By SPENCER BATES
ST. BONAVENTURE — When a collegiate basketball program loses nearly its entire roster to the transfer portal, the ones that stick around are thrust into the spotlight.
In a time in which loyalty to one team and one team only is at its most rare, simply being with a team for more than one year makes you an experienced veteran player. You are looked at to be one of the figureheads of the team. Newcomers seek you out for advice, they come to you for lessons they may not get from a coaching staff.
Those players are pivotal to success and stability, especially in mid-major programs.
This is the role of Gabby Robinson for the St. Bonaventure women’s basketball team. Transferring in from Northwestern State ahead of the 2024-25 season, Robinson featured in 29 games for the Bonnies. And despite being just a junior, she was one of the most experienced members of the team.
Injuries plagued Bona last season, leading to starting lineups that nearly or entirely consisted of freshmen. So, while she was not the senior or fifth-year player that typically gets handed the leadership baton in programs, it was up to Robinson to take up that position.
The Bonnies finished last year just 6-24, but that time was no waste for Robinson. Over the campaign she grew exponentially under head coach Jim Crowley’s system, as a player and a leader. She could have looked at the season’s record and decided to hit the portal in search for greener pastures like the majority of her teammates, but in her own words, that would have only stunted her growth.
“I believe in what Coach Crowley is doing 100%,” Robinson said. “He has a winning mindset, and he believes in me. So, staying here was a no-brainer. I feel like I’m developing very well here. He wants to see me get better, the coaching staff wants to see me get better. So this was just a great place for me to stay. If I left, that would have been a loss for me.”
After making her decision to stay with the team through the spring and summer known to Crowley, Robinson noted that the two had constant conversations about her taking up that leadership role in an even bigger way. Now, instead of just being the most experienced player on the floor, it was going to be up to her to help translate Crowley’s system to the new recruits in an attempt to make the transition easier for the team.
“We had a few conversations in his office about taking that leadership role,” Robinson said. “A lot of times the freshmen need to see energy and to see good stuff happen on the floor. So we’re just working on that, how I could be an asset in uplifting the girls on the floor.”
It’s not just moral support she is there for either. Robinson has played a crucial role this season in being a translator, taking what she gathered from Crowley’s system over the course of last season and implementing it this year. She not only knows what she and the team were able to do last season, but comprehends the ideal scenario her head coach is aiming for.
“I know what he wants and I know what he’s looking for,” Robinson said. “I’ve been a leader on the floor, making sure to uplift the girls, leading them and showing them what to do. Because I feel like, being a returner coming back, I have knowledge of what he would want.”
St. Bonaventure’s Gabby Robinson (14) looks for a pass out of tight coverage. (Hunter O. Lyle)
Where Robinson makes the biggest impact is in her knowledge of what Crowley wants to see from his forwards and centers. Her and former Bona freshman Caitlin Frost split duties under the basket last season and where they may have struggled, the group of bigs that Crowley has brought in to learn from Robinson has her excited for what they can be capable of.
“We’re really physical this year,” Robinson said. “We have a big, physical post presence, and that translates offensively and defensively. So, we’re working on getting the ball in the post, because I feel like we could dominate, especially this year. We’re very strong, very physical defensively and offensively.”
Still, she knows that having success is not just about knowing how to play a position well. It is about buying into the philosophy of the program and committing to doing a job, whatever that may be. That is what Robinson has done, and she is looking for her teammates to follow suit.
“Buy-in,” Robinson said. “Buying into what Coach Crowley wants, that’s a big thing. If we can all buy in and become one, then we’ll be able to thrive. We will be able to do well if we just listen to what Coach Crowley wants with consistency.”
Robinson and the Bonnies are currently off to a 3-0 start to the 2025-26 season, a sign that Robinson’s leadership in Crowley’s system is paying off, considering that is a record through three games the team has not had in 13 years.
