THE
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 12, 2008
SPORTS
7B
ROBINSON (CONTINUED FROM 18)
sitter or at the YMCA while Theresa and Russell Sr. worked. Weekends included basketball, art classes, church and other family activities.
"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 St.'s middle-class Bronx neighborhoods, but surrounding areas weren't as safe. Russell St. can't remember his son ever getting into trouble, but trouble never lingered too far away.
Shortly after Robinson returned to New York as a seventh grader, he heard about the drug-related arrest of a ninth-grade friend.
"An undercover cop," Robinson said. "It was like straight out of a movie."
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
That was in 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."
Thud. Thud. Thud.
BASKETBALL WAS EVERYTHING
"The other kids would want to fight him in the tournaments on the street. You had to be tough."
The leather ball would bounce against the floor for hours in the Robinson household.
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.
notable New Yorkers
As Robinson got older, he went to the playgrounds more often, playing "all day, every day." The hoops Mecca that is New York gave Robinson the opportunity to play almost anywhere, anytime, and against the best competition.
Hed travel with his Amateur Athletic Union team, the Gauchos, from playground to playground, gym to gym, across the different boroughs on weekends in junior high and high school. They'd compete until they lost and move on, playing at least four games of serious basketball on those days.
Robinson is one of five KU players who have come out of New York City since 1946. Here are the other four:
Tim Banks 1983-1984
Terry Brown 1990-1991
Art Housey 1980-1981
Ron Johnston 1955-1957
"The other kids would want to fight him in the tournaments on the street," Theresa said. "You had to be tough."
THERESA ROBINSON Russell Robinson's mother
Robinson's game progressed further at Rice High School, a Christian Brothers school in Central Harlem, where he earned a full scholarship. He started on varsity as a freshman at Rice, something almost unheard of at a New York City high school. The city's only other freshman starter that year was Lincoln's Sebastian
Telfair, who later became the first point guard to enter the NBA Draft out of high school.
In Robinson's second season, his team got the better of Telfair's. Rice defeated Lincoln in the state semifinal
and then won state. His Gauchos AAU team also won two national titles.
Much of Robinson's success stemmed from the "edge" his father talked about. Few players brought as much toughness as Robinson. He even played in the post his first two years at Rice.
"I was 6-1 and played like I was 6-5," Robinson said. "You have to find a way to stand out and mine was being tougher than everybody else."
The banging took its toll on Robinson's body. He broke both ankles and both wrists and suffered chronic shin splints.
But pain never bothered Robinson. Russell Sr. found that out one summer day.
Russell Sr. ran from the bleachers to check on his son.
"Hey", Russell Sr. told him, "let's go to the doctor."
Robinson wouldn't even consider leaving. He played the rest of the game, and his team won. His father finally convinced him to get stitches afterwards.
The toughness attracted college recruiters. Robinson seemed destined for a Big East or ACC school until he met Norm Roberts, then a KU assistant coach. Roberts' New York ties made Robinson feel comfortable with the idea of going to Kansas.
More than five years later, Russell Sr. still calls it a "wow" moment.
"He played drinking his own blood," Russell Sr. said.
Roberts felt the same connection and liked Robinson more every time he saw him play. His last two years of high school, Robinson was a gunner who averaged 22 points a game, but Roberts also saw defense and unselfishness. One game, Roberts said Robinson got 15 steals.
"The bigger the game," Roberts said, "the better he played. He just got more focused."
Robinson signed with the Jayhawks in November of his senior year. After Roberts left to become coach at St. John's, Robinson honored his commitment. He was going to move far from his New York haven to a foreign place, Lawrence.
GROWING PAINS
Two weeks after Robinson got settled into his Jayhawker Towers apartment freshman year, he called his dad with an urgent message. Robinson told him to send a package of belongings from his room at home. Shoes. Clothes. Posters. Pictures. Basketball trophies. If something reminded Robinson of his hometown, he wanted it.
"I was basically trying to bring New York here," Robinson said.
Lawrence just wasn't the Bronx. The nearby shops and malls didn't fit Robinson's fashion tastes. He didn't like the restaurants and couldn't understand why so many people ate sushi. The laid-back pace didn't suit Robinson like the hustle and bustle of New York did.
