The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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my junior year, I came out and a lot of people didn't recognize who I was. I was a totally different player. All those things added up." The tough love reached beyond the court and the classroom, Robinson recalled with a smile. "I had just gotten a car, so I'm going around thinking I'm the man in my city," he said. "She kind of brought me back to Earth. She said: 'You haven't done anything.' She really set the tone." His grandmother set a tone of love and expectation. Robinson literally learned basketball while cradled in her lap. "My grandma tells me stories all the time about when I was little," he said. "We were the first people on our block to have a color television, so everybody would come to our windows and watch it. I would just sit on her lap and watch basketball games with her." She's still with him, via methods most grandmas couldn't fathom. She texted him just before he sat for an interview, in response to his tweet of anticipation for Michigan's regular season. He noted: "She texted me and said, 'Yes, you had a great preseason, but it is time for you to shine. You can't be acting scared.' She said, 'You looked a little scared last night. You could have shot the ball when you passed it.' She always has a lot of criticisms of my games." She does so through all sorts of modern technology, Robinson assured. "Oh yeah," he said. "She's on In U-M's first three contests this season, Robinson averaged 13.3 points and 7.7 rebounds per game. Photo by Per Kjeldsen