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2008 KANSAS BASKETBALL
Russell Robinson walked down the hallway at Allen Fieldhouse before practice in February, a KU cap snug on his head and Jayhawk warm-ups covering his body. He was draped in blue and red except for the pink and green can he sipped from in his right hand.
"Those cans are so big and only cost a dollar," Robinson said. "When you're in the park and you're thirsty, it doesn't cost a lot and gives you a lot of juice."
The drink? Arizona Iced Tea, a staple for New York City basketball players.
Robinson spent most of his childhood living in Harlem and the Bronx, where he fell in love with the hectic pace of city life, where his parents sheltered him from the sometimes-violent streets and where he learned to play basketball with an unquestioned toughness.
That's Russell Robinson. No matter how Kansas he is,he'll always have a part of New York City with him.
Living in New York gave Robinson an edge, a streak of willpower that prevented him from giving up after a rocky transition as a freshman and made him who he is today, a senior on the verge of graduating who led his team to an NCAA championship while at the same time preparing for his next phase in life, whether it takes him back to New York or to the other side of the world.
LIFE IN THE CITY
The rap and Latin music started playing
to Robinson's room in his mom's Bronx apartment. Outside that window, he could see the zooming cars, delis, bodegas, a McDonalds, other high-rise apartments and of course, people - tons of people, on top of each other.
"As crowded as it was," Robinson said, "I felt like I had my own space. It was a big borough. I knew a lot of people and at one point a lot of people knew me."
"I love the fact there's always something to do," he said. "Busy, busy, busy, busy. I like hustle and bustle. I like having to do this at this time. You have everything right there at your fingertips.
This is how Robinson liked it. He lived in Harlem until he was nine, before his dad, Russell Robinson Sr., moved first to Texas and then to North Carolina for sergeant duty in the military. Robinson, whose parents divorced when he was nine, tagged along with Russell Sr. because his parents thought the fresh air might clear his asthma. The open space relaxed Robinson, but he preferred the congestion.
By junior high, he was asthma-free and back in the city. Russell Sr. and Theresa Robinson, his mother, each moved into Bronx apartments, and Robinson split time between their homes.
He loved the action of New York. Robinson shopped for clothes at Sammy's and other stores along Fordham Road, balled at Rucker Park or any of the best playgrounds in the five boroughs, dined with his mom at Stefan's or spent a quiet day at the Museum of Natural History. Sometimes, Robinson even visited the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State building or other tourist attractions.
"I was almost overprotective," Theresa said. "It was just about being really involved with what he was doing and keeping him busy and organized."
The violence and drugs rarely infiltrated Theresa and Russell Sr.'s middle-class Bronx neighborhoods, but surrounding areas weren't as safe. Russell Sr. can't remember his son ever getting into trouble, but trouble never lingered too far away.
"An undercover cop," Robinson said. "It was like straight out of a movie."
Shortly after Robinson returned to New York as a seventh grader, he heard about the drug-related arrest of a ninth-grade friend.
His friend was caught up in a drug business that was tied to murders, and he landed a 21-year prison sentence.
"He was a good kid," Robinson said. "He just wanted to make money and be cool."
That was the exception for Robinson's friends. He surrounded himself with classmates who wanted to go to college and stay away from the negative influences of the city. They went to movies, hung out at people's houses and played basketball on the weekends, instead of spending time on the street or at dangerous clubs.
Robinson knew about the other side but stayed distracted from it.
"Living in a city with eight million people," Russell Sr. said, "you kind of get an edge. Living in that city gives you an edge to survive because you're going up against obstacles every day."
BASKETBALL WAS EVERYTHING
The leather ball would bounce against the floor for hours in the Robinson household.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Robinson started dribbling a little Spalding basketball before he even entered kindergarten. When he didn't carry around his basketball, he played with a football. He tried dribbling it, too.
Robinson dabbled in art to emulate his older brother, Quentin, but Theresa could tell that sports meant the world to him. She started taking Robinson to the park next to Harlem Hospital, where she worked as the assistant to the director, and would watch him out her window.
As Robinson got older, he went to the playgrounds more often, playing "all day,
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN