Rozier died on Friday in his hometown of Bradenton, Florida, where he starred in high school before playing collegiately at North Carolina and Louisville. The Golden State Warriors selected him in the first round, at #16 overall, of the 1994 NBA Draft.
Injuries and inconsistency limited Rozier’s NBA career to four seasons. The 2.11 metre, 111-kilogramme player averaged 4.8 points and 5.2 rebounds in 173 games (64 starts) with the Warriors, Toronto Raptors, and Minnesota Timberwolves from 1994 to 1998.
Kobie Rozier, Clifford’s brother, announced the death in a Facebook post.
“For the last few days my brother big Cliff been fighting for his life after having a heart attack,” Kobie Rozier wrote. “Today he lost his fight. Rest easy big bro and I’ll see you again one day.”
At Louisville, Rozier led the team to back-to-back appearances in the Sweet 16. He was named as a consensus first-team All-American in 1993-94 along with Jason Kidd (California), Grant Hill (Duke), Donyell Marshall (Connecticut) and Glenn Robinson (Purdue).
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