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South Florida Ball Player Ron Anderson Jr. Reconnects With Former Pro Player Father

March 16, 2012

Former NBA player Ron Anderson Sr. and his remarkable basketball journey has finally come full circle after his son, Ron Jr., enters the second round of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship tournament with the University of South Florida Friday night against Temple. After five seasons playing with the Philadelphia 76ers, the elder Anderson would go on to play for several other NBA squads before relocating to France and continued playing until he was 52 years of age. Leaving his family at age 10 to pursue his hoop dreams, father and son held a decade-long bout of bitterness between them, eventually finding a way to reconcile.

"I felt I missed out on a lot because he wasn't there," Ron Anderson Jr. said to the Philadelphia Inquirer. "There are certain things a father is supposed to teach his son that only a man can teach you. The years between 10 and 20 are important years. Instead, I had to learn from my mistakes and try not to make the same ones."

A few years ago, Ron Jr. offered an olive branch to his father in hopes they could patch up their differences. “"It was difficult for Ron because I made the choice to continue my career. At that time, he didn't understand and thought I deserted him, but that wasn't really the case," Ron Sr. shared in a phone call interview from France. "He called me after he had become a man and told me that he needed a father. To hear that was like paradise for me."

Although Ron Sr. may not be able to catch the game from France, where he dwells with his new wife and daughter, he is no doubt rooting for his son’s success.

"Tell him good luck for me," Ron Sr. said. "I'm very proud."

Source: Philly.com

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