10 Wrestlers Who Played Professional Sports

Standing nearly 7 feet tall and weighing almost 300 lbs., it's no surprise that Kevin Nash would excel as a basketball player. However, most fans do not know that he played for one of the most well-known programs in college sports: The Tennessee Volunteers.

Nash was a top basketball recruit out of high school and even team with the legendary Magic Johnson when they were both on the Midwestern All-Star team. Nash was in awe of Johnson's talent and was even quoted as saying, “If Magic Johnson was my point guard, I probably could have had a couple of scrub years in the NBA.”

Nash started at center for the Volunteers for three years and helped to lead the team to the Sweet 16. However, Nash's time on the team was marred by his inability to keep his mouth shut and his penchant for causing trouble in the locker room (sound familiar?). Nash routinely clashed with head coach Don DeVoe and found trouble wherever he went.

The final straw came after Nash was ejected against Kentucky for punching another player. DeVoe grabbed Nash's jersey to spin him around, so Nash slapped him upside the head. Nash soon transferred to Bowling Green but his basketball career wasn't over just yet.

Nash moved on to play professionally in Europe like many recent college graduates. He had stints with a number of teams, including the Giessen 46ers, but a knee injury finally forced his retirement from basketball.

After a brief time in the army, Nash was trained to wrestler by Jody Hamilton and the rest is history.