BUTLER TWP — Corey Robinson doesn’t know how he does it.

After basketball games, his body creaks. Sleep is a precious commodity, fit into a schedule brimming with a wife, two young children, a full-time job on the graveyard shift, as well as school and hoops.

The 34-year-old college sophomore does offer up one explanation as he points upward with his index finger.

“The grace of God,” he says, flashing a small smile. “That’s all I can tell you. The grace of God.”

Robinson comes off the bench for the Butler County Community College basketball team and is averaging 6.5 points per game.

But his purpose is bigger than points and rebounds, more profound than blocks and steals. The 6-footer — with a desire to play basketball bigger than Shaq — is the big brother on an eclectic squad.

“He is the heart and soul of our team,” said Pioneers’ coach Tony Grenek, who is three months younger than Robinson. “He keeps us together. He puts a 25-hour day into 24 hours.”

Robinson always has a smile on his face and words of encouragement for a group of players whose road to BCCC is as diverse as the roads that surround the school nestled in Butler County’s countryside.

Among them is Grant Bailey, a 22-year-old recovering drug and alcohol abuser who is relishing his second chance.

Among them, too, is Matt Lobaugh, a freshman who is adept at dodging defenders for open looks at the basket. Just a year ago, he was dodging bullets in Iraq.

“I think one of the best things about coaching at a community college is there are so many types of personalities,” said Grenek, who has molded the personalities into an 13-7 team so far this season. “The challenge is to try to get them to play together in a short period of time.”

His voice can be heard above all others, barking out instructions and support for his teammates on the court.Grenek is the coach, but this is Mr. Robinson’s team.“It’s a combination of older brother and coach,” Robinson says of his role with the Pioneers. “I just try to respect my boundaries as their teammate and — regardless of how old I am, and whatever the coach tries to convey — I make sure the guys are all on the same page.”Robinson played for BCCC last year, but only in the home games. His schedule excluded him from going on road trips.But this season, Robinson made the decision to participate fully.It hasn’t been easy juggling an 11 p.m.-to-7 a.m. job at a Grove City hotel, carrying a full class load while writing for the school newspaper and making time for his wife Lynn, 2-year-old daughter Lisa and 4-year-old son Corey Jr.“I just wanted to be a piece of this puzzle,” Robinson said. “I told my wife that I was going full tilt this season. Right now, I wouldn’t trade this group of guys for anything.”And they wouldn’t trade him.His teammates see him as an inspiration. They also see what he goes through after games. His body isn’t as young and spry as it used to be.“If you think about it, he’s a great role model,” Grenek said. “We play a game and the next day, he’s limping up and down the court. If I play now, I’m sore for two weeks. I couldn’t even think about competing against younger guys at this level.”Robinson leads with his actions, too, as he did in a whirlwind 16-hour period last month when he worked an eight-hour shift between two basketball games.The Pioneers played Franciscan University of Steubenville Dec. 3 and didn’t return home until midnight. Robinson went to work, then met his teammates at Westminster that morning for a 10 a.m. tip-off.He scored 28 points.“I was always taught that there are two types of leaders,” Robinson said. “There’s a person who is a leader who just barks orders and doesn’t do anything. Then there are leaders who lead by example.“At that time, I wasn’t trying to score a lot of points. I was just trying to do what I could do to help the team out.”His teammates noticed. They were in awe of the feat and were trying to figure out how he did it.“It must have been the protein bars,” Bailey said, laughing. “It’s definitely inspiring. I don’t know many 33- or 34-year-olds who are in shape like he is or can run like he can.”For Robinson, his experience with the Pioneers is like living out a dream.At Ben Franklin High School, the basketball coach told him there was no need for him on the team, so he didn’t play. Now, he is playing and making a mark.“The saddest part about this year is I won’t be back next year,” Robinson said. “Morally speaking, I feel like we are undefeated.”

