Crystal LaTresa Robinson (born January 22, 1974) is an American basketball coach and former player. She grew up in

Atoka, Oklahoma Atoka is a city in and the county seat of Atoka County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 3,195 as of the 2020 Census, a 2.4% increase over the 3,107 reported at the 2010 census, which was itself an increase of 4.0 percent from th ...

, and first garnered national recognition during her collegiate career at

Southeastern Oklahoma State University Southeastern Oklahoma State University (Southeastern or SE) is a public university in Durant, Oklahoma. It had a total enrollment of 5,376 in 2022. History On March 6, 1909, the Second Oklahoma State Legislature approved an act designating Du ...

. Professionally, Robinson played for the

Colorado Xplosion The Colorado Xplosion was the first women's professional basketball franchise in Colorado, an American Basketball League (ABL) team based in Denver. Playing from 1996 through 1998, the team produced many memorable moments for Colorado sports fa ...

of the ABL before playing in the WNBA for the

New York Liberty The New York Liberty are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Brooklyn. The Liberty compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Eastern Confer ...

and

Washington Mystics The Washington Mystics are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Mystics compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Eastern Conference (WNBA), Eastern Conference. The team was ...

. After retiring from playing basketball, Robinson first became an assistant coach for the Washington Mystics in 2007, then became head coach at McAlester High School in 2009, leading the Lady Buffaloes to a 5A state championship, and at the junior college level at

Murray State College Murray State College is a public community college in southcentral Oklahoma with the main campus located in Tishomingo, Oklahoma. It is named in honor of former Oklahoma Governor William H. "Alfalfa Bill" Murray. Murray State College also mai ...

in Oklahoma in 2010. Robinson moved to the Division I ranks in 2013, as an assistant coach at Utah State in 2013–14 and

TCU TCU may stand for: Education * Tanzania Commission for Universities, regulatory body for Universities in Tanzania * Texas Christian University, a private university in Fort Worth, Texas ** TCU Horned Frogs, the athletic programs of the school * Tok ...

in 2014–15, before returning to her alma mater to coach girls' basketball at Atoka High School.

High school

Robinson was raised in

and attended Atoka High School, where she was named a High School All-American by the WBCA. She participated in the inaugural WBCA High School All-America Game in 1992, scoring a game-high twenty-five points, and earning MVP honors.

College

Considered by most to be the best player to ever come out of Oklahoma, Robinson signed with NCAA power Louisiana Tech out of Atoka High School, but later decided she wanted to be closer to home and transferred to

in Durant, OK before playing a single game in Louisiana. Robinson went on to earn her bachelor's degree in health, physical education and recreation. She averaged 26.9 ppg, 10.4 rpg and six apg during her collegiate career and is the all-time Southeastern leader in points, rebounds, assists, and steals. She scored a career-high 60 points against rival East Central in her senior year, which remains the most point scored in a game in the history of Oklahoma women's basketball. Robinson was a three-time NAIA first-team All-American, who led the nation in scoring in 1994 and '95 and was named the NAIA Women's Basketball National Player of the Year in 1996, after leading Southeastern to NAIA runner-up finishes in 1995 and '96, dropping a pair of one-point decisions in back-to-back championship games to Southern Nazarene. Despite losing in the NAIA championship game in 1995 and '96, both years Robinson was named the NAIA Women's Basketball National Tournament MVP and still holds the NAIA career national tournament record for points score with 177. C-Rob rewrote the Southeastern record book in her three seasons in a Savages uniform from 1993 to 1996, ranking in the top ten in ''all but one'' statistical category (Field Goal Percentage in a season). Robinson is SE's all-time career leader in points (3,023), rebounds (1,165), assists (547), and steals (376), while ranking second in career blocks (162). Robinson is also the school's all-time leader for points in a season (1,032), scoring average in a season (30.4), field goals made (377) in a season, three-point field goals made in a season (116), rebounds (420) in a season, assists in a season (191), steals in a season (130). Robinson also hit one of the more amazing shots ever, in the 1995 national semi-final game against Lipscomb (Tenn.), banking in a game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer while parallel to the floor and draped by three defenders. Crystal Robinson has been inducted into the Southeastern Athletic Hall of Fame, NAIA Hall of Fame (joining Kelly Litsch of

Southwestern Oklahoma State University Southwestern Oklahoma State University (SWOSU) is a public university in Weatherford and Sayre, Oklahoma. It is one of six Regional University System of Oklahoma members. History SWOSU was first established through an act of the Oklahoma Te ...

