How the Durant Lady Lions saved coach Tony Robinson | Berry Tramel's ScissorTales

OKLAHOMA CITY Tony Robinson didnt want to coach anymore.

Hard enough to just want to live anymore.

Unspeakable tragedy can have that effect.

But then the Durant Lady Lions showed up at Robinsons house.

They were crushed, too.

Crushed and lost and confused.

They didnt know where else to go.

They needed a basketball coach.

And Monday morning, the Lady Lions walked into State Fair Arena, the Durant girls first trip to the Class 5A state tournament since 2009.

They were in awe of the massive old coliseum, in its 60th and final season hosting state.

In awe that their team not only had persevered, but had thrived.

In awe that life goes on.

On Christmas Eve, 36-year-old Durant coach Will Robinson and his family were headed to McKinney, Texas.

A heavy rainstorm caused the Robinsons sport utility vehicle to hydroplane.

It swept into a swirling drainage ditch in Sherman, Texas.

Robinsons oldest son, Carson, helped his little brother, Cade, to safety.

Robinsons wife, Kristen, made it to shore.

Will Robinson had his two daughters in his arms for a moment; he got Ellie to the banks, but 8-year-old Clara was swept away.

Robinson went after her.

Neither survived the rushing waters.

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The Tuesday ScissorTales check in on OU mens basketball perhaps making history, a wild start to Big 12 softball and a stirring comparison for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

But we start with a heartbreaking and heartaffirming story from high school basketball.

Tony Robinson is a Hall of Fame coach.

He led Norman High School to an historic state championship in 1990, going 28-0.

A year later, his alma mater, Southeastern State, hired Robinson, and he stayed 20 years, taking the Savage Storm to three national tournaments before retiring.

Robinson returned to high school part-time to coach the Colbert boys, but in 2022 joined his sons staff at Durant.

The Lady Lions didnt have much tradition, four state-tournament appearances ever, but Will Robinson had high hopes for the program.

He wanted his dad alongside for the ride.

Best 212 years of my coaching career, Tony Robinson said.

How he handled the kids and the parents.

I learned a lot.

Tony Robinson was a hard coach.

He pushed his players.

Demanded much from them.

They almost always responded.

Mellow never was used to describe Robinson.

But Will Robinson was different.

He had a little sugar with his salt.

Tony Robinson said he never saw his son angry.

He calmed my coaching, Robinson said.

Will Robinson built the program.

The Lady Lions won one game the year before his arrival but gradually improved.

They were 6-4 this season with a young team no senior starters when the Christmas tragedy struck.

And the Lady Lions lost not just one coach, but two.

I just knew I couldnt coach, Tony Robinson said.

But then the team mustered the courage to pay a visit.

I wouldnt want anyone else to coach," said Durant sophomore Ella Sorrels.

He knows everything about us.

He knows exactly the type of players we are and how to help us.

It was really hard going there.

But going there and seeing him, talking to him, it felt great to be with him.

When the girls asked him to keep coaching, Tony Robinson looked in their eyes.

He thought about what they were asking, and he thought about who his son would want to coach these girls.

It wasnt easy to walk on the court for the first practice.

But now Robinson cant imagine not coaching the Lady Lions.

They saved me, Robinson said.

Im really glad I did it.

When you walk on a gym floor, you think only about that.

Two hours of not thinking about anything else.

And it would carry over with me.

That evening, I would feel a lot better.

Its gotten a lot better.

Better is not good.

Youve still got a wife without a husband, a mother without one of her daughters.

Children without their father.

Parents without their son.

Grandparents without one of their granddaughters.

Day by day, Tony Robinson said.

Kristen Robinson is a strong woman from a strong family, Robinson said of his daughter-in-law, who remains in Durant.

Beth Robinson, Tonys wife, has good days and bad, he said, but has thrown herself into supporting her sons family and lifting up the team.

A career coachs wife usually is the organizer.

And they all had a basketball team to lean on.

Its been very difficult, emotional, said Durant sophomore Iyana Wilson.

Just sad.

But weve all come together.

It wasnt easy, walking onto the court for the first time.

But the girls energy and work ethic and love seemed to bring some life back to Tony Robinson.

He wasnt prepared for the first time he saw the Lady Lions new warmup shirts, adorned on the back with a huge photo of Will and Clara Robinson.

And after the first four Durant wins post-Christmas, Tony Robinson walked into the locker room to find the girls crying.

They really loved Will, Tony Robinson said.

But funny thing.

The Lady Lions got on a roll with the mellowed coach whose heart was broken.

They went 13-3 after New Years Day, including a 44-36 playoff victory over Pryor that put Durant in the state tournament.

Basketball allowed the Robinsons to heal a little.

Allowed the Lady Lions to heal a little.

Allowed the southeastern Oklahoma community to heal a little.

Durant embraced the team and the family.

And Sunday, when the Lady Lions boarded a bus to make the trip to OKC, the streets of town were lined with residents, parade-like, to give the team a proper sendoff.

If youre looking for a storybook ending, sorry.

Durant hung tough Monday with defending 5A state champion El Reno, which was bigger, more athletic and more-seasoned.

Durant trailed by just five points in the fourth quarter.

But El Renos Lilly Thomas sank a quick-trigger 3-pointer from the corner, igniting a game-ending 12-0 run.

El Reno won 42-25.

But Durant won, too.

Sometimes sports are like that.

Surreal, Sorrels said.

Just getting here ...

it was a crazy feeling.

Like, we made it.

We did this together.

It was amazing.

Amazing for Tony Robinson, too.

He played in State Fair Arena in 1970, for Northwest Classen in the Class 4A state championship game.

