Bill Robinzine


William Clintard Robinzine was an American professional basketball player.
Born in Chicago, Robinzine grew to be a 6' 7" forward from DePaul University. He played seven seasons in the NBA, competing for the Kansas City Kings, Cleveland Cavaliers, Dallas Mavericks, and Utah Jazz. He is perhaps best remembered for his inclusion in the highlight footage of Darryl Dawkins' backboard-shattering dunk at Kansas City's Kemper Arena on November 13, 1979. Robinzine, who was under the basket at the time, fled while shielding his face in order to avoid falling glass, which inspired Dawkins to include the phrase "Robinzine Cryin'" when later creating a name for the dunk.
While not much of a scorer, Robinzine was known as a tough rebounder and one of the better defensive players in the league at the power forward position. He played for the Kings for five seasons, and then was released to make room for Reggie King.
In September 1982, Robinzine committed suicide in his car by carbon monoxide poisoning at a storage place in Kansas City, Missouri. He was not on any NBA team's roster at that time.