Shawn Respert
Shawn Christopher Respert is an American former professional basketball player and coach. He attended Bishop Borgess High School, and he came to prominence while playing college basketball for the Michigan State Spartans. He played professionally in the National Basketball Association for four seasons from 1995 to 1999. He was inducted into the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame in October 2024.
College career
Respert was a standout at Michigan State. He and point guard Eric Snow combined to form one of the nation's most prolific backcourt tandems for head coach Jud Heathcote's Spartans. Respert was the team's leading scorer all four seasons at Michigan State and finished his career second all-time in scoring among Big Ten players with 2,531 points and first in Big Ten games with 1,545 games played. He capped a brilliant career by being named a unanimous first team All-American and Big Ten Player of the Year and Sporting News and NABC National Player of the Year with a 25.6 scoring average during his 1994–95 Michigan State Spartans men's [basketball team|1994–95 senior season]. He left East Lansing as the Spartans all-time leading scorer and began the tradition of out-going seniors kissing the logo at center court during their final home game.Professional career
Respert was selected by the Portland Trail Blazers in the 1st round, with the 8th overall pick, of the 1995 NBA draft. The Blazers traded his NBA rights to the Milwaukee Bucks for the rights to Gary Trent and a first-round pick. Respert was traded to Toronto in his second year, where he scored 5.6 points a game. He next played briefly in Dallas the next season and then had a second stint with the Raptors. Respert finished his career in Phoenix during the 1998–99 season. He was under contract with Los Angeles Lakers for a brief period in October 2000 but was waived before playing in any NBA games for them. In his NBA career, Respert played in 172 games and scored a total of 851 points on averages of 4.9 points in 13.7 minutes per game.He played professionally in Italy for Adecco Milano and Fillattice Imola. He also played in Poland for Spójnia Stargard Szczeciński.
Respert had stomach cancer but did not admit it until 2005. He started being bothered with stomach cramps towards the end of his rookie season. He noticed a lump below his belly button even after changing his diet. Respert was diagnosed with cancer after undergoing a series of tests at Milwaukee's St. Joseph Regional Medical Center in May 1996. After confirmation through a second opinion, he underwent daily radiation therapy for three consecutive months, losing twenty pounds in the process. The only people who knew about this treatment were the Bucks' trainers, doctors, his coach Mike Dunleavy, Sr. and Michigan State backcourt partner Eric Snow. He only told a select few; not even his family and girlfriend knew, because "people don't want to hear excuses in pro sports, even if the excuse is cancer."