East's Bradley Robbins signs

East Rowan's Robbins. photo by Wayne Hinshaw, for the Salisbury Post

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By Mike London

mlondon@salisburypost.com

GRANITE QUARRY — Tallahassee Community College head coach Mike McLeod coached pros for six years and Florida State pitchers for eight, so he knows a thing or two about arms.

When he watched East Rowan senior Bradley Robbins throw a bullpen in Tallahassee last fall, he made a vow to assistant coach Angelo Nicolosi.

“If it means signing this kid, we’ll go to North Carolina,” McLeod said.

Robbins, who has a Division I arm but some work to do academically, committed to TCC in November, shortly after a surprisingly chilly visit to Tallahassee. Bradley’s grandfather, Leonard, arrived in north Florida in short sleeves, expecting Miami weather. He unthawed with the addition of a gray TCC sweatshirt to his wardrobe.

“No, it wasn’t as warm as we expected,” Bradley recalled with a laugh. “But it was nice, really nice.”

On Tuesday, it was Nicolosi’s turn to do something nice, really nice. A New Jersey guy who entered the coaching ranks after pitching college ball in Florida, Nicolosi headed north at 1 a.m. He was to sign Robbins in the East media center at 2 p.m.

Nicolosi figured on a nine-hour trip to Granite Quarry, but he preaches to his players to always be early, never late, and he wanted to set a good example.

“It was supposed to be pouring rain in Georgia and South Carolina,” Nicolosi explained. “I didn’t get the rain, just lots and lots of fog.”

He arrived in Granite Quarry — early — in his Sunday best and accomplished his mission. He got Robbins signed with a host of family, plus East coaches Brian Hightower and John McNeil and principal Kelly Sparger looking on with approval.

“For him to drive up here to North Carolina, I’m kind of impressed,” Hightower said. “But Bradley’s got a rare gift. I’ve coached 15 years, and I haven’t seen a lot of arms like he has. An arm like that can make you look pretty good as a coach. And he’s not just a great pitcher — he’s a great athlete.”

Florida and northern Georgia are prep baseball hotbeds, so Tallahassee’s serious pursuit of Robbins isn’t standard stuff.

“It really isn’t normal for us to come this far, but it’s not a problem when you’re talking about an arm like Bradley’s got and a body like he’s going to have,” Nicolosi said. “When you leave your backyard, it’s got to be because you found something better than what’s in your backyard. We’ve got plenty of players down there, and we can be kind of picky and choosy, but we feel like we got lucky with Bradley.”

The Robbins family has contributed greatly to East athletics. Leonard recalls being East’s baseball MVP in 1963. His brother, Phil, put together a string of baseball MVP awards after that, and both were also pretty fair basketball players.

Phil, a southpaw, pitched the famous “no fair” game against Monroe in 1964. No Monroe hitter put a ball in play. Robbins got 19 of the 21 outs on whiffs and he picked off a guy that walked. A hitter popped up in foul territory for the other out.

Phil’s son, Jake, inherited the baseball gene and was sensational at Myers Park High in Charlotte. The story goes that a scout came to watch Jake and left after his first throw from shortstop. Didn’t need to see him swing a bat. He knew the kid had the arm for the highest level.

After the 1994 draft, Jake turned down N.C. State to sign with the New York Yankees. His 13-year professional odyssey included two big league outings with the Cleveland Indians.

Bradley’s father, David, played at East in the 1980s, but a torn rotator cuff wrecked his hopes of pitching for the Mustangs. His kid is making up for it.

“Bradley loves the game, always has,” David said. “I never pushed him. It was always him saying, ‘Daddy, let’s go hit or ‘Daddy, let’s go throw.’ But I quit throwing with him when he was 12 or 13. He threw too hard and his ball moved too much.”

“Bradley,” added Leonard proudly, “is the best of all the Robbins bunch.”

Robbins had a limited role on East’s 2010 3A state champions as a sophomore, but with pitching coach Brian Hatley’s help, he exploded as a junior. He was the county’s dominant hurler with a 10-1 record, a 1.01 ERA and 88 strikeouts in 621/3 innings.

“I made a big jump,” Robbins said. “I didn’t think it was possible when I was a sophomore that I’d be signing with someone before my senior season. Right now, I’m living a dream.”

Hightower will ask for even more this year. With closer Will Johnson now at Catawba, Robbins may be asked to win one game each week and save another.

“It’ll be a blast,” Robbins said. “I can’t wait.”

After Robbins’ senior year and American Legion ball, Tallahassee Community College will get him. That’s assuming he doesn’t get drafted this summer.

He’ll plunge into a very competitive environment in Florida.

David Robbins follows all Rowan athletics closely and knew that Salisbury basketball superstar Bubbles Phifer is excelling for Tallahassee’s women’s team.

Then there’s North Rowan product Keegan Linza. He played his sophomore season for Tallahassee’s rival Northwest Florida State. That proved a springboard to a fine career at Division I Liberty and becoming a draft pick.

Nicolosi remembers Linza well and believes Robbins has similar potential.

“Our job as coaches will be to get Bradley seen by scouts, and we’ll do that, but our primary job is to be teachers,” Nicolosi said. “Bradley’s job will be to get the job done in the classroom. We want our players to be student-athletes, not just athletic students, and there’s a difference. Some kids will mess up, but Bradley’s got a great family, some great upbringing, and we believe his future is bright.”

Nicolosi shook hands with Hightower, McNeil and lots of people named Robbins and started back down the road with a smile on his face — and a signature in his pocket.

Now it’s up to the kid with the arm touched by a lightning bolt.

“Those coaches at Tallahassee are the real deal,” David Robbins said quietly. “Bradley did great last year, but he’s still got a big mountain ahead of him. He’s just got to keep his head right.”