Former UDC Basketball Coach William 'Doc' Robinson Dies at 68

By Alan Goldenbach
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, February 19, 2009; Page DZ07

William "Doc" Robinson, a fixture in Washington area basketball since the early 1970s, died Friday at Georgetown University Hospital, six weeks after suffering a massive stroke, his niece April Coleman said. He was 68.

In addition to working with AAU teams, Robinson coached Lincoln Junior High in the late 1970s and went to the University of the District of Columbia in 1980 as an assistant with the men's team. There, he worked with city legends such as Earl Jones, and helped the team win the NCAA 1982 Division II Basketball Championship. In 1987, Robinson took over the UDC women's program.

Robinson moved on to McKinley, where he coached the boys' team for two seasons before the school closed for remodeling in 1994.

His coaching career ended with a flourish. Robinson took over a struggling boys' program at Spingarn in 1997. In three seasons, he led the Green Wave to a 75-9 record, capped by a 25-1 mark in 1999-2000. That season, Spingarn won the City Title, its first in 19 years, and finished No. 1 in The Post's final rankings. Coleman said Robinson had been teaching special education at Bladensburg High before his stroke.

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Services for William "Doc" Robinson are scheduled as follows:

Visitation 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., Thursday, February 19 at Henry S. Washington & Sons Funeral Home, 4925 Nannie Helen Burroughs Avenue, N.E. and  10 a.m. until time of service, 11 a.m. Friday, February 20 at Holy Name Catholic Church, 920 11th Street, NE. Interment Rock Creek Cemetery.