Inside HOKIE SPORTS | Vol. 11 No. 4 | March 2019

10 Inside Hokie Sports There is a fragility to it all. I had heard Buzz Williams say that many times during my four years with him and his program, and it ran through my head as I watched Justin Robinson writhe in pain on the floor under the basket at the Watsco Center in Miami. The trainers tended to him after he injured his foot, and I saw a look I had never seen before on his face—anguish. Just a couple of days earlier, he bore a much different expression—pure joy. He displayed a jaw-dropping performance against Syracuse at Cassell Coliseum that added an element of folk lore to his storied career in a Hokies’ uniform. Later in the game, he broke the Tech program record for 3-pointers in a game. All of those buckets served merely as a precursor to the moment for which he had been building to for four years. Late in the game, he became the most prolific passer in the 111-year history of the program. He deserved the record after doling out more assists than anyone in program history. In other words, he had helped more people than anyone else—ever. I say that in a basketball sense and on a grander scale as well. The records and recognition seem insufficient to tell the entire story. For me, a more revealing moment occurred that told of what Robinson has meant to this family. He made his seventh 3-pointer of the game— in the first half!—and he resided in a place foreign to most of us. The zone. As he backpedaled onto the defensive end of the floor, he raised his palms to the sky. He wasn’t smirking. He was full-on smiling, almost laughing, as though amazed at his display. I thought to myself that it served as the perfect snapshot of what this program had become in large part because of him. When everything clicked, as on this night, the team moved with a certain artistry. He was the conductor, leading the orchestra in its finest symphony. The Hokies were rolling toward places they had never been, preparing to see the unseen. It was beautiful. It was fragile. Eddie Benion, Tech’s trainer, helped Robinson from the floor inMiami, and Tech held on to the large lead it built before his injury. But, after the team arrived back in Blacksburg, the questions began. How long is he going to be out? How many games can this team win without him? Is this the straw that breaks the camel’s back? It suddenly wasn’t about taking the program to new heights. It became opining about what might have been. I should clarify. That took place outside the Hokies’ practice facility. Inside, the team galvanized itself. I don’t think I have done justice in expressing how difficult it is to win in the ACC over my years here, and I don’t think I can truly articulate how difficult it is to continue to try to do that while in the middle of the journey after losing your guide. A transcendent player yes, but also a transcendent leader. Tech would be attempting to do that. That presented an immense challenge. Williams said on multiple occasions that they became a new team, and they needed to embrace that. And they were in the way they rotated and flowed throughout a game. However, with Ahmed Hill, Ty Outlaw, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Kerry Blackshear, Wabissa Bede, Isaiah Wilkins, Jonathan Kabongo and Brendan Palmer, this team still possessed the same collective soul, the same character and a new scar. with Jon Laaser The Fragility of it All Justin Robinson’s injury forced the Hokies to reinvent themselves - and they did so to the tune of a record 12 ACC wins this season.