Steve Robinson wore jersey No. 42 when he played basketball for William Fleming High School.
Now the number 42 is significant to him for another reason.
After earning a living as a college basketball coach for 42 years, Robinson has decided to retire.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been quite the journey,鈥 Robinson, 67, said Friday in a phone interview. 鈥淚鈥檓 glad I chose the coaching career 鈥 or maybe coaching chose me.鈥
The Ferrum Junior College and Radford University graduate has been both an assistant coach and a head coach in the Division I ranks.
His final two stops were at North Carolina and Arizona. He spent 18 seasons on Roy Williams鈥 staff at UNC, helping the Tar Heels win three NCAA championships. He joined Tommy Lloyd鈥檚 Arizona staff after Williams retired.
People are also reading…
鈥淚f you had told me growing up on Salem Avenue that one day I would have a chance to win 鈥 three national championships and get to eight Final Fours, 鈥 those are things that you dream about when you鈥檙e growing up, or at least I did. And then to actually achieve those goals, it鈥檚 something I can hang my hat on and feel good about,鈥 said Robinson, who is in the Fleming, Ferrum and Radford halls of fame.
William Fleming, Ferrum Junior College and Radford graduate Steve Robinson (center) has retired after a lengthy career as a college basketball coach, including stints at North Carolina and Arizona.
鈥淚鈥檝e cut down the nets on the Monday night (of the NCAA title game). I鈥檝e experienced victory and I鈥檝e experienced defeat. I鈥檝e experienced the good times and I experienced the bad times. And I was able to survive this career for over 40 years.鈥
Robinson announced his retirement in late April in an Arizona news release. This was his fourth season as an Arizona assistant.
鈥淚t gets a little harder to be on your feet all day in practice. And (returning from a road game) at 3 o鈥檆lock in the morning 鈥 and (being) in the office the next day bright and early, it just kind of wears on you,鈥 he said in the interview.
Coaching in the era of the transfer portal and NIL payments to players no longer appealed to him.
鈥(With) how things are materializing with college basketball now, it鈥檚 certainly tailored for the young guys to get out and fight the new battles that college basketball has presented to everybody,鈥 he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 become who can outbid the other person. I grew up in an era where you got kids because you outworked somebody and building 鈥 relationships mattered. You can (still) build a relationship, but somebody else鈥檚 checkbook might be bigger.
鈥淥r you have kids in your program and 鈥 they play quality minutes and then all of a sudden, the season鈥檚 over with and you鈥檙e spending as much time trying to manage your roster (as) anything. I guess I鈥檓 old school in that regard.鈥
He will miss his relationships with the players.
鈥淗opefully I was able to impact these kids,鈥 he said. 鈥淢y big thing was being a part of their journey for life; it鈥檚 not just during that time period you coached them.
鈥淭o (have) somebody come back and say thank you, 鈥 those kind of things are rewarding.鈥
Robinson became intrigued with coaching when he was in junior high school. He would organize the students into teams before his gym class even started so the game could start as soon as the class began.
鈥淚 really thought 鈥 I鈥檇 be a high school coach, I鈥檇 teach P.E. I thought that was pretty neat because I didn鈥檛 have to wear a coat and tie,鈥 Robinson said. 鈥(But) I got into college coaching, and I was going into the office in a coat and tie.鈥
Then-North Carolina assistant coach Steve Robinson cuts off a piece of the net after UNC beat Gonzaga in the 2017 NCAA championship game. Robinson helped UNC win three NCAA titles.
When he played for William Fleming, he would look at the game programs that then-Fleming coach Charlie VanLear and then-Fleming assistant Troy Wells brought back from their trips to the Final Four and would dream of being in the Final Four himself.
After graduating from what was then Ferrum Junior College in 1978, Robinson headed off to Radford as one of the first scholarship men鈥檚 basketball players in Highlanders history. He played for Joe Davis at both Ferrum and Radford.
Playing in college piqued Robinson鈥檚 interest in becoming a college coach.
He played for the Highlanders as a junior and senior, then became a student assistant to Davis for Radford鈥檚 1980-81 season while concluding work on his bachelor鈥檚 degree.
He left his job as an elementary school teacher in Charlottesville to return to Radford in 1983 as a member of Davis鈥 staff. He spent the next three seasons on the Radford staff and also earned a master鈥檚 degree from Radford before joining the Cornell staff.
After two years at Cornell, Robinson spent 26 seasons at Williams鈥 side. He was with Williams at Kansas from 1988-95 before leaving to become the head coach at Tulsa. After getting fired as Florida State鈥檚 head coach, Robinson rejoined Williams at Kansas for the 2002-03 season. He then left with Williams for North Carolina in 2003.
鈥淗e gave me a lot of freedom,鈥 Robinson said of Williams. 鈥淚t was a trust factor that he had in me and my abilities. 鈥 My responsibilities grew each and every year.鈥
Robinson helped the Tar Heels win the 2005 NCAA Tournament. The team included Sean May, Marvin Williams and Raymond Felton.
鈥淭hey really bought into what we were trying to teach,鈥 Robinson said. 鈥淎 fun-loving group.鈥
After losing in the 2008 Final Four, UNC won another NCAA title in 2009. That team included Tyler Hansbrough, Ty Lawson and Wayne Ellington.
William Fleming graduate Steve Robinson (right) has retired as a college basketball coach. This was his fourth year as an Arizona assistant.
鈥淲e could score as good as anybody in college basketball with that team,鈥 Robinson said.
After falling to Villanova on a Kris Jenkins buzzer-beater in the 2016 NCAA title game, UNC won another NCAA crown in 2017. That squad included Justin Jackson, Joel Berry and Kennedy Meeks.
鈥淲e might be not playing well and you could always snap back and say, 鈥楧o you guys remember you lost the national championship game last year? And you guys said you wanted to go back and have another shot at it,鈥欌 Robinson said. 鈥淚nstantly, you could change the makeup mentally, physically of those guys right there.鈥
Williams announced his retirement after the 2020-21 season. UNC promoted Hubert Davis to succeed Williams. Davis did not retain Robinson.
Robinson was not ready for retirement at that point, so he headed west to become an Arizona assistant.
鈥淚 wanted (retiring) to be on my terms and not necessarily on other people鈥檚 terms,鈥 he said.
In 2019, Robinson was an inaugural member of a hall of fame for assistant college basketball coaches.
鈥淎s an assistant coach, your job is to teach the system that the head coach wants to run,鈥 he said. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e a part of the program, but it鈥檚 not your program. I鈥檝e always taken that to mind.鈥
Robinson was a head coach himself for seven years. He steered Tulsa to NCAA appearances in both his years at that school and guided Florida State to one NCAA berth in his five years with the Seminoles.
Then-North Carolina assistant coach Steve Robinson (second from left) watches the 2017 NCAA championship game alongside then-head coach Roy Williams (center). Robinson spent 26 years by Williams鈥 side at Kansas and UNC.
鈥淚 enjoyed the challenge of 鈥 running my own program, calling my own timeouts, setting up my own practices,鈥 he said. 鈥淚 just couldn鈥檛 quite get over the hump (at FSU) with my philosophies of how I wanted things done.
鈥淚t certainly made me a better assistant coach after having had seven years as head coach.鈥
Robinson and his wife will be moving from Arizona to Elon, North Carolina, because his children and grandchildren live in North Carolina. He is looking forward to spending more time with his family.
鈥淭ry to make up for lost time,鈥 he said.
