Career
Nicknamed "Velle" or "Romie", he had played in Madison High School in Milwaukee and then played college basketball with the Louisiana Technical University"s Bulldogs where he averaged 13.7 points and 5.1 rebounds a game in 2002-2003. He started his professional basketball career in the Turkish Basketball League"s Büyük Kolej for 2 years, before moving on to Greece and France and finally landing in Germany playing for Paderborn Baskets club in the German Basketball Bundesliga, helping the club reach the playoffs. He was shot and seriously wounded while in his driver"s seat in a Milwaukee gas station on August 12, 2009, dying of his wounds just one day later.
He had a 5-year-old stepson, a 4-year-old son, and a 2-year-old daughter with his girlfriend.