March Memories | Danielle Robinson Remembers Her Tournament Runs

March is a special time for all college basketball players, but the success that Danielle Robinson had in the NCAA tournament makes her memories even sweeter.

Robinson and her Oklahoma teammates made the NCAA semi-finals two years in a row in 2009 and 2010. Those kinds of runs require a ton of focus on taking things one step at a time. It’s difficult to sustain success if you look too far ahead.

“It’s like ‘We’re getting there.’ We’re getting there literally one game at a time. You try not to look forward, but it’s like, ‘Okay, two more teams. As long as we play hard and do what we’ve been doing, we have a chance,’” said Robinson on a recent podcast with John Focke. “We had a chance every single night, and I think that’s what’s so special about it. It could not have been our night, and it could have been the other team’s night, and we could’ve been out, but for two years in a row it was our night.”

Once the tournament starts the regular season doesn’t matter. Every year an unexpected team makes a run. That’s what’s so fun about the NCAA. The players know it, too. They know that every team has a chance.

“That’s what the tournament is about; executing at the right time,” said Robinson. “These teams got in, and they may not be playing their best basketball yet, but the tournament comes around and it could be a whole different team. It’s all about the mindset. It’s wins or go home.”

A part of the tournament that doesn’t get talked about as much is the intense schedule. Players aren’t used to playing in so many high-stakes games so close together. Players need to be in an all-out mindset for weeks. That means ice baths and lots of treatment but it also means diminished practice time. Most preparation for the games is done mentally.

“You’re at the gym a majority of the time. Whether it’s going early to watch the game before, or staying later to watch the game after, and like I said, making sure that your body’s ready as well,” Robinson said. “They try not to wear us out too much. We would have practice time, but sometimes we would go in just to get loose, make sure were not sitting around the entire time, but it’s a lot of mental focus, more than physical. They want you to be ready for the games.”

The Women’s NCAA Tournament tips off on Friday and there will be lots of opportunities to watch WNBA Draft prospects. You can read more about some of these players at the Lynx Draft Central.