but he paid them back after withdrawing from the NBA Draft. Mississippi State provided the NCAA with receipts from the trip.

The NCAA gave Roberts a one-game suspension for violating NCAA rules. The rules state players must pay for their expenses in advance to maintain eligibility.

‘So far it’s been a tough season for him,’ Cynthia Roberts said. ‘This wasn’t what he had in mind when he went back. But it’s dead and it’s buried. He’s overcome it. Everything life sends him, he handles it with a smile. He’s a kid that can roll with the punches.’

But just when Roberts seemed to be back on the court, he was dealt another blow. While practicing with his team last week, a basketball took a freak bounce and hit Roberts in the face, breaking his nose. His status for tomorrow’s game is still uncertain.

While he has not seen the court so far this year, the past indicates it’s only a matter of time before Roberts comes back, stronger than before. He’s not a quitter. And Roberts surely looks to repay the favor MSU gave him last year by bringing it a national title this year.

‘He’s enjoying his time at Mississippi State well enough to go back,’ Cynthia Roberts said. ‘There’s not much not to like about it. They’ve been good to him at Mississippi State. And he’s been very good to them.’

Published on November 16, 2004 at 12:00 pm