Robinson among NCAA Silver Anniversary winners - Navy News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Navy Times

Robinson among NCAA Silver Anniversary winners

INDIANAPOLIS — Kevin Johnson thought he’d seen every trick in the book as a college and NBA point guard.

That was before he entered politics.

“I thought when I decided to be an elected official, I thought that basketball was a dirty sport where folks throw elbows and all that,” the Sacramento mayor jokingly told the crowd Friday night at the NCAA’s Honors Celebration. “Politics is a whole ’nother level. You’ve got little old ladies you think are there to support you. They will cut you up in a minute.”

Johnson, who played at the University of California and starred in the NBA for the Phoenix Suns, was rewarded Friday for his on- and off-the-court exploits as a Silver Anniversary award winner. The award recognizes distinguished individuals on the 25th anniversary of the conclusion of their collegiate athletics careers.

Other Silver Anniversary honorees were former Navy star David Robinson, Sean Payton, Tim Brown, Doris Burke and Amy Perko.

Robinson played college basketball at Navy and is a two-time Olympic gold medalist. Brown won the Heisman Trophy for Notre Dame in 1987. Burke, a former Providence basketball player, is a broadcaster for ESPN. Perko, a former Wake Forest basketball player, is the executive director of the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics.

Robinson was an NBA star for the San Antonio Spurs and has remained active in that city since retiring. He founded the Carver Academy, a school that offers high-quality education to kids who likely wouldn’t have access to it otherwise.

“When I went out and looked for schools for my oldest son, I just realized the cost of a private school education and the reality that a lot of kids face going to some of these subpar public schools,” he said. “I was a product of public schools. I love public schools. Unfortunately, a lot of these kids are subject to environments where they’re not going to be really encouraged and nurtured.”

Payton, the former Eastern Illinois quarterback who now coaches the New Orleans Saints, had planned to attend the event, but his team has a playoff game at San Francisco on Saturday.

Several other former athletes were honored as well.

Will Allen was given the Association’s highest honor, the Theodore Roosevelt Award. Allen was the first African-American men’s basketball player at the University of Miami and is now CEO of Growing Power, a nationally-recognized nonprofit that focuses on urban farming.

Inspiration Award honorees were Jill Costello and Louis Zamperini. Costello, a former University of California rower, passed away due to lung cancer a month after her squad finished second in the 2010 NCAA Division I Women’s Rowing Championships. Zamperini, a World War II POW, utilized attributes he gained as a runner at the University of Southern California to survive and eventually forgive his captors.

Today’s Top VIII winners include Sam Acho (Texas football), Kelsey Bruder (Florida softball), Shannon Gagne (New Haven track), Kayla Hoffman (Alabama gymnastics), Lee Ellis Moore (Mississippi track), Danielle Robinson (Oklahoma women’s basketball), Kendra Stern (Amherst swimming and diving) and Brittany Viola (Miami swimming and diving). The award recognizes student-athletes who completed their athletics eligibility during the 2010-11 academic year for on- and off-the-court success.