San Antonio Express-News (Sunday)
ROBERSON’S RISE
Youngest of 7 skilled siblings, Duke-bound senior has carved out her own path, which will take her to national showcase
She stands 6 feet, 4 inches and is officially an adult, but Arianna Roberson will always be the baby sister.
That’s how it goes for the youngest of John and Lisa Roberson’s seven children and their insanely talented athletic family. John (basketball) and Lisa (volleyball) met in the 1980s as athletes at New Mexico State.
Most are aware of Andre, 32, who played seven seasons in the NBA, including six with the Oklahoma City Thunder. The oldest, Ashlee, 36, played basketball at Texas Tech. Amber, 34, played volleyball at Texas. Arielle, 31, played basketball at Colorado and West Virginia. Anthony, 29, played at Central Oklahoma and the Oklahoma City Blue, the Thunder’s GLeague affiliate. Aaliyah, 20, is a sophomore forward for TCU and played one season with Arianna at Clark two years ago.
“I’m so thankful for my siblings because they led the way for me,” said the 18-year-old Arianna, who recently finished her high school career at Clark. “They’ve opened up paths that I’ve never even thought about.”
One of those paths leads to Houston on Tuesday, when the Duke signee will be the eighth player from San Antonio to participate in the prestigious McDonald’s All-American Games. Arianna is the first Roberson to be selected for it.
“Every basketball player’s dream to become an (McDonald’s) All-American,” Ashlee said. “That was my goal and then my younger siblings’ (goal), and for her to finally accomplish something that we all worked so hard to get, it’s a feeling like she did it for us.”
Arianna joins an impressive
list of San Antonio girls who have earned McDonald’s AllAmerican nods. East Central’s NaLyssa Smith (2018) and Kiana Williams (2017), who won national titles at Baylor and Stanford, respectively, were the most recent selections before Arianna. Others include Steele’s Meighan Simmons (2010), FEAST’s Recee’ Caldwell (2014), Clemens’ Kyra Lambert and Wagner’s Amber Ramirez (2016). Cole’s Shaquille O’Neal (1989) remains the only player from San Antonio picked for the boys game.
After Tuesday’s game, Roberson is slated represent Team USA in the 2024 Women’s Nike Hoop Summit on April 13 at the Moda Center in Portland, Ore.
The high-profile games cap a journey where she’s wanted to be known as “Arianna Roberson” with no identification qualifier.
“I’ve always been looked at as so-and-so’s younger sister, which I am, don’t get me wrong,” Arianna said. “But when I got to high school, I wanted a name for myself. I wanted what they had, basically. I want someone to know me for who I am and not someone’s little sister. That motivated me to be the player and person I am today.”
Arianna’s played three seasons on Clark’s varsity. She said she likely wouldn’t have played much as a freshman on varsity, so she said she played junior varsity to get minutes and hone her skills — mainly ball handling and shooting — to evolve her game away from the back-tobasket strategies traditionally used by tall players.
Her sophomore season, Arianna was selected as the 2021-22 Express-News Co-Newcomer of the Year along with Wagner’s LA Sneed. That season, Arianna and Aaliyah, then a senior, were part of the Cougars’ squad that lost against DeSoto in the Class 6A state semifinals.
The sisters’ contributions to Clark’s success that season enabled them to establish their own identities, which is something Andre had talked to them about.
“I wanted to have them make a name for themselves,” Andre said. “It’s almost like a sense of pride in one’s own self. They took that to heart and took accountability for all their actions and how they played.”
Last season, the ExpressNews selected Arianna as its 2022-23 Player of the Year after she led the Cougars to the Class 6A state championship. She was selected as the UIL state championship game MVP after recording 24 points and 15 rebounds in a 42-37 win against DeSoto, the two-time defending champion.
Capturing the state gold was something that had eluded four of her siblings. In addition to Aaliyah, Amber (2008 with Wagner), Arielle (2011 with Wagner) and Andre (2009, 2010 with Wagner) fell short in their quests.
After Arianna was presented with her MVP plaque, emotions flowed as she tearfully embraced her parents. At last, it happened for the family.
“My siblings have left a legacy here in San Antonio, and me being the last one, I kind of wanted to close that out,” Arianna said. “I wanted to accomplish something they weren’t able to accomplish.”
During the news conference following last season’s Class 6A state semifinal 49-48 victory against Coppell, which was secured by Natalie Huff’s buzzerbeating 3-pointer, Arianna expressed confidence in the Cougars’ chances to win a state championship. It mattered not that only Judson was the only city’s girls team to win one in UIL’s highest classification.
“We had lost to DeSoto the year before, and that motivated me to take that anger and work toward a win,” Roberson said. “So, I was confident, you need confidence in basketball. I felt confident because it’s something we really wanted, but not just for us, but for the city, for Clark, for everyone. I felt it in the moment, and I just felt that something in my heart was saying, ‘You guys got this.’ ”
This season, Clark fell one game short of advancing to the state tournament a third straight season. Roberson earned co-District 28-6A MVP honors with Brandeis’ Rian Forestier despite missing seven games with an ankle injury.
Arianna’s supreme confidence was nowhere to be found in seventh grade when Arianna joined Player First Basketball for
AAU at the urging of Huff, who met Arianna at Rawlinson Middle School. It was around that time when Arianna began grasping the enormity of her family’s athletic legacy.
“There was a period of time where she wasn’t very confident, just coming from her family and all the expectation there,” said Devon Agusi, Arianna’s coach at Player First. “Early, that was difficult for her.”
Arianna was anything but a polished product then.
“She was extremely raw,” Agusi said. “The thing that stood out to me then is her family instilled a work ethic — try hard and give your best. She was an unbelievable student. She picked up good habits really well. She’s not afraid to do certain things.”
Arianna had the genes, no doubt. Getting into a place that could mold her was key then. Arianna has taken it from there.
“It started with her at a young age being exposed to a lot of basketball at a high level,” Andre said. “She soaked it in like a sponge. … She’s a testament to our parents and each and every one of us in that competitive household. Iron sharpens iron. I wouldn’t be who I am without my brother and sisters, and she wouldn’t be who is she without us.”
Arianna credits Agusi for getting her past her early struggles on and off the court.
“I was really scared because I didn’t know the potential I had in myself,” Arianna said. “The confidence was very low, and that’s something I’ve been working on to this day. I give him credit for seeing the vision and believing in me even when I didn’t (believe it) myself.”
Now, she’s soaring.
“It’s been a crazy ride throughout my high school years,” Arianna said. “I have no one else to thank for that but my family, God and everyone who has supported me.”