Marisa knew potential in Robinson
WAYNESBURG – Rudy Marisa knew. He knew long before Ray Robinson became the second player in Waynesburg College men’s basketball history to score 2,000 career points, a milestone he reached Saturday night against Westminster.
The legendary Yellow Jackets coach knew long before Robinson broke Darrin Walls’ single-game scoring record with 45 points against Penn State-Altoona as a sophomore.
He knew there was something that separated Robinson from other players back when the Uniontown Area High School graduate was wearing a Red Raider uniform under coach Dave Shuck.
“I remember seeing Ray play in high school,” Marisa recalled, “and I said to myself, ‘there’s something special about him.’ There are a lot of good players and talented players out there, but there aren’t many whom you get that feeling that they’re a special player and a special person.
“But I sensed that about Ray Robinson.”
Not even teammates could see what Marisa saw in Robinson, at least at first.
“I routinely ask our upperclassmen, when they start playing and practicing with the new players, if anyone stands out to them,” Marisa said. “That year they said no one. I said to them, ‘How about that Robinson kid?’ and they shrugged and said they didn’t see anything special about him. I told them I thought they were wrong.”
As it turned out, Robinson was even better than even Marisa could’ve imagined.
“I expected him to be good,” Marisa said, “but no one expects a player to score 2,000 points.”
Robinson, a 5-foot-11, 155-pound senior guard, stands second on Waynesburg’s all-time scoring list behind Walls’ amazing total of 2,442 set from 1985-89 when Marisa’s Yellow Jackets were an NAIA national power.
Robinson, the 23-year-old son of Kurt Robinson and Sherri Saunders, both of Uniontown, has led Waynesburg in scoring in each of his four seasons. Going into Saturday’s game, he was leading the President’s Athletic Conference in scoring (23.1 ppg) and foul shooting (87.7 percent), and his career scoring average was at 20.8.
Robinson is a dangerous double-threat on offense, a player who can leap and levitate, one who can swish a 3-pointer even with a hand in his face or drive to the basket through traffic and find a way to score while avoiding contact.
“He has probably more body control than anyone I’ve ever coached,” Marisa said. “In that regard, I liken him to Darrin Walls. He is excellent at finishing.”
There’s more to Robinson than simply scoring, however. He’s averaging 4.0 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.8 steals per game this season. He can be as harassing on defense as he is deadly on offense.
Toughness and excelling under pressure are other attributes Robinson has that can’t be measured in statistics. They were never more evident than on Wednesday night against Bethany College, when Robinson injured his ankle and left a game that the Yellow Jackets seemed to have well in hand with a 28-point lead at Rudy Marisa Fieldhouse.
When the Bison came storming back, Robinson had sat and seen enough. He limped over to Marisa with his thumping ankle and asked to be put back in the game.
In a scene reminiscent of a gimpy Kirk Gibson’s famous, game-winning home run off Dennis Eckersley in Game One of the 1988 World Series, Robinson re-entered the game and drained a clutch 3-pointer with 50 seconds left, moments after Bethany had cut the margin to a single point. Waynesburg went on to win, 97-90, with Robinson contributing 32 points despite missing much of the second half.
It was no big deal to Robinson, though.
“I knew I had to do something to help my team win,” Robinson said, “and I wasn’t doing it over on the bench with ice on my ankle.
“I just want to win. Whatever it takes to win, that’s what I want to do. I’m a sore loser. I have been my whole life.”
Marisa is impressed about many aspects of Robinson, whether it’s his performance during the game, his passion for the game, his work ethic in practice or simply his personality.
“I have him in that special category of guys who step on the court because they want to be there, they love playing the game,” Marisa said. “He practices well, and then he takes it up another level when the ball is tossed up for a game. I heard someone say once that there are many three o’clock players, but far fewer eight o’clock players. A lot of guys are talented, but don’t know how to compete, or are totally intimidated at game time.
“Ray is quite the opposite of that. He rarely has an off night on offense. Even if he starts slow, he doesn’t let it bother him. He’s textbook in that regard. If he starts the game by missing three or four shots, he can still score 30-plus, because he has that shooter’s mentality. Ray never shies from the hoop. He truly believes that next one is going in.
