NBLC Alumni: Stanley Robinson

6'9

Forward

From Birmingham, Alabama

Tenure: 2013-15

As part of a basketball career which saw many different stops with multiple achievements before being sadly cut short, Stanley Robinson graced the NBL Canada in its early years for a memorable stint in New Brunswick.

At prep stage while playing in his native Birmingham, Alabama for Huffman High School, Robinson was named the state's player of the year in 2006. The same year, he represented the USA in the FIBA Americas Under-18 Championship, where they finished first undefeated. From there he joined the prestigious UConn Huskies program, becoming one of the leading scorers throughout his tenure with the team, in which he played two seasons alongside future NBA star Kemba Walker. His wiry appearance saw him nicknamed "Sticks" by the team and its fan base.

At the start of junior year Robinson was suspended from the Huskies and worked in a scrap yard, but was able to regain his place on the team that went on to become the number one side in the 2009 NCAA tournament's west division. Four victories saw UConn advance to the national semi finals, where they were finally dispatched 82-73 by the Michigan State Spartans. Robinson bowed out of March Madness with 15 points and 13 rebounds against the eventual runners-up.

After his senior year - where he started every game, averaged 14.3 points and 7.6 rebounds and helped the team reach the second round of the NIT - Robinson was selected by the Orlando Magic 59th overall in the 2010 NBA Draft. He played for the team in the Summer League and five preseason games, but did not earn a full contract with the Magic. Instead, he joined the Rio Grande Valley Vipers in the NBA D-League, but was later traded to the Iowa Energy.

He registered 9.1 points and 4.1 rebounds in 22 regular season games and remained with the team for their playoff push. He appeared in eight times for them in the post-season, at the end of which defeat of his old team Rio Grande in the finals saw the Energy crowned 2011 D-League champions.

In October 2013 Robsinon made his NBL Canada debut with the Moncton Miracles, registering a double-double in his first game against the Brampton A's. He earned player of the week in his second week in Moncton and would go on to make ten more double-doubles in 2013-14, which included a season-best 26 points plus 11 rebounds against the Island Storm on December 28th.

His first NBLC season was cut short by injury, without Robinson Moncton went as far as the first round of the playoffs. He re-signed with the team in 2014, registering with double-doubles in his first five games, later putting up a Canadian career best of 30 points, coupled with 10 rebounds, in Moncton's mid-December defeat of Saint John.

Despite ten season double-doubles from Robinson and multiple games with him finishing in double-digits, Moncton had the worst record in the regular season and were knocked out by Halifax in the first round of the playoffs in four games.

It would be the last time Robinson would play in Canada, moving on to Chile and Leones de Quilpue. He would later represent another Chilean club, Deportivo Valdivia, in the group stage of the 2016 Liga Sudamericana. From there, he went on to play in Uruguay, Iceland and for another team in Chile, Espanol de Talca, which would sadly be his last.

On July 22nd 2020, eight days after his thirty-second birthday, Robinson was found unresponsive in his home in Birmingham and later pronounced dead. News of his passing saw an outpouring of grief from those who knew him. Among which was his coach at Moncton, Dennis Truax, who described him as "a great guy, always the hardest working guy in practice, he was probably our most popular player on the team." It was a tragic end to the time on earth of a man who loved and wanted to play basketball and worked hard as he could to make it happen.

Picture Credit: Dax Melmer, Windsor Star