Va. Union coach, state Hall inductee, won with humility

PORTSMOUTH

To hear Dave Robbins tell it, he was merely along for the ride for three decades at Virginia Union, enjoying the most successful run in state college basketball history from the gym's best seat.

Coaches get too much credit, Robbins insists, none more than himself.

"Ninety-five percent of it is the players, and we had some great players," said Robbins, in town to be inducted tonight into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame.

Players come and go, however, and Robbins' 30-year career in Richmond was a model of consistency. From 1978- 2008, he won 713 games, 14 CIAA and national championships in 1980, 1992 and 2005. He was just the second coach in NCAA history to win national titles in three decades, a tribute to the soundness of his system. He's the winningest coach in state history.

Robbins won with power teams, with undersized teams, with rosters that featured future NBA players (he coached five) and with squads of relative unknowns.

Over the years, one thing remained constant, and that was Robbins' humility, said current Virginia Union coach Willard Coker, a Robbins assistant for 23 years

"He won't accept credit for his efforts," Coker said. "He's always been like that."

Robbins, 67, will have to accept some pats on the back tonight, when he'll be part of an eight-member class that includes former NBA star Alonzo Mourning of Chesapeake and former University of Virginia and NFL greats Herman Moore and Jim Dombrowski.

"Looking at the other folks going in, I figured they had to have one lightweight, so they got me," Robbins joked.

Turning serious, though, Robbins called it, "the largest honor I've ever gotten."

He's had many. He went to Virginia Union in 1978 after coaching cross-town at Thomas Jefferson High, becoming the first white head basketball coach in the CIAA, a conference of historically black schools.

Robbins didn't think much of it at the time - his teams at Jefferson had been almost all black - but others did. He quickly earned a nickname - "The White Shadow" - and took his share of criticism.

"It ruffled some feathers. There were some older coaches in the CIAA that were quoted as saying it set black coaches back 20 years," Robbins said. "But I always thought by Union jumping out and hiring a white coach, that it opened some eyes, so white universities started hiring very qualified black coaches."

Robbins repaid Union's gamble with loyalty - and success. His first team won the CIAA title.

His second won the Division II championship. Panther teams became known for crisp offensive execution and defensive toughness.

He sent Charles Oakley, Terry Davis and Ben Wallace on to long NBA careers. Not one to hunt for a job, he interviewed with Division I schools four times but never received an offer that made him want to leave, he said.

"There's more to life than money, and we were very happy here," he said. "Union was a perfect fit as far as I was concerned. "

Robbins has worked as a fundraiser at Virginia Union since stepping down as coach in 2008. He figured 30 was a round number and said he wanted to reward Coker's loyalty by giving him a chance to run the program.

Coker said he'd like to see his mentor receive at least one more honor. Robbins has been nominated for the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame but hasn't become a finalist.

"I think his body of work should at least be looked at by them," Coker said. "The longevity he had, that's the mark of a program, just like your Dukes and North Carolinas, just having great players and running a great system."

As well a coach willing to deflect the credit.

Ed Miller (757) 446-2372, ed.miller@pilotonline.com