A question and answer session with Craig Robinson

Gazette-Times

Oregon State has turned to Craig Robinson to rebuild its beleaguered men’s basketball program, which has enjoyed just one winning season, and played in just one postseason game, since winning the Pacific-10 Conference championship in 1990.

Robinson, who turned 46 years of age on Monday, was hired away from Brown University in Providence, R.I. He led the Bears to a school-record 19 wins, second place in the Ivy League and a berth in the College Basketball Invitational tournament in 2008, his second year as the Bears’ coach.

He grew up in Chicago, was a star at Princeton from 1980-83, and then played in England for several years before returning to the United States to attend graduate school at the University of Chicago. After obtaining his MBA, he worked in investment banking for 10 years before leaving private business in 2000 to become an assistant coach at Northwestern.

He was hired at Brown in 2006 and the Bears were 30-28 under his guidance, the most wins by any coach in his first two years at the school. He was hired at OSU on April 7.

Robinson met with Gazette-Times reporter Brooks Hatch in his Gill Coliseum office last Wednesday morning for a wide-ranging question-and-answer interview, the text of which follows.

(Editor’s note: Robinson’s sister, Michelle, is married to U.S. Senator Barack Obama, a Democratic candidate for President. He addressed that connection at length at the April 7 news conference announcing his hire, and in subsequent interviews, so that subject was not referenced during this interview).

GT: How does someone from the South Side of Chicago, the home of the White Sox, become a Cubs fan?

ROBINSON: “That’s an easy one. You have to remember the years I was a kid. I was born in 1962, so in 1970 I was 8 years old, just getting into baseball. My bedtime was 8 o’clock at night. I’d come home from school, and if I did my homework fast enough I could watch the end of the Cubs game on TV, on channel 9.

“The Sox, on the other hand, 7:30 at night, channel 44. We had a small black-and-white TV, you could barely get the VHF channels, let alone the UHF channels. I was definitely (a child) of television. I could watch the Cubs on TV, and my grandfather was a Cubs fans. I went to three or four Cubs games before I ever went to a Sox game.”

GT: Cubs’ first baseman Ernie Banks was a tremendous role model; who was your athletic role model as a youth?

ROBINSON: “Ernie was my favorite player. They also had Billy Williams and Fergie Jenkins. Billy Williams lived around the corner from where we lived, so that all added up to my Cubs’ allegiance. My father was my real role model, but if you had to pick somebody out of the family it was Ernie Banks to begin with. Always in good spirits, cheerful, a good player.”

GT: What was your first paying job, and what did you learn the most from it?

ROBINSON: “I worked for Consolidated Concessions at Soldier Field (at 15 years of age). They provided the concessions for all the vendors and concession stands. I helped them restock the concession stands.

“I wasn’t on the front lines selling the products, but it was really important (to the vendors or concessionaires) that I do my job well. It was my first understanding of the back-office operations of a venture. That was the first time I realized the customer wasn’t always the end customer. Those vendors were my customers; it was a team effort to get that thing done, so that was a good economic lesson to learn.”

GT: Can you summarize the role of your parents in your life?

ROBINSON: “My parents instilled in us a degree of hard work, education, respect for others, and provided all of that in a very loving and nurturing environment. All of that leads to the finished product here — and it’s not even finished yet, because I’m still growing — those kind of core values got me to where I am right now.”

GT: How has that influenced raising your own family, in vastly different economic circumstances?

ROBINSON: “The values are the same. The implementation might be a little different because I’m doing a little bit better than my father did at my age, and we’re a little more well-known than my father ever was. But I’m trying to keep those same core values with my own children.

“I always talk about, when people see my team play, they say, ‘Craig is hard on his team.’ I say, ‘I’m harder on my own kids.’ ”

GT: When do you hope to have family (wife, Kelly; son, Avery, 16; daughter, Leslie, 12) relocated out here?

ROBINSON: “Once they get out of school, it would be nice to have a house picked out, financed and all that stuff, and Boom!, we move right away. But best laid plans ...

“They’ll get out here in June and if we can get it done before I have to do the big recruiting trips in July, that would be helpful. We have to unwind all that Providence stuff, and then start it back up here, but I don’t think that will be a problem.”

GT: Leaving Chicago to attend Princeton, mixing coaching and graduate school, leaving a lucrative business to enter coaching, taking head-coaching jobs at Brown and Oregon State ... what is it about you that attracts you to challenges?

