After reaching 1,000 career points during Florida win, Jaxson Robinson returned to the floor to get up more shots

Jaxson Robinson came into Saturday’s game against Florida with 990 career college points to his name. Finishing with 14 points, he had surpassed the 1,000-point threshold once the final buzzer sounded as Kentucky snapped the Gators’ unbeaten streak with a 106-100 win inside Rupp Arena.

But he clearly wasn’t completely satisfied with his performance. Over an hour after the game ended, Robinson returned to a near-empty Rupp Arena floor as Mark Pope was wrapping up his postgame autograph session (which once again drew another massive crowd of fans). But Robinson wasn’t out there to talk with the fans — he was out there to work on his game with graduate assistant Austin Pope.

Robinson spent the next 30-plus minutes getting up shots from all over the court. He started with layups and slowly moved out to the perimeter for some spot-up and catch-and-shoot drills. Even after the building cleared out and it was just us media folk left in the upper level, the fifth-year guard continued to improve his craft.

Pope even came over and said a few words to Robinson before patting him on the back and leaving him to practice.

Jaxson Robinson is the last person inside Rupp Arena, still getting shots up.

Mark Pope walked out to give him a pep talk, chatted for a minute and patted him on the back on his way out.

The little things. pic.twitter.com/AVsAkgTY3F

— Jack Pilgrim (@JackPilgrimKSR) January 4, 2025

Robinson didn’t have a “bad” game by any means either. He finished with 14 points, two assists, and one rebound on 5-12 shooting, including a 2-6 clip from beyond the arc in his 30 minutes of action. But he’s also not been the player that he — and the fanbase — likely expected so far this season. The BYU transfer is shooting just 40.7 percent from the field and 30 percent from deep through 14 games. There’s still plenty of room for improvement, and he’s working on reaching it.

I’m now in my fourth year covering Kentucky games at Rupp Arena. This is the first time I’ve seen a player come out after a game and get in a practice session. Most would say that Robinson produced a solid performance (myself included), but he felt there was more work to be done. The only way to get better is by putting in the time and effort.

These are the little moments you can look back on in a few months as ones that mean more than they might first appear.