Robert Warlick was an American professional basketball

Basketball

Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

 player.

Warlick was born in Hickory, North Carolina

Hickory, North Carolina

Hickory is a city in Catawba County, North Carolina. Hickory has the 162nd largest urban area in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 341,851, making it the 4th largest metropolitan area in North Carolina. The city's population was 37,222...

 and attended Ridgeview High School. The 6'5" guard/forward played at Pueblo Junior College in Colorado, where he was named National Junior College Player of the Year, then transferred to Pepperdine University

Pepperdine University

Pepperdine University is an independent, private, medium-sized university affiliated with the Churches of Christ. The university's campus overlooking the Pacific Ocean in unincorporated Los Angeles County, California, United States, near Malibu, is the location for Seaver College, the School of...

 in 1961. At Pepperdine, he helped the school reach the NCAA Tournament after a season in which he averaged 16.4 points and 9.6 rebounds. Warlick then played professionally in the NBA and ABA

American Basketball Association

The American Basketball Association was a professional basketball league founded in 1967. The ABA ceased to exist with the ABA–NBA merger in 1976.-League history:...

 as a member of the Detroit Pistons

Detroit Pistons

The Detroit Pistons are a franchise of the National Basketball Association based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. The team's home arena is The Palace of Auburn Hills. It was originally founded in Fort Wayne, Indiana as the Fort Wayne Pistons as a member of the National Basketball League in 1941, where...

, San Francisco Warriors, Milwaukee Bucks

Milwaukee Bucks

The Milwaukee Bucks are a professional basketball team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. They are part of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was founded in 1968 as an expansion team, and currently plays at the Bradley Center....

, Phoenix Suns

Phoenix Suns

The Phoenix Suns are a professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association and the only team in their division not to be based in California. Their home arena since 1992 has been the US...

, and Los Angeles Stars. He averaged 7.9 points per game in his professional career, which was cut short by a knee injury.

Warlick later worked for Purex Industries, then established the Youth Sports Foundation in Long Beach, California

Long Beach, California

Long Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...

. He died of a heart attack in 2005.

Warlick's brother, Ernie Warlick

Ernie Warlick

Ernest "Ernie" "Big Hoss" Warlick is a former tight end from North Carolina Central University who played American collegiate and Professional Football as well as Canadian Professional Football...

, played football for the Buffalo Bills

Buffalo Bills

The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

.