ROBINSON: “It gets back to my parents. Somehow, they made my sister and I feel there was never a challenge that we couldn’t attack. That goes hand-in-hand with making sure you find something that you love to do. Both my parents worked all their lives and they always said, ‘You have to find something you love doing.’

“My life has been a search for that, but it’s also been, I don’t fear change. It’s been one of the best attributes I’ve had, not just in life but in coaching. If something doesn’t work, you can’t be afraid to change it to fit the situation. That’s why I’ve been successful as a coach.

“It’s a life mantra, a way of life.”

GT: You’ve never lived west of the Mississippi River. Any trepidation about living on the West Coast?

ROBINSON: “Certainly not here; all you have to do is come here one day and you realize how nice people are. I’m not afraid of the people - I haven’t lost any games, that’s true - and I’m not afraid of the locale, so what is there really to be afraid of?”

GT: OSU athletic director Bob De Carolis said he had some trouble getting prospective candidates to see the positives of this job. You addressed OSU’s storied basketball tradition at the news conference announcing your hiring. What have you discovered about the facilities, etc., since you’ve arrived?

ROBINSON: “Everyone I talked to painted this as a bleak picture, so my expectations were managed to the point of, ‘This is a straight, start-up environment.’ Then I get out here (and see) the facilities are older, but not horrible. The team didn’t win any league games, but they’re not incapable. My expectations were managed so low that since I’ve got here I’ve been pleasantly surprised.

“It does not rain every day. Fortunately I got to go to that baseball game (vs. Stanford on April 11) and it was 80 degrees. Summers here are unbelievable. It’s not as bleak as everyone painted it. I’m still very optimistic, very positive.

“And if you start winning, you can make it even nicer.”

GT: Some noted basketball alumni have been openly critical with the state of the program. How do you attempt to bring them back into the family?

ROBINSON: “I have met with coach Jimmy Anderson, I’ve talked to Charlie Sitton, reached out to them and tried to let them know that this is their program, too, that they should feel comfortable calling me and if they’d like to help out I’m willing to accept their help.

“They have been more than generous with their time. (The reconciliation has) already started. I haven’t talked to Steve Johnson yet, I can’t wait to meet him. Charlie and I have developed a phone relationship ... he’s been great. He’s going to end up being the connection to everyone else.”

GT: Is it harder or easier to be a student-athlete now than when you played at Princeton (1980-83)?

ROBINSON: “I think it’s harder. There was nowhere near the microscope that the guys are under now. You have the Internet, television, radio ... the last time I played here (1983 NCAA tournament), I think the Oklahoma State game was on tape-delay, very few people saw it live unless you were out here. These kids are under a huge amount of scrutiny.

“The expectations are much higher. If you don’t get to the NCAA tournament, you’re a failure. It didn’t used to be that way. You could have a good season, fight the hard fight, end up not going to the tournament, and still be considered as having a successful season. Nowadays, the pressure for these kids to make the tournament is high.”

GT: Why is 5:30 a.m. your favorite time of the day? Have you always been an early riser, or did that habit develop in the financial world?

ROBINSON: “I cut my teeth on getting up early. It turned into a great time of day, you can get a lot of things done and you have very few distractions. And also, it sets the tone of discipline.”

GT: “Did you find at Brown that the workload and early practice time, etc., served to separate who wants to play for you, and who is ready to make the commitment you demand, from those who aren’t?

ROBINSON: “It brings the guys together, they are all working for this common goal.”

GT: Doug Stewart has been hired as an assistant coach. How long before you have a full staff?

ROBINSON: “The important thing is to get the right people, so I’m not in any kind of hurry. Now there are a couple of us to cover the events we have to go to, I’m going to make sure we get the right people on board because that is as important as getting the right players.”

GT: What is the prototypical guard for your offense, or forward for your offense? Does it have a post-up, back to the basket component?

ROBINSON: “I don’t have a size discrimination as long as you can play. Defending is a big part of what we do so you have to defend, not just score. The biggest thing is the ability to see (the entire court). There is a level of basketball IQ that is necessary.

“We want to get easy baskets. To the extent that we can find the next Patrick Ewing or Steve Johnson, we’ll take them. This is an adaptable system.”

GT: You said your offense is “better” than the prototypical Princeton offense. Can you elaborate?

ROBINSON: “We know we can’t get the best players right away. And even if you get very good players, you can develop them into great players.

“By better I meant, better to run as a player, more fun to play. We’re not trying to run down the clock and get the shot at the end of the shot clock. We’re trying to manufacture wide-open opportunities.”