and Jo Metzger of

Western Washington University Western Washington University (WWU or Western) is a public university in Bellingham, Washington, United States. The northernmost university in the contiguous United States, WWU was founded in 1893 as the state-funded New Whatcom Normal School, s ...

and becoming just the third women's basketball player inducted into the NAIA Hall of Fame), and the Jim Thorpe Oklahoma Hall of Fame. She was also chosen to ''

The Daily Oklahoman ''The Oklahoman'' is the largest daily newspaper in Oklahoma, United States, and is the only regional daily that covers the Oklahoma City metropolitan area, Greater Oklahoma City area. The Alliance for Audited Media (formerly Audit Bureau Circul ...

'' All-Century First Team for both Oklahoma high schools and Oklahoma universities.

Professional career

Robinson began her professional career in 1996–97, playing for the

in the American Basketball League. She was named the ABL Rookie of the Year, which she says is the award in her playing career she is most proud, and an ABL All-Star in 1997. After the ABL abruptly folded in December 1998, Robinson was selected 6th overall in the 1999

WNBA draft The WNBA draft is an annual draft (sports), draft held by the Women's National Basketball Association, WNBA through which WNBA teams can select new players from a talent pool of college and List of WNBA players, professional women's basketball p ...

by the

. She played seven years for the franchise and - alongside WNBA great

Teresa Weatherspoon Teresa Gaye Weatherspoon (born December 8, 1965) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach for Vinyl BC of the Unrivaled basketball league. She was previously the head coach of the Chicago Sky of the Wo ...

and all-stars

Tari Phillips Tari L. Phillips (born March 6, 1969) is an American former professional women's basketball player. Her cousin Tayyiba Haneef-Park played for USA Volleyball. Born in Orlando, Florida, Phillips attended the University of Georgia during her first ...

Sue Wicks Susan Joy Wicks (born November 26, 1966) is a former basketball player in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She played with the New York Liberty from 1997 to 2002. Wicks was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame ...

and

Becky Hammon Rebecca Lynn Hammon (Russian: Ребекка Линн Хэммон; born March 11, 1977) is a Russian-American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach of the Las Vegas Aces of the Women's National Basketball Assoc ...

- and helped the Liberty to four-straight WNBA Playoff berths and three WNBA Finals. Robinson averaged 10.2 ppg, 2.7 rpg and 1.1 spg over 30.1 mpg during her eight-year WNBA career. In her first WNBA season, C-Rob led the WNBA in three-pointers made with 76 while her .437 shooting percentage from beyond the arc ranked her fourth in the league. She led the team in scoring eight times and recorded three 20+ scoring games, leading the Liberty past the

Charlotte Sting The Charlotte Sting were a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) team based in Charlotte, North Carolina, one of the league's eight original teams. The team disbanded on January 3, 2007. The Sting was originally the sister organization ...

in the Eastern Conference Finals (2–1) before falling to the

Houston Comets The Houston Comets were a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) team based in Houston. Formed in 1997, the team was one of the original eight WNBA teams and won the first four championships of the league's existence. They are one of two ...

(2–1) in the

1999 WNBA Finals The 1999 WNBA Championship was the championship series of the 1999 WNBA season, and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. The Houston Comets, top-seeded champions of the Western Conference, defeated the New York Liberty, top-seeded champio ...

. In 2000, Robinson was top scoring threat both as a starter and off the bench as she helped lead the Liberty to the top seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. She hit double figures in scoring 13 times, including five consecutive games from June 23 to July 1. That year the Liberty swept the fourth-seeded Washington Mystics in the first round of the playoffs and defeated the second-seeded Cleveland Rockers (2–1) in the Conference Finals before falling in the

2000 WNBA Finals The 2000 WNBA Championship was the championship Playoff format#Best-of-three playoff, series of the 2000 WNBA season, and the conclusion of WNBA Playoffs, the season's playoffs. The 2000 Houston Comets season, Houston Comets, second-seeded champi ...

to the Houston Comets. In 2001, Robinson turned in another solid campaign starting all 32 games and authored 19 double-figure scoring games. She averaged 11.5 ppg in the playoffs that season (16th on WNBA Playoff leader board), leading the team to an opening round sweep of Miami before being eliminated by the Charlotte Rockers in the Eastern Conference Finals (2–1). In 2002, Robinson started all 32 games and helped the Liberty back to the championship series for the third time in four seasons where they fell to the

Los Angeles Sparks The Los Angeles Sparks are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Sparks compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Western Conference. The team plays its home games at Crypto.co ...

in the

2002 WNBA Finals The 2002 WNBA Finals was the championship series of the 2002 WNBA season and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. The Los Angeles Sparks finished the regular season with a record and as the Western Conference's number-one seed. They matche ...

