Monday, March 25, 2013

Robertson stands alone at the top | Sun SailorSun Sailor



Zach Robertson is part of an impressive Wayzata Trojan boys basketball tradition.

His father Scott played for the Trojans, as did Scott’s brothers Robby and Brett. Zach’s brother Eric was a two-time All-Lake forward for the Trojans, graduating in 2011. Zach’s cousin Drake Mjaanes, a senior classmate at Wayzata this year, has been his teammate since third grade.

“There has always been a tradition of Robertsons playing basketball at Wayzata,” said Zach. “It’s an inspiration to play for the same school that my dad, uncles and brother played for.”

While each of those Robertsons was a standout, Zach, a 6-foot-4 senior forward, recently became Wayzata’s all-time leading scorer. He averaged 20.8 points per game this season as the Trojans finished 12-13 overall.

In addition to surpassing all of his family members, Robertson also trumped past greats in the Wayzata program such as Don Mueller, Ray Zitzloff, Mike Reed, Paul Anderson, Steve Johnson, Tim Getten, Chris Evers, Eric Kohorst, Haug Scharnowski, Jason Vogt, Seth Midura and brothers Kellen and Chris Taylor.

Zach Robertson scored his 1,000th career point during a win over St. Paul Central earlier this season. He finished his career with just over 1,440 points and had 541 this season alone.

“I had no idea they would stop the game and acknowledge it,” said Robertson. “I didn’t know how many points I had.”

“I think Zach was a little bit embarrassed by the attention,” said Scott Robertson. “He’s level headed and doesn’t get too high or too low. But being the all-time leading scorer at Wayzata is a great accomplishment.”

Zach said he learned the game from his father.

“He pretty much taught me everything I know about basketball,” Zach noted. “When I was younger, my dad always harped on playing defense and taught me to be unselfish. I started playing at the YMCA, and then when I was in first grade I played on my brother’s third-grade AAU team.”

Last spring Robertson led Minnesota Magic Elite to a one-point win over Minnesota Fury Gold in the state Division I spring championship game at Augsburg College. His teammates included two Lake Conference rivals, Tommy McDermott of Minnetonka and Reggie Lynch of Edina.

Robertson’s spring and summer coach was another Robertson (Jerry, who is a Bloomington police detective). They are not related.

Another coach who has had a great influence on Robertson is Wayzata head coach Phil Ward.

“Phil is a great guy,” said Robertson. “We’re close. I also had him as my gym teacher.”

Robertson said he felt bad for Ward when Wayzata lost to Hopkins 63-58 in the section playoffs earlier this month at Hopkins Lindbergh Center. A controversial offensive foul call was followed by a technical, and suddenly Hopkins was four points ahead.

“It was tough to end the season like that,” said Robertson, who scored 15 points in his final high school game. “We put a lot into preparing for Hopkins.”

Maybe the saddest thing about the game was that it was Robertson’s last chance to play with Mjaanes and Bradley Carlson, his teammates since they were 8 years old.

“The three of us have a connection,” said Robertson. “Drake [Mjaanes] is the ideal player to play with. He is the most unselfish guy on the court, and he works to get other guys looks. Bradley had a great second half of the season. He’s 6-6 and quick. Not many guys can go up against him.”

Carlson was Wayzata’s second leading scorer with 18.3 points per game and Mjaanes was third at 7.8.

Robertson and Carlson were named first-team All-Lake Conference and Mjaanes earned honorable mention. Wayzata won the section academic title for the third straight year.

Looking to the future, Robertson would like to play college basketball, preferably at an NCAA Division I university.

With a 25 ACT score and a GPA in excess of 3.0, he has the credentials to make it academically.

The fact that he’s a lights-out shooter from three-point range is in his favor, along with his tenacity at the defensive end.

As long as he lives Robertson will have great memories of high school basketball at Wayzata.

“I have had unbelievable teammates here,” he said. “They are great guys off the court, and we have always had a lot of fun together. Playing in the Lake Conference has been a great experience, and the games are really tough. Everybody knows that.”

Sometime in the future, there might be a third generation of Robertsons making a name for themselves in Wayzata basketball. Zach could assume the role that Scott has enjoyed for the last six seasons; being the proud father in the stands watching his son compete for WHS.


Contact John Sherman at john.sherman@ecm-inc.com




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