Robinson rarely did back home.
Where he grew up,
basketball dominated nearly every part of life.
His teammates seemed like they were from another planet, too. They went out on weekends, something
"I remember feeling left out," Robinson said. "I was used to having everything at my fingertips when I wanted it.
Robinson stayed at his apartment and played video games most weekends and didn't communicate often with teammates. He didn't even like to call home because it made him miss New York even more. Theresa tried to encourage him by sending him poems. Nothing worked.
Homesickness worsened when Robinson's successful start to the season turned sour. A turnover problem moved Robinson from first guard off the bench to seldom-used reserve. He didn't play in nearly half the games the final two months of the year.
"It was hard to connect with him," senior guard Jeremy Case said. "He didn't really say a whole lot. Because he was homesick, he kind of kept to himself and talked on the phone a lot."
After the season, rumors swirled that Robinson might transfer. His minutes had dropped, and his good friend and roommate Alex Galindo had already left the team. Self had helped recruit him the year before, but Robinson said he didn't quite relate to Self early on like he did to Roberts.
ESPN.com Freshman of the Week in December 2004 for scoring four points in the last 30 seconds of a close victory against South Carolina
"He'll go down as one of my favorites to coach because I think Russell views his play on one thing: wins and losses."
achievements
Three-time selection to Big 12 All-Defensive team
— 2008 Second Team Academic All-Big 12
BILL SELF Kansas coach
Robinson could've given up and listened to friends who wanted him to transfer to a Big East school closer to home. He said he never even considered it.
KANSAN FILE PHOTO
"I chose KU for a reason," Robinson said. "Even though I was maybe upset at the time or disappointed, I still came here. I wanted to be here. I didn't want to be known as a quitter. I wanted to prove it to myself and my family that I could stay here."
That summer Robinson didn't return to New York once. He worked out every day and added 15 pounds of muscle. Lawrence became his home, too. Robinson started opening up to teammates and coaches, going out more and enjoying Lawrence food, even sushi.
Senior guard Russell Robinson's leadership has been crucial for the Jayhawks' success. Robinson had trouble adapting to his life in Lawrence, but he decided not to quit and to honor his commitment to Kansas instead.
The next season, Robinson became a leader for a starting lineup that included three freshmen. The past three years, he's started every game except two, developed a reputation as one of the best defensive guards in the country and helped
The skinny boy from the Bronx who missed home and couldn't get off the bench is now two months
coach because I think Russell views his play on one thing: wins and losses. ... We can all say that, but are we willing to sacrifice to give us the best chance? I think Russell really is one of those guys."
lead the team to three straight Big 12 regular season and two straight postseason titles.
away from graduating with a degree in communications, three victories away from another Big 12 tournament title and a solid NCAA tournament run away from a possible Final Four. What seemed like a nightmare three years ago is now a dream.
"The toughness that he learned from New York, that you have to make it and not give up," Theresa said, "that's how he persevered."
READY TO MOVE ON
people tell Robinson all the time that he should be a coach.
His dad, KU coaches. Friends. Rice High School coach Maurice Hicks. They all think he be a natural. Robinson's not so sure.
"Coaching makes you crazy if you ask me," he said.
Robinson will have to decide quickly what he wants to do after his Jayhawk career ends. More than likely, his future will include professional basketball of some kind. Robinson intends to play somewhere, even
if he has to go overseas. An NBA executive, who insisted on anonymity, said Robinson's NBA stock could vary depending on Kansas' postseason run. He liked Robinson's toughness and strength but wondered if he had enough talent to make it in the league.
After basketball, Robinson talked about being a sports agent or an entrepreneur. Theresa and Russell Sr. think their son might try teaching kids in the inner city.
"He really loves kids," Theresa said, "and he likes to set examples, so I know he could be a good role model. He could show them how to achieve and not give up."
Really, Robinson has just one preference for his future.
"Whatever I do, I want to find my way back to New York," Robinson said. "I kind of feel like there's no place like New York. It's going to be hard to stay away from that city."
Edited by Patrick De Oliveira
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