Oregon State's Robinson is an Obama fan

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Oregon State's new basketball coach has an Ivy League education, a former career as a successful investment banker and more than a passing interest in presidential politics. But it wasn't always so for Craig Robinson. Raised in a middle-class family on Chicago's South Side, he began life a long way from Princeton and Wall Street, in a place where skepticism in political empowerment was rampant. "Cynical," said Robinson, describing his youthful attitude about politics during the Pacific-10 Conference media day Thursday. "Growing up on the South Side, or out here in Watts or South Central, you think the process has passed you by." Somebody, of course, would make him see it differently -- the man who married his little sister, Michelle. "Barack changed my view when he was a community organizer," said Robinson, the brother-in-law of presidential hopeful Barack Obama, and a person that banker Robinson tried to steer away from politics. "I'd say, 'Dude, you've got to go make some money.' He'd say, 'Nah, that's not what I want to do.'"In the end, it wasn't what Robinson, 46, wanted to do, either. If his famous brother-in-law stayed on course, and is now days away from, perhaps, taking the White House, it was Robinson who chucked his career and came full circle to basketball. A good student in high school and a star athlete, he had offers to play at Purdue and Washington. His parents steered him to Princeton, where the non-athletic scholarship didn't cover all of the expenses but would shape his life -- and his sister's -- upward. Michelle followed him to the school, and eventually became a lawyer. He was a two-time Ivy League Player of the Year, leading Princeton twice to the NCAA Tournament. He was drafted by the Philadelphia 76ers but never made the NBA. After two years playing in England, he got his master's degree in business from the University of Chicago and joined the world of finance for 10 years. He also got involved working on Obama's fledgling political career at the state level in Illinois. "It was like a family affair," Robinson said. "You need cheap labor to run a campaign." Meanwhile, he was growing disenchanted with his own career. "It was great, very lucrative, making money you never thought possible," he said. "But it wasn't fulfilling. You don't help anyone but yourself. It wasn't the way we were raised." His passion was basketball. If he wore a suit during the day, he had begun scouting high schools informally for Princeton at night. In 1988, he took a prep coaching job in Chicago. After a year, Northwestern offered him an assistantship, at a massive pay cut. No problem. He quit the markets for the gym and spent six years with the Wildcats. Two years ago, he returned to the Ivy League, as head coach at Brown, going 30-28 at a perennial underdog program. After Oregon State went 0-18 in the Pac-10 last year, Robinson was offered that job. Corvallis may be a tough place to win, but he took it, partly because he has a broader view of his purpose. "I want to expose these kids to a lot of things," he said, mentioning politics, banking and the legal field. "Their lives shouldn't just be about basketball, even if they are NBA players. I want them to be good students, good citizens. Not just play video games and watch the NBA on TV." Ironically, Oregon State's first game is at Howard, a historically black college in Washington, D. C., on Nov. 14, 10 days after the election. He expects that to be a learning experience, too, when he takes his team to his brother-in-law's Senate office. Naturally, he's gotten lots of attention because of his filial ties. Robinson introduced his sister at the Democratic National Convention in the summer. He's also OK with being a curiosity with recruits. "If the notoriety helps me get into a living room I might not get into, that's helpful," he said. He takes some teasing, too. He described his brother-in-law, on the basketball court, as a "true lefty who always goes left." Cal's new coach, former Stanford icon Mike Montgomery, followed Robinson to the podium and said the Beavers coach had some things to learn about the media. "I can see the headline now," Montgomery said. "'Brother-in-law says Obama goes too far left.'" Someone asked Robinson if he had any John McCain supporters on his team. "I don't know," he said, perking up. "Could be. Some are pretty conservative. But I never lobby them. I just tell them to vote." Like a coach who discounts point spreads, Robinson doesn't want to hear that Obama is leading in the polls. "You never know what people will do when they get in the booth," he said. Nevertheless, if the Oregon State thing doesn't work out, he may have a fancy place to crash between jobs.(Contact Gregg Patton at gpatton@PE.com.)(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)