Saturday, February 20, 1999
Walnut Hills wins for Gabe
Shares QCC National title with Winton Woods
BY CAREY HOFFMAN
Enquirer contributor
Two teams. Two league champions. Two opposite sets of emotions.
It wasn't just Walnut Hills beating Winton Woods 55-41 on Friday, making the two teams co-champions of the Queen City Conference's National Division (both 13-7, 6-2).
For Winton Woods, it was the struggle of playing without head coach David Lumpkin and point guard/leading scorer Marcus Carroll, who both were serving one-game school-mandated suspensions for undisclosed reasons.
For Walnut Hills, it was delivering the school's first league basketball title since 1990 in honor of their fallen teammate, Gabe Robinson, who died last year during a game at Northwest but whose spirit seemed very much alive Friday.
“This moment is all we've practiced for,” said junior forward Josh Hardin, who had 14 points. “It was about winning this for Gabe. When he was here, we were a losing team and he was all about pushing us harder so we could win.”
Hardin recalled an 89-38 loss two years ago at Winton Woods that so upset Robinson he broke a mirror after the game. Then there was a two-point overtime loss last year before Robinson's death.
“He'd be in tears if he were here,” Hardin said. “He would have loved this.”
Hardin even credited Robinson for the 12-0 spurt midway through the second quarter that took Walnut Hills from a 1-point deficit to a 26-15 lead.
“Me and Shaun (Smith) said Gabe was with us as we came back on the floor,” Hardin said referring to a Winton Woods timeout 4:34 before halftime.
Hardin, Smith and Fred James, three defenders on the front of Walnut Hills' press, helped force three straight steals, fueling eight consecu tive points in just 47 seconds.
“We talked about it then, saying, "Let's win it for him,'” Hardin said.
“This meant everything,” said an emotional Smith, who struggled to return to basketball after losing his friend. “A lot of dreams went into this. This was like a lifetime goal.”
“It's been a real struggle at times,” Walnut Hills coach Mike Herald said. “But then we've had some awesome nights, like playing at Northwest where Gabe died, and we thought it would be so hard. Shaun scored 22 that night, the same number Gabe wore.”
Robinson's family missed the game because of a family funeral.
“We tell Gabe's parents every time we see them that this is about him,” Hardin said. “I'll be playing the rest of my career for him.”
WALNUT HILLS (55) — Hardin 6 2 14, Christoph 1 0 3, Smith 4 7 15, James 3 2 8, Williams 2 0 5, Holmes 2 2 6, Mack 1 0 2, Thompson 1 0 2. Totals: 20 13 55.
WINTON WOODS (41) — Frese 4 0 10, Walker 2 1 5, Moore 1 0 3, Bailey 3 0 6, Smith 1 0 2, Kemp 3 0 6, Hite 1 2 5, Stevenson 2 0 4. Totals: 17 3 41.
Walnut Hills 12 18 17 8 - 55
Winton Woods 13 4 10 14 - 41
Three-point goals: WH - Christoph, Williams; WW - Frese 2, Moore, Hite. Records: WH 13-7 (6-2 QCCN), WW 13-7 (6-2 QCCN).
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