How is Oregon State and the White House Alike? | The DawgHouse

They both have a Robinson as head of a major position (Ok, so the Robinson in the White House is just the First Lady). These two mentioned Robinsons are brother and sister: Michelle Robinson Obama and Oregon State Head Basketball Coach Craig Robinson. I decided to investigate and find a little about Mr. Robinson after hearing that tonight was his first game as Beavers' Head Coach.

     It seems that Robinson played basketball at Princeton University and was even drafted by the 76ers. He never played in the NBA, instead leaving basketball in 1992. He then went on to become a bond trader, a job he held through the 90's. Robinson then lost his caring in the financial world, and after a divorce went back to coaching. After being an assistant at Northwestern, he moved on to Brown University as Head Coach, where he had a 30-28 record. After several big name coaches turned down the Oregon State head coaching position, Robinson stepped in. He helped with his brother-in-law's campaign, often appearing at conventions and making speeches. Will this political connection help or hurt Craig Robinson? I say it will probably not really make a difference, but it might help a little.

     If anything, Robinson could bring in Obama and either try and pump up the team or just stay and the stands and get the fans fired up. There isn't much to cheer about with Oregon State basketball, so anything would help. Robinson has said that his political connections might help with recruiting, but I seriously doubt it. Here's a situation: A 5 star player is being wooed by two coaches: One talks about the national championships he's won and all the players he coached who are playing in the NBA, while the other talks about how great his brother-in-law is.

   Looks like Coach Robinson will have his work cut out for him at Oregon State: Tonight the Beavers lost 45-47 to Howard.

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November 14, 2008 11:31 PM ET

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A loss by only two for the Beavers is already an improvement :-) But it will be interesting to see how, if at all, the oval office connection affects the team.