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LANCASTER, PA -- Business as usual. That’s how you can best describe Glenn Robinson’s approach Sunday in leading up to his 700th career coaching win. No nervous pacing. No extra butterflies. Nothing out of the ordinary. And that’s how best describes his team’s play. Typical F&M, as the defense generated a 15-0 run late in the first half that blew open a close game and led to a 77-65 victory over Swarthmore in front of 807 fans in Mayser Gym. No. 700 could not have been scripted any better. “That’s the way I like to play any game,’’ Robinson said later. But if the game was typical, the post-game was not. Milestones are not passed with a shrug and slap on the back. There was a letter from legendary North Carolina coach Dean Smith, Robinson’s coaching idol. There was a blue basketball jersey, given by F&M Dean Kent Trachte, with the name “Robinson’’ on the back and the number “700’’ in big white letters. There was a bottle of champagne that F&M assistant golf coach Andy Tompos left on Robinson’s desk. There was even a phone call &tstr; not from President Bush, but from Donnie Marsh, a former F&M All-American who’s now an assistant basketball coach at Indiana University in Bloomington. Souvenir placards were handed out to the fans. And there was cake for all. “This is a wonderful day for Franklin & Marshall,’’ the 60-year-old coach said in a ceremony after his career record improved to 700-243. “In the overall scheme of things, this isn’t that big of a deal. But it’s a wonderful thing for us.’’ Robinson became the 25th coach in NCAA basketball history to earn 700 wins. Of those 25, only 10 are coaching today: Bobby Knight (Texas Tech), Don Meyer (Northern State), Herb Magee (Philadelphia), Eddie Sutton (Oklahoma State), Lute Olson (Arizona), John Chaney (Temple), Mike Krzyzewski (Duke), Jim Boeheim (Syracuse) and Jim Calhoun (Connecticut). Dean Smith is at the top of that wins list, and Robinson gives him credit for building the groundwork for Robinson’s success as a coach. That’s why Smith’s letter was heartwarming. “Any connection to him whatsoever, I’m very proud of,’’ Robinson said. “I just think he’s a great human being.’’ Smith barely beat Robinson to 700. In fact, only five did. Smith won No. 700 in his 904th game as coach. It took Robinson 943 games. Adolph Rupp (in 836 games), Jerry Tarkanian (in 876), Phog Allen (in 938) and Lute Olson (in 940) took fewer games to reach 700 wins than did Robinson. But F&M’s coach needed fewer games to reach 700 than did Hank Iba, Bob Knight, Eddie Sutton, John Chaney, Don Haskins, Lou Henson and Lefty Driesell. “It’s special,’’ said 6-7 sophomore Derek Hines. “When I was a senior at (Manheim) Township I came here and watched him get his (Division 3 record) 667th win. That was really special. “He’s a great coach, and he deserves it, and it’s fun winning for him.’’ Hines was a factor in the win, scoring 8 points and grabbing 6 rebounds. More valuable were 6-4 senior Brandon Smith, who had 18 points, grabbed 8 rebounds, and dished out 10 assists; 6-4 sophomore Adam Leonard, with 14 points and 6 boards; and 6-5 junior Bryan Teschke, with 14 points and 8 rebounds. In that key 15-0 run that stretched from 7:25 to 3:06 of the first half, Leonard made all five of his foul shots, and Smith scored four points. In addition, F&M’s defense forced turnovers on four of five Swarthmore possessions. F&M forced 21 turnovers in the game. “We love to have that defensive stance where you get multiple stops in a row (that) lead to fast-break or easy baskets,’’ said Robinson. “And that’s what happened there. “(But) we never really put them away.’’ And if there’s a red warning flag that came out of the win, that was it. Swarthmore is 0-4. It was picked to finish last in the Centennial Conference. F&M is 3-1. It was picked to finish second. If that is right, then this should’ve been better than a 12-point win. “We should be putting teams away by a lot more margin of victory,’’ Hines agreed. “Seriously, the best thing was we won our first conference game,’’ said Robinson. “We’re not precision-like yet.’’ It will get tougher now. F&M will take its 1-0 conference mark to Gettysburg on Tuesday. Gettysburg is 2-1 and took York, a Division 3 Final Four participant last season, down to the wire before losing by nine last week in York. After that comes Lebanon Valley in Annville Thursday. LVC is 2-2 and a perennial MAC power. F&M won’t play again at Mayser until a week from tonight against Dickinson. Chances are, it might take longer for Robinson to go from win No. 700 to 701 than it did to go from 699 to 700.
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