Robinson savors trip home
By Jayda Evans


MARK HARRISON / THE SEATTLE TIMES

In his first trip home as an NBA player, New York Knick Nate Robinson, right, drives past Sonic Vladimir Radmanovic.


The Sonics' game notes, a statistical hodgepodge given to media, had Nate Robinson listed as 6 feet 9.

That may have been the measurement of his heart.

Robinson is closer to 5-7, no taller than the blue and orange metal lockers he stood by earlier in the day in his locker room at Rainier Beach High. And the colors on his back, a Knicks practice jersey, were the same as he wore with the Vikings.

Robinson may have moved nearly 3,000 miles away, skipping his senior season at Washington to join the NBA, but he still knows where home is. The past two days he spent every hour trying to soak up as much of Seattle as he could. He visited with friends, made an appearance at teammate Jamal Crawford's court unveiling at Rainier Beach, and, of course, entertained his friends as a starter for the famed Knicks against the Sonics at KeyArena on Tuesday. In between, he signed hundreds of autographs and posed for pictures.

"Before the game I was feeling a little lightheaded because I was so anxious to play and so happy to be home for the first time," said Robinson, who joined Crawford to distribute 700 tickets to their local fans. "It was wonderful to come back and see my son and all my family."

Much ado was made about the arrival of Robinson, who received the loudest roar of both teams during pregame introductions, but the ripple affect he and Crawford have had on the community means more.

Their Rainier Beach "Bubblin' Brown Sugar" dance squad performed before the game, although the students had to wear Sonics shirts instead of the Knicks' "Robinson" and "Crawford" jerseys Robinson provided. Robinson, who will make $1.1 million this season, donated $10,000 to his high school to develop a stronger math department in preparation for the WASL test. His mother's hair salon phone is ringing off the hook with new clients. And after Crawford's court sparkled beneath new lighting, Robinson is thinking about helping the Rainier Valley school replace the gym's wooden bleachers.

"Then it can be Crawford Court in the Robinson Auditorium, or something like that," said Crawford after the ceremony in which he couldn't goad Robinson into dunking, a first. "When I left, I thought it would be the pinnacle. But now we have 'Nate the Great.' He's even bigger. It's great for the basketball community."

Being away from that supportive community makes some nights at Robinson's home in Westchester, N.Y., a bit lonely. His cousin stays with him now, but Robinson missed celebrating his birthday with family.

Robinson, whose stellar career at Washington included a No. 1 seed in the 2005 NCAA tournament, probably didn't think arenas could be so lifeless after three seasons hoopin' it up at Edmundson Pavilion.




"The NBA is just a new experience for him," said Huskies senior Brandon Roy at practice Tuesday before attending the game with Washington coach Lorenzo Romar.

"He [Robinson] says he's enjoying it but he says it's tough," Roy said. "He really misses college basketball. He really misses playing in front of all the Husky fans."

It's a tune Robinson's mother knows well.

"He'll say, [sigh] 'gotta go to work.' " Renee Busch said.

But when Robinson sinks a three-pointer, as he did Tuesday with 4:22 remaining in the second quarter, is still makes the crowd roar.

He finished with 10 points on 4-for-8 shooting in the Knicks' 104-101 victory. Even his son, Nahmier, was in on the action, grooving with a Sonics dancer during a second-half timeout. A throng of well-wishers awaited Robinson outside the locker room.

Suddenly, the game is fun again and that 6-9 heart swells with joy.

"It was a busy day," he said.