And One: Susan Robinson Fruchtl, Penn State legend

A Penn State legend and forerunner of Napheesa Collier, remembered.

“She combines finesse and strength.”

Those words, used by late Penn State women’s basketball coach Rene Portland to describe her star sophomore forward in 1989, proved to be a perfect encapsulation of the career of Susan Robinson Fruchtl.

Think of Napheesa Collier, senior forward for the Connecticut Huskies. A strong presence inside at forward, Collier has the ability to pull her shot out to long range, and despite playing primarily off the ball, she can bring it up the court and be used as a press-breaker when needed.

Flip the calendar back 30 years, and I could just as easily be describing the Nittany Lions sophomore, then known just as Susan Robinson.

Before she made her way to State College, Pennsylvania, Robinson was a standout student-athlete in Center Point, West Virginia.

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A multi-sport athlete, Robinson was feared as a Little League pitcher as a kid, and her athleticism was perhaps never more evident then when she set a West Virginia state record in discus as a sophomore.

Of course, basketball was the clear path forward for Robinson.

At Doddridge County High School, Robinson scored 2,433 points and pulled down over a thousand rebounds in her four years, three of which ended with her on the all-state squad, and two resulting in state championships.

As a senior, she averaged 29.5 points and 13.5 rebounds on the way to one of those titles, and she was named West Virginia’s Gatorade Women’s Basketball Player of the Year to cap off a successful high school career.

Though several coaches feared Robinson couldn’t make the transition to Division I basketball, Portland went to watch her play in person, and she identified the center-forward’s versatility immediately, telling a reporter at the time, “[she] is the Larry Bird of women’s basketball.”

Consider that in 1988 Larry Bird had a career year scoring wise — he had career highs at 29.9 points per game shooting 52.7% from the field — and it’s clear to see Portland already had a vision on offense for the high school senior.

Many around Doddridge County hoped Robinson would stay close to home and play for Kittie Blakemore’s Mountaineers, but it took little time for her family and friends to realize Penn State was the right fit for her.

Portland had consistent success with the Nittany Lions throughout the early 1980s, leading the team to four Sweet Sixteen appearances from 1982 to 1986, multiple Atlantic 10 regular season and tournament championships, and earning a nod as conference coach of the year in 1983.

Starring for Penn State throughout the decade were all-around threats Kahadeejah Herbert and Suzie McConnell. Herbert was the first in Penn State history with over 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds, and McConnell was an assist machine, setting NCAA records with 1,307 career assists and seven triple-doubles.

With those two stars having graduated, Penn State took a dip in Robinson’s freshman season, finishing 14-14 and fourth in the Atlantic 10.

Starting all 28 games, Robinson was immediately a star, averaging 18.0 points on 51.6% shooting from the field, 9.3 rebounds, 1.4 assists, and 2.0 steals. She was named Atlantic 10 Freshman of the Year and earned conference Second Team honors.

From her freshman to sophomore year, Robinson started an upward trajectory in terms of her versatility, stretching her ability past the three-point line. She made a third of her long-range shots, bringing her scoring average up to 19.8 points per game while grabbing 9.4 rebounds and starting all 32 games.

The Nittany Lions finished the season 25-7 and 15-3 in conference on the way to a NCAA Second Round finish, setting up for an incredible final two years for Robinson.

The 1990-1991 season proved historic for Portland’s team. On the way to a 29-2 finish (17-1 in the Atlantic 10, including the regular season and conference tournament championships), Penn State earned its first AP No. 1 ranking early in 1991, and they finished the regular season there.

Robinson led the conference and entered the national conversation. She averaged 18.1 points and 8.4 rebounds, increasing her efficiency at the same time. She shot 54.7% from the field and 41.9% from three-point range, adding on free points shooting 88.6% from the free throw line.

Robinson was named Atlantic 10 Player of the Year and Second Team Academic All-American her junior year. In 1990, she also played for the U.S. Select Team in Europe, gaining experience with some of the nation’s best women’s basketball talent.

In a transition year prior to joining the Big Ten, Penn State played independent in 1991-1992. Entering her senior campaign, Robinson told Sports Illustrated she primarily wanted to be known for “being consistent,” and her final numbers tell exactly that story.

In her last year, Robinson scored 18.0 points on average off of 51.2% from the field and 40.4% from long range. She shot a career-best 90.7% from the free throw line, a lucrative stat for a strong inside player. Her rebounding decreased to a still-impressive 7.9 boards per game while contributing 1.5 assists and 1.3 steals on average.

On the back of their star forward, Penn State ultimately finished 24-7 and back in the NCAA Sweet Sixteen for the first time in six years. The Lady Lions ultimately fell to the No. 2 seed Ole Miss in a close regional semifinal, ending Robinson’s college career.

Before she left State College, Robinson was named a consensus All-American and First Team Academic All-American, and her name is forever etched in women’s basketball history as the Wade Trophy winner in 1992. She is still the only Wade Trophy winner for Penn State.

Robinson left campus as the program’s all-time leading scorer with 2,253 points, and she joined Herbert as the second player to cross 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds, pulling down 1,070 boards.

Her scoring mark is now third in school history, and her name is all over the Lions’ record book.

Three of the top seven free throw percentage seasons in school history belong to Robinson, and her career mark of 87.4% from the charity stripe is second only to Maggie Lucas, who made 90.7% of her free throws.

Robinson started all 122 games in her career, and her career average of 8.8 rebounds is second-best in program history entering the 2018-2019 season. She had 46 double-doubles over her four years, good for third in Penn State women’s basketball history.

Like her prowess on the court as a player, Robinson’s presence in athletics has been consistent since her graduation.

She played one year professionally in Japan before returning as an assistant on Portland’s staff at Penn State from 1993 to 1998, including multiple Big Ten championships, an NCAA Elite Eight finish in 1994, and a WNIT Championship in 1998.

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Robinson returned to high school girls’ basketball, contributing time as a volunteer assistant at North Allegheny High School in Pennsylvania while pursuing a Master’s Degree, followed by a stint as head coach at Beaver Area High School, where she led the girl’s team to the PIAA Class AAA Playoffs twice before returning to Penn State.

She returned to the bench for Portland’s final three years at the helm, finishing her total eight years as an assistant helping Penn State to 164 victories, four NCAA Tournament appearances, and four total Big Ten titles.

She stayed in Pennsylvania, taking over as head coach at Saint Francis University in 2007. After a rough 3-15 year in the Northeast Conference, she guided the Red Flash to a conference tournament championship in 2010. They improved again the following season, winning the NEC regular season championship and returning to the NCAA Tournament off another conference tournament championship, earning Robinson NEC Coach of the Year honors in 2011.

She left briefly to take over as head coach at Providence College from 2012 to 2016 but was ultimately brought back to Saint Francis in 2016 in an even larger capacity, this time as Director of Athletics, one of very few women tabbed to lead a Division I athletics department.

For her numerous achievements both academically and athletically, Robinson was recognized with the NCAA Silver Anniversary Award in 2017, further cementing her impact on college athletics.

Early in the 2018-2019 season, Robinson Fruchtl returned to the hardwood, filling in on an interim basis for Saint Francis head coach Joe Haigh, who is out indefinitely for personal reasons.

Though juggling multiple leadership positions as head coach and AD at the same time presents its challenges, it’s a natural extension of the versatility, finesse, and strength Portland identified in the Doddridge County standout 30 years ago.