Rondo learned how to take a hit as a high school QB in Kentucky
You Got Rondo'd
Besides his toughness, Rajon Rondo has made a name for himself with his array of circus shots and ball fakes, which he said are a product of playing street ball in Louisville. “I played in the streets a lot,” Rondo said. “I played a lot of pickup ball. I played with a lot of older people when I was young, so I think I can take some of the hits I take now. ... I kept a ball in my hand growing up. I always had the rock in my hand walking around the neighborhood, raining or whatever.”
Coming from a person who is often the victim of some of the most devastating midair collisions in basketball, it’s a bit strange to hear Rajon Rondo say he used to avoid contact at all costs during his short-lived football career.
“[I was a] passing quarterback,” Rondo said of his days at Eastern High in Louisville. “I didn’t really run much. I didn’t like to get hit, so I’d throw it out of bounds, get away from the pressure.”
Go figure, the Teflon-tough Celtics point guard has been dropped by guys twice his size like Jason Maxiell and Marvin Williams, but once shied from lesser hits, according to the man himself.
“Probably basketball [has the harder hits],” Rondo said. “I’ve taken so many. I don’t really know what was the worst.”
Those high school days are a big part of who Rondo is today, an All-Star caliber point guard who is averaging 11.0 points, 7.3 assists and 5.0 rebounds per game this season. Though he gave up football after his freshman year to concentrate on basketball, he’s taken the leadership qualities from the quarterback position and translated them to his current role among future Hall of Famers.
“I think it’s the same exact position, really,” Rondo said. “You’re the leader, regardless of whether you want to be or not. Even though I’m a third-year point guard, I’m still the leader of the team.”
Rondo said he didn’t envision the NBA until after his junior year, when he left Louisville for Oak Hill Academy in Virginia, the same basketball powerhouse that has produced Carmelo Anthony, Jerry Stackhouse and a host of others.
A national schedule against blue-chip competition such as Dwight Howard readied Rondo for his two years at Kentucky and eventually the NBA. Now, the football player trapped in a point guard’s body has come alive on a national scale, and he’s got Louisville to thank.
“[Football] helped a lot really because I took a lot of hits, blindsided hits, head-on collisions,” Rondo said. “I played defense, as well. I don’t know if it really helped me, but I’m used to getting hit.”
