Free Michelle Obama by David Colbert

would have interested all of them. So Michelle's family, who assumed they'd never see him again, didn't take any special interest in him. Final verdict after the dinner? "He was just another one who wasn't going to make it."
    Then, about a month after the dinner, Craig got a call from Michelle. She wanted a favor. It was about Barack. Craig was surprised Barack was still around. But what did she want?
    "My father and I had a theory that you can really tell what somebody's personality is like by playing basketball with him," Craig remembered. Is he generous with his passes? Does he take the shot when it's his? Is he a show-off? Does he lie about fouling or being fouled? Can you trust him to keep score? Michelle wanted Craig to invite Barack to play basketball and then give her his opinion of Barack's character.
    Craig's first thought was, "Oh, no, she's going to make me be the bad guy." But he went along with it. He invited Barack to an informal game.
    Barack got some credit just for showing up. After starring for Princeton, Craig had been drafted in the fourth round by the Philadelphia 76ers and then had played professionally in Europe. Pickup games with Craig were serious. Craig was also 6'6" to Barack's 6'2", and Craig ran with other big players. Many years later, in 2001, when Michael Jordan was preparing for a possible comeback with the Washington Wizards, Craig was one of the players chosen for secret practice games to tune up the superstar. Craig was almost forty years old then. When he played Barack, he was closer to twenty-seven. Barack hadn't played organized basketball since high school. He was pretty good then—though maybe not as good as he imagined at the time.
    They met at a school. Barack and Craig were on the same team. Craig saw that Barack was left-handed, and knew how to pick spots on the court where that was an advantage.
Okay,
Craig thought.
Smart.
Barack couldn't easily drive to basket against Craig's bigger friends, but he had an outside shot.
That took some practice.
Just as Michelle had hoped, Craig got a sense of Barack's character. "I was happy to report back he was a good guy on the court," Robinson told the
Providence Journal
many years later, when millions more people were wondering what personality traits Barack had revealed that day. "He was confident without being cocky. He was intense. He wanted to win. If he thought a call needed to be argued, he'd argue, but mostly he just played with a lot of integrity. And he didn't just pass the ball to me because I was Michelle's brother."
    Craig came away from the game a lot more interested in Barack, who in his own quiet way showed a stronger character than Craig had expected. His parents soon felt the same way. "My sister is one tough girl," Craig remembered. "I'm older and I'm still afraid of her. She's very accomplished, so she needs someone as accomplished as her, and she also needs someone who can stand up to her. So, we in the family, we were just hoping that she could hang on to this guy, because it was readily apparent he could stand up to her."
"THEN AND THERE, I DECIDED"
    Barack knew how to get through to Michelle. Some of their dates were unconventional, like when he took her to church basements for community meetings he had organized. But he was able to show off a side of himself that he knew she'd admire. "He connected with me and everyone in that church basement," she remembered. "He was able to articulate a vision that resonated with people, that was real. And right then and there, I decided this guy was special. The authenticity you see is real, and that's why I fell in love with him." Although she was focused on earning a living, she admired Barack's lack of interest in money. "He could've gone to Wall Street. Those offers were available to him. But instead Barack bussed these young mothers down to City Hall to help them find their voice and advocate for change." She also loved his ability to stay hopeful that his work was worth