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Theo Robertson: On What Brought Him Back to Cal and What He Wants to Build

After graduating from Cal in 2010 with a degree in social welfare and spending some time on the staffs of both the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Lakers, Theo Robertson is back with Cal as an assistant coach on Wyking Jones’ staff. Robertson had an excellent career at Cal, playing on the 2010 Pac-10 championship team and finishing with 1,315 career points.

During his time with the Lakers, Robertson had an important conversation with head coach Luke Walton about the direction of his career and what his long-term goals were. While he was satisfied with furthering his career in the NBA, Robertson was still interested in returning to the college ranks provided it was at Berkeley.

“It was interesting because I had a conversation with Luke, Luke Walton the beginning of last year, the beginning of our Lakers season,” Robertson recalled. “We were just kinda talking big picture about where I saw my career going and things of that nature and he asked if I had any interest, would I have any interest in returning to the college game and I had told him at that time that I would provided that it was here at Berkeley. So, it was crazy in how things came full circle. There was an opportunity that presented itself at the end, towards the end of the year, and when Coach Jones called, I was very much interested in that.”

For Robertson, returning to Cal is more than just returning to where he played in college. It’s a return to his roots. He was born in nearby Pittsburg and played his high school ball at De La Salle High School in Concord. Returning to the region makes the chance to coach at Cal so special.

“Very excited,” Robertson said of returning to Cal. “As you mentioned, growing up in Pittsburg, going to school in Concord, Walnut Creek at De La Salle, playing here, getting my start in coaching here, this place is very special to me. So, when I made this decision, to take advantage of this opportunity to come and be a part of Coach Jones’ staff, it was as much about being here at Cal specifically more than I think my interest in being in a collegiate game…It was very important for me to feel like I could make a major impact, be a significant contributor, and I felt like I could do all those things here at Cal.”

Looking back on his collegiate career at Cal, what stood out to Robertson are the relationships that he formed with his class, the Pac-10 championship in 2010, and the three trips to the NCAA Tournament.

“I just think the experience of going through this journey with your class,” Robertson said. “We had a pretty strong group, a close-knit group: Myself, Jerome Randle, Patrick Christopher, Jamal Boykin, Jordan Wilkes, who I came in here with is my best friend, so just the memories with those guys. I think being able to finish our careers with a Pac-10 championship, that was really fun. For me, being able to say I went to an NCAA Tournament three times was pretty significant.”

One of the main goals that Robertson has for this Cal program is to get it back to the level it was at when he was playing: “I think that’s a level that we want to get this program back to in terms of having that be an expectation for our program that we’ll be playing in that tournament in March and then looking to make some deep runs at some point.”

In order for Cal to get back to that level, they have a ton of work to do. With Ivan Rabb and Jabari Bird both leaving for the NBA and Charlie Moore transferring to Kansas, Cal has a long road back. While Robertson acknowledges that next season will be a challenge, he doesn’t want to set low expectations for the team, either.

“Well it’s certainly a challenge,” Robertson admitted. “I think the goal for us is to be the best team that we possibly can be. So whatever our ceiling is, I think the goal is to try to reach that ceiling. I think across the board to a man, everyone will be tasked to improve and get the most out of their experience.”

One of the things that will help Robertson accomplish these goals is the experience he’s had in the NBA. Being able to work with the best players in the world had a profound effect on how he views the game and really helped him hone his craft.

“Man, so I tell a lot of people all the time, like being in the league, it felt like you got your masters in basketball just because that’s all your doing all day every day,” Robertson said. “To be able to work with the best talent in the world on a daily basis…For two years I was working with the Warriors, who literally was the best team in basketball and then to work for a storied franchise like the Lakers, those are awesome experiences.”

Robertson notably spent a lot of time in the Warriors video room, cutting up hours upon hours of film to help them prepare for their opponents. It was in the video room where he really got to learn about all the different styles, systems, and philosophies that teams have.

“You’ve seen the game every day, you’re being exposed to new ways of thinking, different systems,” Robertson said. “I think the most beneficial part of that whole process is actually when I was in the video room and you’re cutting all these games, right? So now in one season, you’re sitting there watching over two-hundred games, you’re getting a feel for the various different coaching styles that are out there, you’re watching players, so from a player development standpoint you start to pick up different things that really, you could see how guys improve their craft and the different things that they do to give themselves an advantage.”

In addition to being around the NBA, Robertson also had the chance to be around two different head coaches at Cal in Ben Braun and Mike Montgomery, and they helped to build up ideas for Robertson's future coaching philosophy.

“Well, different things,” Robertson said of what they taught him. “So much from both individuals. I think Coach Braun, he was great. I have so much respect for Coach Braun. We have a very close relationship. That’s obviously the guy that gave me an opportunity to be here at Cal, but he was just super caring, super involved with us. We spent a great deal and amount of time off the court activities with Coach Braun.

He reminds me a lot of Steve [Kerr] in that way in terms of doing things off the court with a group of players, so that would be something that I would like to do, I think that we will do that Wyking has talked about. Whether that’s dinners at coach’s house, different activities, just to break up the monotony of the practices and the film and all the things that we know are necessary for us and for our success. We want to make sure that we’re doing things outside of basketball to strengthen those relationships.

And then with Coach Montgomery, gosh, I mean he’s a hall of famer, so I think for me it would be probably taking just his ability to put guys in a position where they’re successful was a strength of his and that would be something that I really took from him... So for our team we had incredible shooters and so you saw him move from a two big, back-to-the-basket high-low type of system to now all of a sudden running a lot more pin downs, probably a lot more ball screens to free Jerome Randle up, so, just being versatile and being able to adapt is the biggest thing I think I took from Coach Montgomery.”

In terms of how he hopes to implement the lessons that he has learned, Robertson’s goal is to be as well rounded of a coach as possible. His role will initially be someone who can help with player development, recruiting, and whatever else Wyking Jones asks of him.

“I would expect to be a utility player on this staff,” Robertson said. “I’ll certainly look to utilize my experience in the NBA from a player development standpoint, from a coaching standpoint, a game prep and scouting standpoint. I want to have value there. I think on the recruiting trails I think I can be someone that can develop into a really good recruiter. So really, I don’t want to limit myself, but I think whatever Coach Jones needs me to do I’m excited and ready to do that.”

Robertson coming back to coach at his alma mater was a move many wanted to see in the wake of a coaching change. He’s getting the chance to do so after having valuable experiences that prepared him for this opportunity. He has the pedigree of working with a number of successful coaches, now it's time to see what he can do.

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