Gregg Lewis - The Admiral. The David Robinson Story

Imagine looking up at a man who stands seven-feet, one-inch tal a Hall-of-Fame basketball player, one of only four players in history ever to score over 70 points in an NBA game. He played on three Olympic basketball teams. He scored 20,790 points and had 10,497 rebounds in his professional career and was chosen as an NBA All-Star ten times.

And that man stands looking right at you in front of your friends, your family, and says:

You have the ability to accomplish great things. Nothing will stand in your way. There is nothing for you to be afraid of.

You have everything in front of you, every hope, every possibility. I expect you to become a leader, a citizen for this country. You have support. You are well prepared to take this next step. Understand that as you go along someone will always be there to help lift you up to the next level.

And the Lord will always watch over your shoulder as you take your next step, preparing the way for you, so that you might have good success.

I want you to walk in that power that the Lord gives you.

In May of 2011, the sixth graders at The Carver Academy (TCA) in San Antonio, Texas, did not have to imagine that scene. They heard David Robinson tell them those things the day they graduated from TCA.

Why was a world-famous basketball star like David Robinson talking to sixth graders at a school that had 120 students? Because it was all part of a dream. His dream. A very real dream he believed in so much that he had already invested more than a decade and $10 million of his own resources to see it come true.

Now imagine that same man one of the greatest basketball players in history, a gifted athlete who won piles of trophies and awards, earned a fortune, and became famous around the world for spending his life playing a game decided to go back to school to learn how to do a better job in a new career. Why?

He already had a first-class college degree in mathematics and computer science from the United States Naval Academy. His three teenage sons would soon be making their own college decisions. He was busy with The Carver Academy. Now a successful business man, he partnered with large corporations and advised rich and famous celebrities on how to positively impact needy communities and people by using their fame and fortune for good. Another company he started owns and manages millions of dollars of commercial real estate office buildings, hotels, and more.

David Robinson stands well above his colleagues at seven feet tall as he delivers his message of encouragement.

So why would someone with all that experience and success ever think he needed to go back to school to learn anything else? For the same reason he would speak at a sixth-grade graduation. Because of his convictions and personal belief in the importance of education and learning whoever you are and wherever you are in life.

Once again imagine that manDavid Robinson, basketball legend, successful businessman standing behind the counter of a concession stand at a high school ball game. He needs to bend over a little okay maybe a LOTto talk to the customers.

Many people just order snacks. Since David is someone everyone in San Antonio recognizes wherever he goes, people are so surprised to encounter him that some stammer out their orders. Others simply stand and stare. A few ask if hell sign their program, a crumpled scrap of paper pulled out of a pocket, their popcorn box, or whatever else they have on hand.

David Robinson just smiles as he takes their money, makes change, and hands out soft drinks, peanuts, candy bars, and such. Along with the occasional autograph.

Why does someone like David Robinson work in a high school concession stand? Because its the high school his sons attend. And volunteering is what parents do. This too is who he is a parent and not just a celebrity.

Sports Illustrated featured David on a cover in April, 1996, to accompany their article about his glowing attributes on and off the court.

Davids example on and off the basketball court has inspired so many people over the years that Sports Illustrated ran a feature story about him in 1996 with a glowing, soft-focus cover photo titled Saint David.

Hes quick to say hes not a saint. Yet David Robinson does have an unusual and impressive story one that neither begins nor ends with a sixth-grade graduation at The Carver Academy, working a high school concession stand, or going back to school to learn how to do a better job in a new career. Yet these are three recent and telling stops on one mans remarkable life journey