Robert Traylor

Robert DeShaun "Tractor" Traylor (February 1, 1977 – May 11, 2011) was an American professional basketball player.

High school and college

Traylor was a McDonald's All-American the same year as Kevin Garnett, Vince Carter and Paul Pierce. He attended the University of Michigan. Standing 6 feet 8 inches (2.03 m) and weighing in excess of 300 pounds, he joined a frontcourt for the Wolverines that included Maurice Taylor and Maceo Baston. That year he broke a backboard while dunking in a game against Ball State. Traylor helped lead the Wolverines to the 1997 National Invitation Tournament title, and was named the tournament's most valuable player. His junior year was his best, as he averaged 16.2 points and 10 rebounds while leading his team to the inaugural Big Ten Tournament championship and second round of the NCAA Tournament as a three seed.

Traylor was one of the former Michigan players whose ties to booster Ed Martin roiled the program. During his freshman year, Traylor broke his arm in a car accident while out with teammates and recruiting prospect Mateen Cleaves (who ended up going to rival Michigan State). That accident triggered a six-year investigation into the Wolverine program. Martin, who died in 2003 at 69, pled guilty in 2002 to conspiracy to launder money and told federal prosecutors he took gambling money, combined it with other funds and lent $616,000 to Traylor, Chris Webber and two other Wolverine players dating to when they were still in high school. Traylor received three years' probation.