From Seattle to Europe: The Rise, Fall & Return of Ex-UW C Robert Upshaw
SEATTLE -- The combination of substance abuse and missed opportunities put former Washington men's basketball center Robert Upshaw on a plane from Tallinn, Estonia to Perm, Russia, for another pay check to continue rebuilding the life he once had.
Flashback: Two years ago around this time Upshaw, then a prized transfer from Fresno State who was forced to sit out the 2013-14 season due to NCAA regulation, was practicing with then teammates Nigel Williams-Goss, Jernard Jarreau with a new leash on life.
Upshaw was dismissed from Fresno State in August 2013 and transferred to Washington just one month later. Reports suggested there was an underlying problem the 7-foot-1 shot-blocking specialist was dealing with internally.
"I came here to continue school and get help with things I needed to take care off the court," Upshaw told me in 2014. "I'm surprised I've made it this far to be honest. I'm working my hardest everyday to be successful. I bring a lot to the table when it comes down to it. And I just need to do like I have been and keep making progress."
The Upshaw-Washington paring was a match made in heaven. The Huskies needed a serious rim protector at both ends of the court. Head Coach Lorenzo Romar, on the other hand, was giving a promising basketball star his final chance.
But the euphoria, which included setting the single-season UW record for blocked shots (85) through 16 games, flashed quicker than Upshaw himself did at the university.
On Jan. 26, 2015, Romar announced Upshaw had been dismissed from the program for a violation of team rules. It became the second program to dismiss the talented post player and seemingly more and more apparent Upshaw continued to get in his own way.
Free to live his life with no practice requirements and the simple thought of finding away to win, while defeating himself at the same time, the people he needed - Romar and UW, plus previous coaches - would be there.
The rest Upshaw had to figure out on his own. Who he was. Who he needed to surround himself with and what he truly wanted from basketball.
"Great, I'm doing very well," Upshaw told me in April 2015, just two months before the draft. "Better than I have ever been in 21 years of life. I made mistakes and I'm owning up to them and making sure I don't make the same mistakes. I'm in shape and getting ready for the next step of my life."
Upshaw elected to enter the 2015 NBA Draft verses transfer to a third university. Despite a popular late-first-round grade, Upshaw went undrafted and signed a summer league contract with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Averaging just 2.2 rebounds per game and never being a signifiant offensive threat in Las Vegas, the Lakers waived the ex-Husky in October only to pick him up through their D-league affiliate. However, it was again the life Upshaw had been battling since Fresno, that cost him his last chance with an NBA organization.
On March 11, 2016, his contract with the Los Angeles D-Fenders was voided for violating the league's anti-drug program. Again, it offered another chance for the one-time four-star center and No.52 overall player in the 2012 recruiting cycle by Rivals.com to get his life in order.
Whether it's the similarities of the success he had inside Alaska Airlines Area, albiet brief, or the fact he's still not touching coffee, he's found a comfortable home in Estonia.
"It's great man," Upshaw said of his life now in Europe. "It's literally Seattle's long lost sister - weather, people, everything. It's been a journey man. I've had so many obstacles to overcome. Doing it by myself was the best possible thing for me. I'm doing good and I love it here."
From 2012 until March 2016, it was his way or the high way for Upshaw when it came to anything in life. He would block you. If he didn't send the ball into the stands it might as well been dished off so anyone no in arms-reach could have a chance to. He would also destroy his body and every chance at success.
It never worked. Not even to hold the single-season record at UW for blocks, that still wasn't a workable life. Having his contract terminated was the final straw. Upshaw was ready to change.
"After D-league I realized I needed to start doing things myself," Upshaw said Tuesday. "And I tried everybody else's way and it just didn't seem to work. So now I just wanna play ball and make money to support my family. Whatever happens is God's plan."