"It's not just the athletic ability, it's more of the mentality" - Ronnie Fields names two guys who remind him of himself

Three years after the Minnesota Timberwolves drafted Kevin Garnett fifth overall, his former Farragut Academy teammate, Ronnie Fields , was also set to join the league.

An uber-athletic shooting guard who took Chicago by storm would've probably declared for a draft earlier if he hadn't broken his neck in a car accident in 1996. He underwent surgery and then followed his dream of playing in the NBA.

Fields went undrafted in 1998 and ended up playing with multiple teams overseas. Despite his struggles to become an NBA player, Ronnie still has a sterling reputation and even sees himself in a few guys in the league today.

"The mentality, my favorite players are Westbrook and Mitchell. For me, it's not just the athletic ability, it's more of the mentality," Fields said on All The Smoke. "I think with Russ with the Lakers, I just didn't like how they did them. Now, you can watch Russ on the court, and I watched him last playoffs; he did all great things. You watched him mature."

Fields was a big-time player

Unfortunately, Fields wasn't able to maximize his potential as a basketball player. However, most people in the Chicago area would agree that Ronnie was a big-time talent in high school.

That said, Ronnie himself is convinced he would have been an NBA star if that accident had not happened to him.

"That was the Jordan era, the big guard era. I'm 6'3" now, almost 6'4", so, at the time, they were saying that I would have to play the point. But you notice that era changed," Fields said to SLAM Magazine in 2010. "Most of your scorers that come off the bench, your Jason Terry's, Jamal Crawford's, a lot of guys aren't actual point guards. A lot has changed now. You can put two guards out 6'3", 6'4" together."

Uber-athletic guards

In high school, Ronnie averaged 34 points, 12 rebounds, four assists, four steals, and four blocks as a guard. Fields was ready to take that next step, playing against the best of the best, but unfortunately, a car accident got in the way.

Although he never made it to the NBA, Russell Westbrook and Donovan Mitchell are good examples of how Ronnie would play in the pros. They are not the tallest players, but they make up for it with their relentless attitude and athleticism.

Ronnie showcased similar athleticism during his high school days. He had the tools to become one of the best guards of his era. Unfortunately, it wasn't meant to be.

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