El Cajon Valley High School honored one of East County's most beloved educators and coaches last Thursday, formally naming its basketball court after Randy Robinson during halftime of the boys basketball game against West Hills.

Robinson, who passed away in December 2024 from complications of pancreatic cancer, spent more than 30 years as a coach, athletic director, and social science teacher at El Cajon Valley. The ceremony took place at 7 p.m. during the Braves' final regular-season home game on Feb. 13.

From 1982 to 2012, Robinson coached both the boys and girls varsity basketball programs at El Cajon Valley, leading countless students on and off the court. He also coached women's basketball at Grossmont College in the 1980s and helped found the Grossmont Holiday Classic, California's second-oldest community college women's basketball tournament.

Beyond the wins and championships, Robinson was known for keeping the gym doors open on weekends, providing a safe space for students to play and build friendships. In the classroom, he championed literacy and social justice, inspiring the Randy Robinson Reader Award that continues today.

After retiring in 2012, Robinson helped establish a museum on campus preserving El Cajon Valley's history. "El Cajon Valley has the most wonderfully ethnically mixed campus in the county," he said at the museum's 2016 opening. "It is the new face of America."

El Cajon Valley High School is located at 1035 E. Madison Ave. in El Cajon.