Bailey leans his head down and displays a scar that zigzags through his close-cropped hair.“I’m a recovering addict — drugs and alcohol — and I’m epileptic,” Bailey said. “Those things don’t mix, as you can see.”While driving home more than two years ago, Bailey had a seizure, wrecked his car and was thrown through the windshield. He was transported by medical helicopter to a nearby hospital.It was a life-threatening — and life-changing — event for Bailey, who has been clean for nearly two years. Playing basketball at BCCC has been the culmination of his road back to recovery.It wasn’t an easy one. After graduating from New Castle High School, where he played basketball, he got a job as a bartender and watched as his life spiraled out of control for the next five years.“I made some poor choices,” Bailey said. “Then after five years of using drugs and partying and drinking, I noticed my relationship with my parents fading out. I noticed my parents accepting their son was an addict.”That didn’t sit well with Bailey. After the car accident, he realized his life had to change, and he asked his parents for help.He went into rehab for two weeks and was released, but he knew from experience that two weeks wasn’t enough time.Old habits die hard.Bailey had friends who went into rehab for two weeks, then resumed their old ways. He wasn’t going to let that happen to him.“I went into a halfway house,” Bailey said. “There were a lot of 40-year-olds there who had lost their wives and kids. They told me they couldn’t go back and change things, but that I could start over and not miss a beat. It was an inspiration.”Bailey took classes in New Castle before coming to BCCC, where he inquired about playing basketball again.“He came to some workouts and I said, ‘I’d like to keep you if you would like to stick it out’” Grenek said. “He did real well in his studies and he’s now doing real well for us.”Bailey is the Pioneers’ leading rebounder, averaging nearly 10 per game since becoming a starter.Being back on the court was something Bailey thought would never happen. Now that it has, he feels his recovery is almost complete.“I’ve always had a passion for basketball,” Bailey said. “I love basketball, but I never gave myself completely to the game. I was always caught up in drugs and stuff. That was bugging me all through my life.”Bailey pokes his chest with two fingers. Under his shirt and over his heart is a tattoo that reads “7-28-03.”“That’s my clean date,” Bailey said. “It’s literally there, 7-28-03. Every day I wake up, my life gets better.”

A missed shot, a foul or a turnover doesn’t have the same meaning to Lobaugh now.The Pioneers’ leading scorer at 21 points per game just shrugs those things off. They don’t seem as catastrophic anymore.Not after the year he spent in Iraq in the Army Reserve out of Beaver Falls.Lobaugh refueled vehicles during his 12-month tour of duty in Iraq and had several brushes with real catastrophe.“We got shot at a couple of times,” Lobaugh said. “A couple of our trucks were blown up by mines.”In April, Lobaugh returned home. Five days before classes started this fall, he enrolled at BCCC.Originally, the Youngstown Chaney High School graduate was going to try to walk on to the Youngstown State University basketball team, but a friend told him about BCCC.Grenek was thrilled to get him.“We knew right from the start he would be a pretty good ballplayer for us,” Grenek said.Lobaugh hasn’t disappointed. If he has a weakness, it is that he is too unselfish for his own good.Grenek implores him to shoot more, insisting he could be a 30- to 40-point per game scorer. But Lobaugh would rather get everyone involved.“I just play the game,” Lobaugh said, shrugging.His unselfishness has enamored him with his teammates. Lobaugh’s play sums up the team he plays for: Everyone looks out for everyone else.“These guys on this team, there are no egos,” Bailey said, pointing to Lobaugh. “This cat here drops 25 points a game and you’d never know it. You’d think he was the worst player on the team, not the best.”

It’s not lost on Robinson, Bailey and Lobaugh that they come from very different beginnings.But all hope to have similar endings: success — beyond BCCC and beyond the basketball court.“These guys, I will be friends with for the rest of my life,” Bailey said. “These are the first real friends I have had in my life.”Inevitably, all three will go their separate ways. Robinson will finish out his playing days for the Pioneers with fond memories. Bailey will use his experience as a way to further reinforce his recovery, and Lobaugh will use his time with the Pioneers to perhaps parlay it into a four-year university scholarship.On one thing they agree. They will never forget the experience.Grenek won’t either, managing to find words to sum up his three stars.“Corey is basically here to live out a dream,” Grenek said. “Grant is here and is just happy he’s on the straight and narrow and doing something positive, and Matt is here to move on to four-year college. It’s fun to watch them interact with each other. That’s what community college sports are all about.”

Remaining Butler County Community College Pioneer men's basketball games are:Saturday at 2 p.m., home against Pitt TitusvilleMonday at 7:30 p.m., away at Potomac State in West VirginiaWednesday at 7 p.m., away at Community College of Beaver CountyFeb. 5 at 2 p.m., home against Community College of Allegheny County.More information is available in the sports section of the Butler Eagle.