David Robinson '22 Recruiting Profile

          February 15, 2018, a usual cold day in the winter of Chicago, but today was not usual for me. I could feel the cold air from my window hit my the bottom of my feet as I woke up. I was too tall for the blanket my aunt gave me for my birthday. As I get up from my bed; the first thing I do is reach for my Nike Kobe A.D igloo’s which was a gift from my mom. I only wore those at special games. Normally I would grab my Nike PG1’s. I soon get dressed and head to sit in my mom’s cold car while I wait for it to heat up. I put my hands in my big hoodie because they are always colder than the rest of my body. 

          As I'm on my way to the big game I catch myself reflecting on all the work put into this game. All the bad days, all the good days, the days I felt like not doing it and the days I loved when I was playing. Most importantly,  I thought about the bond my teammates and I had built from day one up until this current day. The commitment and hard work my teammates and I had gave me no doubt in my mind that we could win. As I get to the gym and get dressed for the last time in this uniform, my teammates and I huddle together with my coach. The coach says a special prayer like usual and a very meaningful speech to us. The coach gave a very meaningful quote that stuck with me for a very long time, a quote from Kobe Bryant which said  “ Everything negative, Pressure, challenges are all an opportunity for me to rise.” 

           As I hear the last whistle blow from the referee’s mouth, I soon start to feel my eyes getting watery as I start to cry. As I walk off the court, I try wipe the tears. I just couldn’t stop crying. I put my jersey over my face and proceeded towards the locker room. As me and my teammates sit in the locker room, it is very quiet. We lost the game! The one game that meant so much to me. The game I wanted to win so badly. My mind starts racing with different things I could have done differently to win the game. 

          Suddenly, it clicked.  We wasn’t defeated. It was a good game. Most importantly, what I have learned from this is that if you learn from a defeat, then you never really lost. This game taught me to have faith. Things may not always be in your hands or things don’t always go the way you planned. You  have to have faith that there is a plan for you. You must follow your heart and believe in yourself no matter what. This specific game has taught me that you can’t win unless you learn how to lose. What basketball has taught me is how to cope when things if they don’t go my way. It has taught me how to become a leader and step up and face adversity. It has taught me to not give up. It had taught me that it is better to win at trying than to not try at all.