“He contributes in many ways in addition to scoring, whether it’s rebounds or steals or whatever. His technique on defense needed improved when he got here, and he worked on it, and now he’s a very good defensive player.”
Robinson takes his defense seriously, and always did.
“The one thing I liked about Ray,” said Shuck, who stepped down as Uniontown’s coach after last season, “is that he went from offense right into defensive mode without hesitation. He played hard on defense. He played hard all the time.
“Ray could handle the ball, he was an excellent shooter, and he was one of the toughest kids to stop in the open court that I ever coached at Uniontown.
“Another thing about Ray is I never once had to tell him to hustle. He was an excellent team player, a great kid, very coachable. He was the kind of kid every coach wants on his team. I knew he’d do a good job for someone in college, if they gave him a chance.
“In all the time I was at Uniontown, Ray was one of the best ballplayers I ever had.”
Robinson, who graduated from Uniontown in 1998, has left that same positive impression on Marisa.
“Ray picks me up, he lights me up when I see him walk in the doorway or arrive at practice,” Marisa said. “He makes me want to coach, because he’s always ready to practice and play. A lot of great athletes don’t necessarily have that quality. There are so many misguided athletes, temperamental athletes, athletes who need an attitude adjustment.
“Ray has never once said ‘no’ to me. He’s never even made a disgruntled expression to me. Everything about him has been 100 percent respectful the entire time he has been here.”
Robinson’s time at Waynesburg was put on hold for the 2000-01 season, however, as his financial situation prevented him attending college that year.
“I have to thank Mr. (Chris) Cluss and Mr. (Rich) Bierbower for helping me tremendously at that time,” Robinson said. “They did a lot to help me get back to school. Mr. Bierbower talked to Mr. Cluss about hiring me, and Mr. Cluss gave me a job.”
Robinson struggled without basketball that year.
“That was the worst,” Robinson said. “It made me realize that you can’t take anything for granted, because just as easy as you have it, it can be taken away.”
Robinson has learned a lot of other lessons in his time under Marisa.
“Coach Marisa helped me with a lot of things off the court as well as on the court,” Robinson said. “He teaches you about life and how to plan. He taught me that you can always pick up something positive, from anyone, in any situation, good or bad. He showed me that you should never think you know everything, because there’s always something else you can learn.”
Robinson, whose major is business management, finds it hard to put into words how much he enjoys the game of basketball.
“It’s a great feeling that I can’t explain. I’m just happy to play,” Robinson said. “I’m happy God gave me the chance to play and the chance to score 2,000 points. I’m happy to have had the opportunity to play.”
Robinson rang up 1,406 points while at Uniontown, and recalled his Red Raider days with a smile.
“You can’t beat high school basketball,” Robinson said. “It’s a lot of fun and you’ve got all your hoop dreams, looking forward to the next level. I remember I was just so happy to make Uniontown’s varsity team as a sophomore. I really didn’t think I would do what I’ve done in college.”
Robinson still has a connection to the Red Raiders in his cousin, junior Kelvin Brown, who is a key player off the bench for the second-seeded team in the WPIAL Class AAA playoffs. He also has a sister, 26-year-old Jeri Foster, and a brother, 25-year-old Howard Foster, living in Uniontown.
“My sister Jeri was always there to support me, ever since I started playing basketball,” Robinson said with a smile. “She’s always bragging about me to people.”
If there is one thing in life Robinson loves more than basketball, it’s his son, eight-month-old Raymond Mitchell Robinson, Jr.
“He’s the best thing that ever happened to me,” said Robinson of his son, whose mother is Janel Winfrey.
Robinson hasn’t even thought about life without being on a basketball team, as the Yellow Jackets wind down their season.
“I really don’t know what I’m going to do when this season is over,” Robinson said. “I’ve been playing basketball since I can remember. I love the game. It really hasn’t hit me, yet, that it’s almost over. I’m really going to miss it.”
Considering what a special player Ray Robinson is, it’s safe to say the game of basketball will miss him, too.