During his playing days at Princeton in the 1980s, University of Denver men’s basketball coach Joe Scott couldn’t help but notice a bright and polite female student who palled around with several members of the team.
First lady Michelle Obama.
“She was friends with guys on the team, so I got to know her,” Scott recalled. “We were in school for two years together, when I was a freshman and sophomore and she was a junior and senior. Everybody liked her.”
Scott just missed playing with Michelle’s brother, Craig Robinson, who, as Oregon State’s head coach, will face Colorado tonight in Corvallis, Ore., as part of the Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series. Robinson graduated as one of Princeton’s all-time greats during the spring before Scott arrived.
Scott met Robinson during his recruiting trip, and Robinson would return to play against the team in alumni games. The Princeton family bond forever remains strong. Robinson and Scott were both team captains.
“When people ever ask me about Craig and Michelle, I say, they’re very sincere people,” Scott said. “They’re honest people, hardworking people. They’re truthful, honest people. I think that says it all about them.”
Michelle and Craig, who are 16 months apart in age, grew up in a one-bedroom apartment on Chicago’s South Side. They slept in the living room, with their mattresses divided by a hanging, makeshift sheet. Their father, Frasier Robinson, was a city pump operator. Their mother, Marian, worked as a secretary for Spiegel’s department store.
Although the living arrangement was not ideal and the neighborhood had its issues, Frasier and Marian made sure that education was a priority.
“They come from the background they come from, and they have stayed true to that,” Scott said. “I think that’s why they are successful. They live the same way their whole life. That says a lot about their character.”
As a 6-foot-6 forward, Craig Robinson graduated from Princeton in 1983 after leading the Tigers to the NCAA Tournament. In a first-round game, Robinson pulled down 16 rebounds in an upset of Big Eight Conference champion Oklahoma State. He ranks fourth on Princeton’s career scoring list with 1,441 points.
Before returning to the Front Range as DU’s coach in 2007, Scott coached at his alma mater for three seasons. During two of those years, Scott coached against Robinson, who was at Brown.
Colorado (5-2) will face a savvy X’s and O’s coach tonight, Scott said.
“Craig is smart, obviously, and a hard worker,” Scott said. “Coming out of Princeton and having been a great player there, you put all those things together with the type of person that he is. I know he’s going to do a good job at Oregon State. They’re going to play hard. They’re going to know how to win games.”
Scott says he knows several of the former college players who play recreational hoops with President Barack Obama. But Scott says he hasn’t yet been invited to a presidential function.
“I’m not at that level,” Scott said with a chuckle.
Tom Kensler: 303-954-1280 or tkensler@denverpost.com
