Colorado University Athletics
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Woelk: Robinson Cherishes Life Lessons
February 22, 2019 | Women's Basketball, Neill Woelk
The CU senior applies lessons learned in basketball to life
BOULDER — When Colorado senior Alexis Robinson steps on the court Sunday afternoon for her final home game, she will no doubt be awash in memories.
She will remember, of course, big wins and big moments. A career-high 33 points against UCLA earlier this year, followed just a couple of days later by a game-clinching, clutch 3-pointer against USC. Wins over nationally ranked Kentucky and Miami as a junior. A WNIT victory over UNLV as a sophomore, aided by her 16 points.
But Robinson also knows she will be reflecting on how quickly four years can go by, how what seemed like a distant, nearly impossible-to-fathom moment as a freshman has suddenly arrived.
"I still have flashbacks to my freshman year like it was just yesterday," Robinson said earlier this week. "It definitely hasn't seemed like four years."
Robinson will no doubt cherish her moments on the court with the Buffs. Heading into this weekend's play, she has appeared in 115 games in CU black and gold, with 104 career starts. She will leave CU in eighth place on the school's all-time 3-pointer list (179 and counting), as well as being a member of the program's elite 1,000-point club (1,250 and counting).
But the memories that will stay with her long after the numbers have become blurry are the friendships she built and the life lessons she learned as a Buff.
"I've learned so much since I've been here and I've grown so much," she said. "I've been introduced to things I never thought about, things I'd never experienced before. To have the opportunity to be part of such a diverse group has been a great learning experience. I've learned a lot about people and how you treat people, and how important relationships are. Yes, I'm here to play basketball, but you also learn how to develop relationships with teammates, coaches, all those people around you — and you learn about yourself."
Those memories, Robinson said, are what will still burn brightly a decade from now.
"Lexi has poured a lot into this program," CU head coach JR Payne said. "This season has been difficult losing one of our two seniors (Kennedy Leonard missed 10 games with a foot injury), and she's done so much in the last couple of months to maintain the steadiness and composure of such a young team."
It is a role Robinson has embraced. Over the last couple of years, he has taken pride in trying to nurture and teach CU's younger players.
"She's a little bit of a 'mama bear' with our young players," Payne said with a smile. "She's someone her teammates have always respected because she's very honest and very loyal. She always has their back and her teammates appreciate that. She's someone who has really taken care of her teammates over the years. She's brought that to our locker room and brought that to the court in good times and in times when we've struggled."
That, Payne said, is something Robinson's teammates will always remember.
"The relationships the players build are far more important 20 years from now than the points or rebounds," Payne said. "They eventually forget those things, but they remember the way a teammate was there for them in a time of need or supported them. I think that's what teammates will love her for 20 years from now — for that."
Robinson chuckles at the "mama bear" description.
"I get that a lot," she said. "I guess I have taken on that role — and if there's something I leave for the future, I think that's it. I don't care about the points or the stats. I'm just hoping that I left a little easier path for my teammates in the future, and that I've taught the younger players how to deal with some of the tough times."
Robinson has endured her share of tough times. It was after her freshman year that CU decided to make a coaching change and bring Payne aboard. Less than a year later, Robinson tore her ACL — and barely six months later, she returned in time for the beginning of the season and started all 31 of CU's games.
"Dealing with adversity is something that being a student-athlete teaches you," Robinson said. "You learn that you might have made a mistake yesterday, but you're not going to get yesterday back. There's no point in dwelling on it. You learn and move on. When an injury occurs, you have no choice but to come back. I'm sure other college students go through that, but student-athletes go through a lot of adversity and it helps you grow."
With just four regular season games remaining, Robinson knows the clock she once thought would tick forever is now running down. This year has been her best season yet on the floor, averaging 12.8 points and 2.6 rebounds per game.
But whatever the next chapter in her life holds, she is confident that her time at Colorado has given her a foundation for the future.
"Everything I've experienced these four years all can apply to life," she said. "It's a blessing to be able to grow like that. The growth I've had as a student-athlete will be something I can take with me for the rest of my life. The people at the University of Colorado have been amazing. That last game … it's going to be a very hard day and a very good day."
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu