Breaking: Mark Pope lament about his favorite player, “He is growing at an amazing rate.”
With Jaxson Robinson’s official commitment and signing, Kentucky now has the much-needed perimeter scorer that the Cats need.
After signing Mark Pope, Kentucky had a great offseason, but they were still missing a vital player from their squad for the next season. That was before Jaxson Robinson, a transfer guard from BYU, decided to commit to Kentucky and withdrew from the NBA Draft in favor of the Cats.
Ever since Pope assumed the position in Lexington, Robinson has been one of Kentucky’s primary objectives. With Pope as his head coach, he not only enjoyed a prosperous career but also perfectly suited Kentucky’s needs. It made perfect sense.
Robinson averaged 11.4 points a game over two years as a Pope player at BYU, starting 66 games. Last season, he averaged 14.2 points per game off the bench to lead BYU in scoring.
Even after two years under Pope and his success last year, the head coach at Kentucky believes there is still potential for improvement.
“For the past two years, Jackson Robinson has been among the most improved players in the nation and he has only begun to reach his full potential,” stated Pope. “He is growing at an amazing rate.”
Despite coming off the bench, Robinson was excellent this season and was named the Big 12’s Sixth Man of the Year.
Robinson had a part in some of BYU’s greatest victories. He scored 17 points in the match against Texas, 18 points against Kansas, and 23 points against NC State.
In BYU’s 67-point loss against Duquesne in the NCAA Tournament, he scored 25 of them.
Robinson is an excellent three-level scorer, primarily because of his shooting prowess. Though erratic, he made 35.4 percent of his threes.
“He is an elite level shooter, is increasingly dangerous off the bounce and at the rim and has the potential to become a big-time playmaker,” Pope stated. “Jaxson is a long, balanced guard who recognizes the value of forging close bonds with his teammates.
“On a personal note, I’m thrilled to be joining him to wrap up his college career and try to win Kentucky’s ninth national championship.”
For Mark Pope and the Cats, this was by far their biggest victory of the offseason. It was a critical position, and the player was clearly very much in line with Pope and his philosophy.