GT: Why have there been more successful coaches from the Princeton/Pete Carril tree than from some others?

ROBINSON: “The way we play is a belief in playing unselfish, execution-style basketball. That is something you can take with you and put in other places, irrespective of the talent you have. You can use it anywhere.

“You have guys who have gotten jobs all over the place ... Air Force, Richmond, Georgetown, and now Oregon State. (Georgetown) is the example of when you do this stuff and you’ve got the best players.”

GT: You’re said to be very organized and structured, but you’re also willing to adapt and try new things. Can you explain that apparent paradox?

ROBINSON: “It’s a process. Once you start from scratch, you have to be very regimented and get guys thinking all the same way. Once you have that, you can teach a group of really good players to play a lot of different ways.”

GT: Do you have a personal list of things you want to do in your life?

ROBINSON: “I don’t make a list for myself. I make a list for the things I want to accomplish, and hopefully accomplishing those things gets me to my overall goal.”

GT: Next year’s schedule hasn’t been completed yet. What’s your approach to nonconference scheduling?

ROBINSON: “Normally I would try and schedule really tough nonconference games. But we need to learn how to win. I’ll look at the schedule, and see if we can strategically map out the best way to get prepared for the conference.”

GT: What do you do in your free time?

ROBINSON: “When my family is here, the first thing we do is family stuff, whether I’m working the kids out myself, or going to watch them in their sports, or if we’re just taking a family vacation ... my hobby is my family and try to do that every chance I get.”

GT: What’s the last book you read? What kind of books do you enjoy?

ROBINSON: “I’m reading ‘$40-million slaves,’ by Bill Rhoden. I read it a while ago, but moving from Brown to the big-time I thought I’d read it again. I was reading two fiction books and one non-fiction book, but ever since I’ve gotten into this whole political thing I’ve been reading two non-fiction books for every fiction book. I’m trying to read some biographies and political-type books.”

GT: Do you watch television?

ROBINSON: “I watch games. But if I watch a regular show, the family will all sit down together and watch ‘The Office.’ ”

GT: Do you have a favorite movie?

ROBINSON: “I love ‘The Godfather.’ I love movies. I’m into old movies, I love Hitchcock. I’m a big Bette Davis fan, ‘Now, Voyager’ is my favorite. It’s a coming-of-age love story.”

GT: What’s the best basketball movie you’ve ever seen?

ROBINSON: “There aren’t very many good basketball movies. I liked ‘One-on-One.’ And ‘Hoosiers’ is one of my favorites.”

GT: What’s the best movie about the financial world?

ROBINSON: “ ‘Wall Street’ was good, but the one that really depicts the tough side of the business is ‘Boiler Room.’ It’s about cold-calling, which is how most guys start out. That’s a hard, hard job. ‘Boiler Room’ and ‘Glengarry Glen Ross’ are the two movies I’ll watch over and over again.’

GT: What’s in your car’s CD?

ROBINSON: “Earth, Wind and Fire.”

GT: What kind of music do you enjoy?

ROBINSON: “I like all kinds of music. Between our family we have country, rap, R&B, easy listening, even some classical. We have very diverse taste in music in our family.”

GT: Where have you visited that stands out to you?

ROBINSON: “Internationally, there’s nothing like Paris. Domestically, my favorite place is San Diego. Every time I’ve been there it’s sunny and beautiful. But I haven’t spent a lot of time in Corvallis yet.”

GT: Anyplace you’ve visited of historical significance that left a major impression on you?

ROBINSON: “Normandy. To see those bunkers with the big shots in them, the beach, the cemetery ... you think about all the stuff that took place on those beaches.”

GT: You’ve always lived in, or near, a major metropolitan area. What kind of adjustments do you foresee to smaller-town living?

ROBINSON: “We thought it would be a huge adjustment until we realized what we do with our time. Our kids are of the age when we’re either going to one of their games or activities, or we’re going to one of my games or one of my activities.

“Otherwise, we’re at home, and we’re all in the same room, Living in a small town, we’ll probably end up doing the same things. If we’re dying to go to a play, we can go to Ashland, or Portland, or wherever. I haven’t lived in a small town before, and I’m looking forward to it.”

GT: Are you ready to be a celebrity around town?

ROBINSON: “That would have been a change to me if I wasn’t related to my sister and my brother-in law. That has raised my profile anyway. It will just be a little more because of me, than because of them.

“I think I’ll be able to handle it. My two biggest critics are at home. My two kids keep me on the straight and narrow.”