. She recorded her 1,000th career point on June 2 vs. Miami, scored in double-figures 21 times, led team in scoring nine times, and hit at least one shot from downtown in 27 of 32 games. In 2003, Robinson had a career-high in points per game (12.0) while starting 33 of the Liberty's 34 games. She recorded 1,500th career point on July 15 vs. Washington and led team in scoring 10 times, ranking second on team in steals (40), and fourth in assists (63). C-Rob scored in double figures 21 times, including four consecutive 10-or-more point games and four 20+ point games. But the Liberty (16–18) finished sixth in the east and failed to make the playoffs for only the second time in franchise history that year. In 2004, Robinson started all but one of the Liberty's 28 games and finished with 12.1 points and 3.1 rebounds per game on .437 shooting from the floor and .930 from the free throw line. She recorded 2,000th career point vs. Connecticut on September 10, as the Liberty finished the regular season (18–16) in a tie for first place in the conference standings with the

Connecticut Sun The Connecticut Sun are an American professional basketball team based in Uncasville, Connecticut. The Sun compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Eastern Conference (WNBA), Eastern Conference. The team i ...

who they would eventually fall to in the Eastern Conference Finals. Robinson's shooting percentage (30.3%) and scoring (7.3 ppg) dropped to career lows in her final season with the Liberty in 2005, as Robinson battled some nagging injuries. She recorded 500th career rebound on May 26, versus Indiana and the Liberty earned the three-seed in the

2005 WNBA season The 2005 WNBA season was the Women's National Basketball Association's ninth season. The season ended with the Sacramento Monarchs winning their first WNBA Championship. Regular season Standings Eastern Conference Western Conference Playoffs ...

but were swept by Indiana Fever in the opening round of the playoffs. In the 2005–06 Euroleague season, Robinson played for Spartak Moscow of the

Russian Women's Basketball Premier League The Russian Women's Basketball Premier League (officially named ''FONBET Premier League'' for sponsoring reasons) is the premier women's basketball competition in Russia. The category consists of 11 teams playing a total of 20 rounds. At the end ...

. Averaging 9.5 points and 3.2 rebounds, Robinson helped Spartak Moscow earn the FIBA EuroCup title. On February 8, 2006, Robinson signed with the

and played her final two seasons of professional basketball in our nation's capital. She appeared in 29 games in 2006 and 2007 before her retirement. After appearing in just two games during the 2007 season, she became an assistant coach for the Washington Mystics.

Coaching career

Robinson announced her retirement on June 1, 2007, to become an assistant coach with the

. After coaching with the

, she went back to Oklahoma to coach high school girls basketball for the McAlester High School Lady Buffaloes for a single season, where she guided the Lady Buffs to a 5A Oklahoma State title in her only season as head coach. On December 23, 2009, she became the women's basketball head coach at

, a junior college in

Tishomingo, Oklahoma Tishomingo is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Johnston County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 3,101 as of the 2020 census, an increase of 2.2% over the population of 3,034 reported at the 2010 census. It was the fir ...

, effective in the 2010–11 season. The Murray State Lady Aggies had an overall record of 79–37 under her watch. In May 2013, Robinson joined Jerry Finkbeiner's staff at Utah State where she stayed for one season. The following season, Robinson was an assistant at

under

Raegan Pebley Jennifer Raegan Pebley (née Scott; born August 12, 1975) is an American basketball executive and former coach and player. She is currently the general manager of the Los Angeles Sparks. Pebley has been the head women's coach at three NCAA Divis ...

. In January 2018, she was hired as an assistant coach for the Seattle Storm, and went on to win the 2018 WNBA championship with the team. In February 2019, she was hired as an assistant coach with the

Dallas Wings The Dallas Wings are an American professional basketball team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Wings compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Western Conference. The team is owned by a group ...

under coach

Brian Agler Brian Agler (born August 2, 1958) is an American college athletics administrator and former women's basketball coach. He is the athletic director at Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio, a position he has held since 2021. Agler served as ...

