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Robert Archibald, a former basketball player at the University of Illinois, has passed away at the age of 39, per a tweet from the team.
We’ve lost a member of our #Illini family much too soon.
— Illinois Basketball (@IlliniMBB) January 24, 2020
RIP, Arch. pic.twitter.com/UuZUj5AFmc
There is no cause of death currently.
Archibald was born in Scotland in 1980 and played four seasons with the Illini from 1998-2002. He became the first Scottish player to play in the NBA after being selected with the No. 32 pick in the 2002 NBA Draft by the Memphis Grizzlies. Archibald played with the Grizzlies, Suns, Magic and Raptors during his short NBA career.
As a senior with the Illini, Archibald averaged 10.6 points per game and 5.5 rebounds while leading the Big Ten in field goal percentage.
Our thoughts are with the Archibald family at this time.
Here’s response from the Twitter community.
Arch.... damn man. #RIP #heartbroken
— Aaron Moorehead (@Amo8685) January 24, 2020
Man I’m sad right now. Tough day for my extended #Illini basketball family. Obviously he was a key part of one of the most beloved teams in Illinois hoops history, but more importantly he was also a HOF great dude. RIP Arch.
— Tyler Cottingham (@TylerCott) January 24, 2020
Just heard about Robert Archibald. I’m so sad. A hero of my youth who made me want to wear the orange and blue. That hero turned out to be so genuine and nice years later when we became a friends through our Illini Basketball family. RIP RA - condolences to your family.
— BuckWild (@BuckWildBill33) January 24, 2020
Started watching Illini Basketball when Arch was a key player and saw him at Joe’s on Weed a few years back and thought it was so cool. Gone way too soon. https://t.co/JFiyJy1hmZ
— Jason Patt (@Bulls_Jay) January 24, 2020
This is awful news. Arch was a terrific guy, gone way way way too young. https://t.co/n7t11s5YRs
— Will Leitch (@williamfleitch) January 24, 2020