For Kenny Anderson, “easy come, easy go” is a phrase that means more than it does to many other people. Kenny Anderson retired from the NBA after playing for 14 years and earning about $ 60 million. The $ 60 million was gone and he couldn’t even get a paycheck loan. It isn’t exactly breaking news that another professional athlete ended up broke. Because he went back to school, Kenny Anderson is within the headlines today. With a degree in organizational leadership, is should graduate on Saturday.
The legend of Kenny Anderson
Kenny Anderson left school for NBA millions after his sophomore season at Georgia Tech. Yahoo Sports reports that growing up in New York City Anderson happened a basketball legend. He is the only player in New York history to be named all-city all four years of high school. Kenny Anderson is still called by scouts who have been watching basketball for 50 years, “the best high school player I’ve ever seen”. After a Final Four appearance that happened his freshman year at Georgia Tech, he stayed in school one more season until he entered the 1991 NBA draft as the second overall pick.
Kenny Anderson and his career
Kenny Anderson promised to go back to school one day after leaving it for the NBA. The New York Times reports that Anderson bought his mother a really nice home on Long Island after signing with the New Jersey Nets. Kenny Anderson then bounced around the NBA. USA Today reports that the top salary in Kenny Anderson’s career was $ 9.1 million while with Seattle in 2002-03. But along the way, Anderson also had seven kids with five women. He retired from the NBA broke, with no job, and no college degree, when he was released from the Los Angeles Clippers in 2005.
Kenny Anderson and his promise
Kenny Anderson burned through $ 60 million but he managed to salvage 37 credits earned at Georgia Tech. Kenny Anderson is expected to graduate on Saturday from St. Thomas University in Miami. He enrolled in the online program at the Institute for Professional Studies at St. Thomas. When not studying, Anderson took care of a nine year old son. Lately he’s been giving private basketball lessons to aspiring young players. Come Saturday he’ll be looking for a job at age 39, for the first time in his life.
Sources for the article
Yahoo Sports reports
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/ball_dont_lie/post/Kenny-Anderson-graduates-this-weekend?urn=nba,240794
New York Times reports
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/13/sports/basketball/13vecsey.html?ref=sports
USA Today reports
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/gameon/post/2010/05/kenny-anderson-to-graduate-after-wasting-63-million/1
