One of the coolest and probably most-overlooked parts – at least to the outside public – of Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes Class D girls basketball state championship was the redemption starters Lauren & Lexie Robak were able to get for their family's…..er……coaching staff's past tourney heartbreaks. And there were quite a few.  

Here's a little Robak Family Hoops History for those of you that don't already know the 411 on Waterford's first family of the hardwood:

First a character key to keep up with this confusing Robak lineage:

Steve Robak – dad

Lauren Robak – daughter

Lexie Robak – daughter

Paul Robak – brother

Sue Ann Robak – sister

Theresa – sister

Patti – sister

Lakers 3^rd year head coach Steve Robak, who people tell me is 43, but I swear this dude doesn't look a day older than 33, was quite a player in his day for WOLL and his undefeated senior season in 1985 ruined by Detroit Country Day in the district finals. Steve made all-state as hot shooting guard that year and kicked off what has been a 20 year plus run over Robak family hoop prowess at the school.

That brings us to Sue Ann, a 1991 grad of WOLL who went on to star at Aquinas College and is her big brother's assistant. As a sophomore during the 1989 season, she played on a Lakers hoop team with her two sisters, Patti (then a senior) and Theresa (a freshman), that made it all the way to the Class D Final Four before suffering a devastating overtime loss to Portland St. Patricks in the semi-finals. Up a point with less than 10 seconds on the clock, a St. Pat's player threw up a prayer from almost underneath the basket that propelled them to the win. Theresa made it to the free throw line for a 1-and-1 opportunity with 3 seconds remaining but couldn't convert. Both Theresa and Patti went onto play college ball, with Theresa ending up at Lake Superior State (where he brother Steve also played some ball) and Patti starring at Oakland University.

Finally, there's my main homeboy, Paul, the family's baby bro and a mean competitor on the floor in his own right. Paul is my main homeboy because we played against each other in high school back in the mid-90s and had two classic match-ups on the court (one in which he sank a 40-foot buzzer beater to upend my team in the season opener my sophomore year, and the second in which my squad got revenge the next year by holding him in check and beating him and the Lake Show in the Pontiac NDP Christmas Tournament semi-finals) and because he was such a super hooper primetime party shooter as a prepster…AKA ALL STATE his JUNIOR & SENIOR seasons. His junior season was the centerpiece of his brilliant career as a ultra-hot shooting Paul and the Lakers made a magical run all the way into the Final Four in 1993. Unfortunately, in the semi-finals Paul went a bit cold and WOLL lost. In the end it was all good though as he went onto have a stellar playing career at the next level playing for legendary coach Garth Pleasant and Rochester College in the late-90s.

So to conclude, Burney thinks it's pretty awesome that Lauren (19 points, 9 boards in the state final) and Lexie (10 points in the state final) got their bloodline's back and brought home (LITERALLY) the SHIP in an overall testament to Robak hoop supremacy. Could we be in for back-to-back titles this time next season? Burney feels it's a distinct possibility and will even go out on a limb right now and say its gonna happen!