Getting To Know: LaChina Robinson
Feb. 28, 2014
Our final segment of the Getting To Know series features FOX Sports analyst LaChina Robinson. From middle school cheerleader, to conference administrator, to nationally known basketball analyst, LaChina talks to us about her background, what her path was like to the broadcasting world, and who she’s looking forward to seeing in the upcoming BIG EAST Women’s Basketball Tournament. LaChina will join Tiffany Greene for Saturday’s St. John’s-DePaul tilt on FOX Sports 2, before rejoining each other March 10-11 for the semifinals and final of the BIG EAST Tournament.
Give us a brief background – have you always played basketball?
I come from a family where there weren’t many female athletes; my older sister on my mom’s side played in middle school, but I was the only one to play collegiately. I was not born with a basketball in my hand, I actually started out cheerleading. When I got about 12 or 13, the cheerleading skirts started getting a little smaller, my legs were getting very long, eventually I would be 6-foot-4 in the ninth grade, so that’s when it all started. People would ask if I played basketball just because I was tall and I would say no. I didn’t fit in with the cheerleading thing, it wasn’t what I loved, but I loved to watch basketball, so I decided to give it a try. In ninth grade I started out on the freshman team; I was terrible, awkward, tall, gangly. Tenth grade I played JV; this was not a four-year varsity dream, by any stretch of the imagination. I worked my way up to varsity and started playing AAU and earned a scholarship to Wake Forest. I’m the only member of my 15-person blended family to graduate college.
What did you do after graduating from Wake Forest?
I wanted to be an athletics administrator, I wanted to be an AD, so I took the path of athletics administration. I worked at the ACC office in championships for a year after leaving Wake Forest, that was amazing. I could travel, go to different campuses, meet administrators, learn about different sports. That’s where I really started to get interested in administration. I left there, went to Georgia Tech where I was offered an administrative opportunity with their women’s basketball team. I was director of ops and special assistant, which was perfect for me because I was still close to the team. I knew I didn’t want to coach, but being close to the team at my age was important and being close to the game, I knew that’s where I wanted to be. I planned travel as part of my responsibilities, and then when I was actually traveling with the team I didn’t have anything to do, travel was already done; I would just sit and watch the games. Then one day they asked if I wanted to serve as a color analyst on the radio broadcast, so I did. I was the analyst for all the road games and I loved it. I did that for two years, and started looking even further to other broadcasting opportunities and through a network I had developed through organizations and my mentors, I had some opportunities in television which started in 2009.
What was your first experience of covering a game on television?
This is very unique. In 2009 I got a call from ESPN asking to do some games and I said of course, and was really excited. Someone must have gotten sick, I don’t know what happened. It was the Maggie Dixon Classic at Madison Square Garden, this was my first national broadcast. It was Tennessee versus Rutgers and Baylor versus Boston College. I’m covering Brittany Griner her freshman year, Pat Summit, Vivian Stringer, and this is my first major broadcast. I always tell the story, if there is a better place to start and a scarier stage than MSG, I don’t know where that would be! The coaches were all great, and I had a blast. Things rolled from there. I went from doing three games on a regional network, to a game with Pat Summit. It was amazing.
If you could call any game, past or present, of any sport, what would it be?
I would probably say a UConn-Tennessee women’s game when both Geno Auriemma and Pat Summit were coaching. That is the ultimate stage for our game. It was the two best coaches, two of the greatest coaches in basketball overall, and the two best in women’s basketball. It was a rivalry that I thought was so fun and entertaining and competitive and magical; I would love to go back and call those matchups.
What do you do on game days?
I try to wake up on game day having already spoken to coaches, prepared my game boards, gone through my notes, watched games, interviews, all that prep stuff. Then that morning I’m ready for shoot around. I go to shoot around to talk to the players and coaches one-on-one in person, which is really important; I want them to know who I am and vice versa. Facial recognition helps and we’re all in the same mission, to grow the game. I go and watch the strategy, find out what the coaches are anticipating. I meet with the producer and whoever I’m working with for play-by-play to talk about big picture storylines, different things from a production standpoint, things around the league to discuss and so on. After shoot around, I go back to my room and usually only have time to get dressed. One of my superstitions is that I rap to Jay Z which helps the words to flow out of my mouth; rap is fast paced and up-tempo and you have to grab the words from your brain and spit them out pretty quickly, so that gets me warmed up and ready to go for the broadcast.
You and Tiffany Greene are on the upcoming BIG EAST Women’s Basketball Tournament; is there any player you’re really excited to watch?
I really am looking forward to watching Aliyyah Handford of St. John’s. I remember covering her as a freshman. I believe the game I did was St. John’s against UConn and she was so fearless. She did not care that she was playing the No. 1 team in the country, she was so determined to get into the paint, she would not be denied. I loved how she played with so much confidence as a freshman, so to see the numbers she’s putting up this year is not surprising to me because I knew then that she would be really special. I think that conference tournament time is about guard play. I’m a post and I hate to admit it.
Do you think St. John’s is the frontrunner for next week’s tournament?
That’s a tough one. I think DePaul and Villanova are always teams that are scary and coaches should be aware of, and that’s because Harry Perretta and Doug Bruno have been there and done that and know how to win in postseason. I know there’s also Terri Mitchell and Beth Couture from an experience standpoint, they’ve been in the battles and have success. So really all of those teams.
You and Tiffany Greene called the Providence-Seton Hall men’s game on New Year’s – what was that like?
It was amazing. I still can’t even believe that I received that phone call. When I picked up the phone and the offer was made, my mouth was wide open for probably the next hour. What an honor, to cover BIG EAST men’s basketball, to do it with another female, and to be sandwiched between Raft and Gus, that is in itself an hour. Those guys have been doing this forever and are amazing at what they do. I was really nervous but more than anything, honored and excited that they would choose me … It’s something I’ll remember forever and one of the most exciting broadcasts I’ve ever done.
What fellow broadcasters do you most admire?
Bill Raftery for sure. His style is so unique and we all strive as broadcasters to stand out, and he has done that and has been around for years as a voice that is well-respected in our game. I would also have to say Doris Burke, a Providence grad who played basketball. To me, not only has she opened up the doors for me in my career, but she’s gone beyond what anyone thought a woman could do in covering men’s sports. I don’t think 10 years ago people would have thought Doris would be a regular on the NBA or college men’s basketball … Robin Roberts, as an African-American woman, she has stepped into unchartered territory in men’s sports. She’s probably the first woman I saw that I said, “Oh, she looks like me and she’s in this position,” so it made me think I could reach for the stars.
Who has had the most impact on your broadcasting career?
My dad. He’s my best friend and watches all my games and critiques me; he’s honest with me. He loves the game as much as I do; we’re both passionate about it and he’ll call me about women’s basketball. We talk about it, he’ll make his picks. He’s my biggest cheerleader. It’s with his encouragement and the favor of God that I’m living a dream every day.