SAN ANTONIO — The Roberson family is well known around San Antonio for its connection to basketball. Out of the seven siblings, five have played or currently play college basketball. One played college volleyball, and the youngest, Arianna, is a budding basketball star.

“Being the youngest of seven, not a lot of people get to say that,” Roberson said. “We’re very competitive, playing basketball or even beach volleyball. Always the intensity is there. They helped me a lot along this journey and helped pave the way, too, so I can take pages out of their book.”

While Roberson has learned a lot from her family, she’s always been looking to create her own identity. 

“I’m very independent and I wanted to do something on my own,” she said. “Start my own journey, create my own path.”

One thing she has accomplished that nobody else in her family can claim is winning a state championship in high school. Roberson was the game MVP of the 6A title game last year, helping Clark beat DeSoto and win the Cougars’ first championship.

“It was definitely an impactful game, atmosphere and environment,” Roberson recalled. “So much emotion because it’s my first time being able to do that for myself and for my team as well.”

Roberson is back for her senior season and hoping to lead Clark to the state tournament again and repeat as champs. 

“Everyone knows there’s a target on our back,” said Roberson. “Everyone is going to want to come for that. We’re the team to beat, you could say.”

While Roberson is focused on finishing her high school career with another title, she also has a bright future ahead in basketball. She was a high-profile recruit that almost every school in the country wanted. She had offers from programs including UConn, Oregon and USC, but last month signed to play at Duke.

“Definitely a hard decision, but I would say about Duke they checked off every box,” said Roberson. “It just felt like something I’d never felt before at any other school and that’s how I knew for myself that this is where I wanted to be.”

So much of her hard work has paid off and Roberson says it’s not always easy to put in the hours in the gym, but she has the internal drive to push through the tough days.

“You have to have a level of discipline for yourself,” she said. “If I don’t have motivation, I just know I’m disciplined and get to where I need to get to.”

This season, Roberson has helped Clark get off to a great start with only one loss and they are currently ranked first in the state in class 6A.