. In March 2022, she was hired as an assistant coach for the

Phoenix Mercury The Phoenix Mercury are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Mercury compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Western Conference. One of eight original franchises, it wa ...

under coach Vanessa Nygaard. In February 2024, she was hired as an assistant coach for the

Chicago Sky The Chicago Sky are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Sky compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The franchise was founded prior to the 2006 season. Th ...

under coach

WNBA career statistics

Regular season

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New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

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2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

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, 27, , 14, , 26.7, , 42.8, , 35.3, , 90.9, , 2.5, , 1.8, , 0.9, , 0.4, , 1.2, , 8.8 , - , align="left" ,

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

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, 32, , 32, , 30.6, , 46.1, , 41.7, , 89.7, , 2.9, , 2.6, , 1.0, , 0.3, , 0.9, , 10.7 , - , align="left" ,

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

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, 32, , 32, , 33.4, , 41.7, , 37.0, , 81.9, , 2.8, , 2.5, , 1.5, , 0.4, , 1.6, , 11.8 , - , align="left" ,

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

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, 33, , 33, , 32.7, , 43.9, , 36.9, , 83.9, , 2.1, , 1.9, , 1.2, , 0.4, , 1.3, , 12.0 , - , align="left" ,

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

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, 28, , 27, , 31.8, , 43.7, , 38.2, , 93.0, , 3.0, , 2.1, , 0.9, , 0.3, , 1.2, , 12.1 , - , align="left" ,

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

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, 32, , 31, , 30.3, , 37.9, , 31.8, , 78.9, , 3.1, , 1.8, , 0.7, , 0.2, , 1.2, , 7.3 , - , align="left" ,

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

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2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

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, 2, , 2, , 22.0, , 16.7, , 0.0, , 0.0, , 1.0, , 1.0, , 1.0, , 0.5, , 0.5, , 1.0 , - , align="left" , Career , align="left" , 9 years, 2 teams , 245, , 207, , 30.1, , 42.7, , 37.4, , 85.0, , 2.7, , 2.0, , 1.1, , 0.3, , 1.2, , 10.2

Playoffs

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, 6, , 6, , 34.2, , 50.0, , 38.5, , 100.0, , 3.0, , 2.2, , 1.0, , 0.3, , 1.7, , 14.3 , - , align="left" ,

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, 7, , 0, , 21.4, , 41.0, , 47.4, , 100.0, , 2.9, , 0.7, , 1.3, , 0.1, , 1.4, , 6.6 , - , align="left" ,

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, 6, , 6, , 37.2, , 50.0, , 41.4, , 75.0, , 3.8, , 1.3, , 1.3, , 0.3, , 2.3, , 11.5 , - , align="left" ,

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, 8, , 8, , 32.4, , 35.4, , 30.8, , 100.0, , 3.0, , 1.8, , 1.0, , 0.3, , 0.6, , 8.4 , - , align="left" ,

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, 5, , 5, , 35.0, , 50.0, , 39.4, , 80.0, , 3.2, , 2.6, , 1.8, , 0.4, , 1.6, , 15.0 , - , align="left" ,

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, 2, , 2, , 25.0, , 15.4, , 14.3, , 100.0, , 4.0, , 2.0, , 0.5, , 0.5, , 0.5, , 3.5 , - , align="left" ,

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, 2, , 0, , 18.5, , 37.5, , 40.0, , 0.0, , 2.0, , 4.5, , 0.0, , 0.0, , 0.5, , 4.0 , - , align="left" , Career , align="left" , 7 years, 2 teams , 36, , 27, , 30.5, , 43.9, , 37.4, , 93.8, , 3.1, , 1.8, , 1.1, , 0.3, , 1.4, , 9.9

Notes

External links

WNBA.com player profile
at Basketball-Reference {{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, Crystal 1974 births Living people American women's basketball coaches American women's basketball players Basketball coaches from Oklahoma Basketball players from Oklahoma Chicago Sky coaches Colorado Xplosion players High school basketball coaches in the United States Junior college women's basketball coaches in the United States LGBTQ basketball players LGBTQ people from Oklahoma American lesbian sportswomen New York Liberty draft picks New York Liberty players Panathinaikos WBC players Parade High School All-Americans (girls' basketball) Phoenix Mercury coaches People from Atoka, Oklahoma Small forwards Southeastern Oklahoma State Savage Storm women's basketball players TCU Horned Frogs women's basketball coaches Washington Mystics coaches Washington Mystics players Seattle Storm coaches