Former Huskies, NBA star Nate Robinson gets tryout with Seahawks
Jun 13, 2016, 12:28 PM | Updated: 1:50 pm
(AP)
The Seahawks are taking a look at former University of Washington and NBA star Nate Robinson, who played football and basketball for the Huskies and is pursuing a career in the NFL.
A league source confirmed a report from The Washington Post that Robinson had a tryout with the Seahawks on Monday. There was no indication as of Monday afternoon that Seattle was signing Robinson, so this could be a case of the team putting a player through a workout and then, depending on how it went, keeping him on its radar in case a need arises or a spot opens up in the future.
Robinson, 32, announced in March that he would try to play play football after an 11-year career in the NBA. As a senior at Rainier Beach High School in Seattle, he said he wanted to one day become the first person to play in both the NBA and NFL.
The Seahawks are the first known NFL team to give Robinson a tryout. The Washington Post report states that he tried out as a defensive back. Robinson played cornerback as a true freshman for the Huskies in 2002, which was the last time he played football competitively. Robinson appeared in 13 games and started the final six that season. One of his two interceptions was a key play in the Huskies’ Apple Cup win over Washington State.
Robinson enrolled at Washington on a football scholarship but played only one season before deciding to focus solely on basketball. As a 5-foot-9, 180-pound point guard, he was the Huskies’ leading scorer in all three of his seasons. He declared for the NBA Draft and was chosen 21st overall by Phoenix in 2005. He averaged 11 points per game during his NBA career, during which he played for eight teams and won the slam-dunk competition three times.
After the announcement in March that he’s pursing a football career, 710 ESPN Seattle’s Danny O’Neil wrote that he believes Robinson could make an NFL roster even though he’s in his 30s and hasn’t played the sport in more than a decade.