But Robinson never had coached in the Big House; his Norman teams made state finals at Oral Roberts Mabee Center and OKCs Myriad.

Robinson walked into the arena with his grandson.

Carson, a Durant sophomore, was wearing his dads Durant letter jacket.

Carson is thinking about keeping it for himself.

Add some new patches to the honors his dad earned two decades ago.

Robinson hopes to walk into the state-tournament venue again next season, with the Lady Lions.

The coach who didnt want to coach again has agreed to keep coaching Durant.

I didnt want somebody else coaching Wills team, Tony Robinson said.

I know that sounds selfish.

He worked so hard for this.

I dont want some coach coming in and taking credit for what he did.

And the Lady Lions are thrilled.

Having him instead of anyone else is just so great, Sorrels said.

He told us he didnt think he could make it.

And to see us in the gym and just being able to be with us, it has helped him survive.

And its honestly helped us survive, too.

Survive.

Thrive.

Sometimes it gets all mixed up when the unspeakable strikes.

Sometimes the very thing you dont think you can do is the very thing you have to have.

They saved me, Tony Robinson said of the Durant girls who came to his home.

Hopefully I helped them.

They certainly saved me.

The List: Worst conference records for March Madness OUs mens basketball team beat Texas 76-72 Saturday night to finish 6-12 in the Southeastern Conference, but the Sooners are hopeful of receiving an at-large berth in the NCAA Tournament.

OU is hoping to make history.

No NCAA at-large berth ever has been awarded to a team with such a decrepit conference record.

Only five teams with a league winning percentage under .400 have been invited.

Here are the five: 1.

1992 Iowa State: The Cyclones finished 5-9 in a loaded Big Eight.

They took a 20-12 overall record into the NCAAs, where as a 10-seed they beat 7-seed Charlotte before losing to 2-seed Kentucky.

2.

1998 Florida State: The Seminoles finished 6-10 in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

They took a 17-13 record into the NCAAs, where as a 12-seed they beat Texas Christian before losing to 13-seed Valparaiso.

Yep.

Bryce Drews miracle shot in Oklahoma City.

3.

2019 Oklahoma: The Sooners finished 7-11 in the Big 12.

They took a 19-13 record into the NCAAs, where as a 9-seed they beat 8-seed Ole Miss before losing to 1-seed Virginia.

3.

2022 Iowa State: The Cyclones finished 7-11 in the Big 12.

They took a 20-12 record into the NCAAs, where as an 11-seed they beat 6-seed Louisiana State and 3-seed Wisconsin before losing to 10-seed Miami.

3.

2023 West Virginia: The Mountaineers finished 7-11 in the Big 12.

They took a 19-14 record into the NCAAs, where as a 9-seed they lost to 8-seed Maryland in the first round.

Big 12 softball off to wild start OSUs doubleheader softball loss at Texas Tech was an ominous start to the Big 12 season.

But soon enough, the Cowgirls werent in bad shape in the conference they were picked to win.

OSU rebounded to beat Tech 10-1 Sunday to salvage one game of the series in Lubbock, then the Cowgirls were buoyed by the results of the rest of the Big 12s opening weekend.

Six series.

No sweeps.

Central Florida took two of three at Arizona.

Kansas took two of three at Baylor.

Iowa State took two of three at Houston.

Brigham Young took two of three at Arizona State.

That leaves a five-way tie for first place and a five-way tie for sixth place, with Utah yet to play.

In the Big 12 preseason poll, OSU was picked first, with Texas Tech second, Arizona third, Baylor fourth and BYU fifth.

Could Big 12 softball be as kooky as Big 12 football? Mailbag: SGAs greatness I like hearing from fans who have a perspective on greatness: Mike: We went to our first OKC game live this year.

You see so many things at a game live.

I hate to use this comparison for obvious reasons, but SGA gets his shots off exactly like Jordan did.

When he has a live dribble he rocker-steps toward the basket, and because he finishes enough times to the rim, the defender has to react by taking a backward step.

As soon as the defender does that, SGA pulls up and shoots his mid-range jumper with unreal effectiveness.

His ball looks just like Durants, so smooth and soft, where you are surprised when it doesnt go in.

Pretty much impossible to defend.

Berry: Comparing anyone to Michael Jordan is kooky.

But there are some stirring similarities.

Namely, stunning efficiency, especially with the mid-range.

Jordan didnt shoot many 3-point shots and didnt make a great percentage (career 32.7).

But he was uncanny on those 16-foot jumpers.

Just like SGA.

Jordan was much more explosive, not quite as lithe and cagey as Gilgeous-Alexander.

Jaylin Williams said Sunday that he believes SGA will be one of the all-time greats.

That might be right.

Gilgeous-Alexander isnt likely to enter Jordans class, but were talking about a player who for the third straight year is going to be first-team all-NBA and average more than 30 points a game, all by the age of 26.

Jordan did the same by the age of 25.

Portal causing basketball havoc, too Remember how the transfer portal calendar wreaks havoc on the college football coaching carousel? Same thing is starting to happen with college basketball.

The University of Miami has hired Duke assistant coach Jai Lucas to take over the Hurricanes program, and Lucas is leaving the top-ranked Blue Devils just as March Madness looms.

Miami coach Jim Larranaga retired abruptly in December, sending the Hurricanes on a coaching search.

With Miami finishing 3-17 in the Atlantic Coast Conference, the Hurricanes failed to qualify for the ACC Tournament.

The basketball portal opens March 24, when Duke likely still will be playing.

Lucas cant afford to keep coordinating the Blue Devil defense, when he needs to be accumulating talent for Miami.

The calendar for all these sports need an overhaul.

The professionalism of campus sports means professional policies should be in place.

No player movement or portal talk until the entire season concludes..

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