Coach Dellie Robinson’s legacy lives on

When the talk of basketball comes up around the city of Vicksburg, it’s practically guaranteed that a coach by the name of Dellie Robinson will come up in the conversation.

Being a winner has been in Robinson’s blood since his playing days at Alcorn State University where he was an All-American basketball player. He played at Alcorn from 1972 to 1976.

In nearly 30 years of coaching at Canton and Vicksburg high schools, Robinson won nearly 700 games. He became VHS head coach in 1992, where he paved the way for many young athletes to play on the next level and helped young men secure their future outside of basketball.

He led VHS to a championship season in 2003 after the Gators defeated Starkville 61-54 in overtime. Before retirement, Robinson led VHS to two more appearances in the state championships, in 2011 and 2014.

The stands were always full when Robinson led the Gators out on the court. Many people can’t recall a time where Robinson didn’t lead his team to a successful season.

Robinson delayed retiring as long as he could, and he continued to coach the team into his 60s. In 2017, his time as head coach came to an end as he left at halftime during a game with an illness that forced him to retire from the game he loved.

Kelvin Carter, Robinson’s longtime assistant, took over as head coach after that season, and Carter has kept Robinson’s winning tradition alive.

Robinson has a long list of great players he coached over the years such as former Dandy Dozen Mychal Ammons and Johnathan Phelps who both averaged at least 20 points per game during their time at VHS. He remains a mentor to many of his former players who went on to become coaches including Troy Stewart who is now the girl’s basketball coach at VHS.

Robinson is married to Hazel Robinson and they have three kids: Delmon Robinson, Deatra Robinson Caples and Teadra Robinson Sudds.

He is now fully retired from coaching, but his legacy lives on.