Mini-Nate Wants to Shift from NBA to NFL

In a way, it'd be a return to his roots.

Nate Robinson began the elite portion of his career by being recruited as a defensive back for the Washington Huskies.

It's a position where being 5-8 isn't at all unusual, and he was touted as a top 'get' by college observers.

Dude did a damn fine job, too.

It was in his DNA code. His dad is Jacque Robinson, MVP of the 1982 Rose Bowl:

When Robinson turned in his pads at the University of Washington to take a shot at Divison I hoops, few were surprised because of his success at Seattle prep powerhouse Rainier Beach.

When parlayed success there to become Calvin Murphy 2.0 in the NBA, even fewer were surprised at what he accomplished.

Dude made serious coin, knocking around the league, but no one's been knocking back lately.

So what's an elite athlete to do?

What else? Go back to football.

Don't know about the baseball; Michael Jordan found out the hard way that sport has a much more involved skill set.

However, if his 31-year-old body hasn't lost more than a step -- and Israel's hoop power Hapoel Tel Aviv will be the first to find out -- even fewer will be surprised if he succeeds again.