"I put on a smile because they were paying me to be out there, Washburn, a former three-time high school All-American, tells the Guardian. But I felt alone. Oakland was just about as far as you could get from Washburn's hometown of Hickory, North Carolina."
"My mind wasn't on basketball. A lot of times, I was on the bench watching the clock tick down because as soon as the fourth quarter was over, I could leave to go get high."
"No one paid attention, says Washburn, who, though being so highly touted, only played parts of two NBA seasons. Now, if a team sees a player fading, they'll step in. But back then, no one did. Cocaine, crack was new. They didn't know what to look for."
"All I had to do was stop, he says. But I felt more alive when I was doing crack. Still, there was a real sense of loneliness and depression he felt as a young player."
Chris Washburn, a highly touted prospect from NC State, was drafted third overall by the Golden State Warriors in 1986 but struggled with isolation and drug addiction that destroyed his promising career. Despite starting strong with impressive preseason performances and a roster featuring established players like Chris Mullin, Washburn's focus shifted to substance abuse rather than basketball. He played only parts of two NBA seasons, averaging 17.6 points and 6.7 rebounds as a sophomore in college. Washburn reflects on the cocaine era, noting that while drugs were prevalent throughout society, the NBA lacked awareness and intervention strategies. He acknowledges personal responsibility but emphasizes the loneliness and depression he experienced as a young player far from home, factors that contributed to his downfall.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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