How Mark Pope and a very good dog saved Jaxson Robinson's basketball career

There’s about a half hour until tipoff at Rupp Arena and noise is building outside of the Kentucky locker room. Inside, it’s quiet as the team gathers for its prayer circle. Jaxson Robinson and Mark Pope line up next to each other as they have for 60-plus games. As they link hands, unexpected emotions interrupt Pope’s usual pregame flow.

“It just hit me,” Pope told KSR. “I was like, oh my gosh. Like, I’ve been standing next to Jax for a good two and a half years now, and at some point after the season, I’m not gonna be able to do that anymore. And I think that was super figurative for like — I don’t know. It just is super special to me and I think the reason it’s special is because I’ve gotten to witness him grow so much.”

The moment stuck with Pope well after the buzzer sounded on a November non-conference win. He brought it up with Jaxson a few days later.

“He was talking about how he just doesn’t know what he’s going to do when I’m gone,” Jaxson told KSR. “So, that hit me a little bit.”

“That’s — I don’t know, it’s just really cool knowing that I have a coach that I have that relationship with. That’s something that I was looking for when I was younger. So it’s really, really nice to just have that now.”

Without it, Jaxson would not be in Lexington. He might not be playing basketball at all.

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Basketball Bloodlines

Jaxson Robinson doesn’t remember a time in his life without basketball; that’s because he was born into it. Jaxson’s mother, aunt, and grandmother were All-Americans. Until the mid-1990s, women’s and girls’ basketball in Oklahoma was 6-on-6, not 5-on-5, meaning three players were on offense and three on defense. If you were an offensive player, you could not cross midcourt, and vice versa. That led to each Robinson specializing in a different area of the game.

Jaxson’s grandmother, Nancy Robinson, was a star at Murray State College in Tishomingo, Oklahoma. She was an offensive player and put up huge numbers, even before the three-point line was established. Although she was responsible for scoring, Nancy had the heart of a defender, a feistiness she passed on to her daughters and Jaxson. She watches every game and, like her daughters, gives Jaxson feedback. Her biggest piece of advice?

“Hard work and effort,” Brandi, Nancy’s daughter and Jaxson’s mother, said. “She was a scrappy player. Everyone said she was a tough defender, hard-nosed, just get in there and work hard. And that’s the thing for him. She always is pushing him to do the dirty work. She was a dirty work player. And that’s something that we’re finally seeing come to fruition for Jaxson right now is that he’s understanding how to use length and how to use his body and how to just really be a scrappy player.”

Although 6-on-6 was phased out during her freshman year of high school, Brandi Robinson-McWilliams was raised as a defender. She started her college career at Southwest Missouri State and transferred to Southeastern Oklahoma State, where she and her sister Crystal are now in the Hall of Fame. In her senior year, Brandi earned Division II All-American honors and helped lead the Savages to the Division II Women’s National Basketball Tournament finals.

“I wasn’t a great offensive player. I wasn’t a great shooter, but the one thing I could do is play defense,” Brandi said.

How hard was it to score on Brandi? Ask her older sister Crystal, widely known as the greatest women’s player to ever come out of the state of Oklahoma.

“Brandi, if she got me on the block, there was nothing I could do with her,” Crystal said.

Crystal Robinson was an All-American at Atoka High School and a three-time NAIA First-Team All-American and the 1996 NAIA National Player of the Year at Southeastern Oklahoma State, where she is still the all-time leader in points, rebounds, assists, and steals. She started her professional career with the Colorado Xplosion in the American Basketball League in 1996 and was drafted No. 6 overall in the 1999 WNBA Draft by the New York Liberty. In her rookie season, Crystal led the WNBA in made three-pointers (76). She became one of the most efficient offensive players in the league, helping lead the Liberty to three WNBA Finals appearances.

“She’s the same as me,” Jaxson said of his aunt. “Shooter. Just shooting it from anywhere. Really quick. Can get downhill.”

Crystal played her final two seasons with the Washington Mystics before retiring in 2007 to become an assistant coach. Now an assistant for the Chicago Sky, she has spent the last 17 years in the profession, coaching in the pros, college, and even at her old high school, Atoka. At every stop, she’s made time for her star pupil, her nephew Jaxson.

Jaxson was born on December 3, 2002, the only child of Brandi and James. From the start, it became clear that he had his aunt’s knack for scoring. When he was two, Brandi got him a Little Tikes stand-up basketball hoop. Even as a toddler, he knew exactly what to do with it.

“I put it together, and I gave him the ball, and he kind of looked at that ball for a second, and then he just shot it with perfect form. And I immediately called my dad, and I was like, ‘You have to come see this.’ And it was innate to him, which it was not to me.”

At age four, Jaxson started playing in a rec league. While most kids were still learning how to dribble, he was already firing off shots, to the point that during one game, James called Brandi for help.

“He called me and said, ‘He has only shot threes the whole game. I don’t know what to do.’ And I was like, ‘When they called time out, tell him to stop. Tell him to pass the ball, and stop shooting threes.'”

Brandi and Crystal cultivated Jaxson’s love for the game throughout his childhood, taking him to the gym for extra workouts and lessons. Learning the game from two women gave Jaxson a different perspective. Instead of focusing on speed and athleticism, they taught him the game from the ground up, putting special emphasis on fundamentals, form, and footwork.

As Jaxson grew older, his aunt became more involved, coaching his travel team for three summers. Although Crystal had plenty to keep her busy, she seized the opportunity to toughen her nephew up. Having reached the pinnacle of the sport herself, she knew that she had to push him if he was going to do the same — even if he didn’t always like it.

“We had our moments, we had our arguments, but I think it all paid off, and I think it was really good for me,” Jaxson said. “It allowed me to just kind of expand my game and see where I was at as a player, especially at that age. And I was doing it with a whole bunch of friends also. She always reminded me that life is never smaller than basketball.”

When Crystal joined the Dallas Wings coaching staff, Jaxson came and practiced with the team one summer. He got to improve his game by playing with and against professionals and made some friends, like four-time WNBA All-Star Arike Ogunbowale in her rookie season with the Wings. It also opened his eyes to how physical basketball at that level is, a message his aunt continues to harp on to this day.

“Just being aggressive,” Jaxson said of his aunt’s most frequent feedback. “I think that was something that I had always struggled with as a kid, just trying to figure out my game. But I think now just being a little bit more assertive, just offensively and defensively.”

“[Growing up] 24/7, I was either at the high courts or the dirt courts,” Crystal said. “I took the rims off my bikes and knocked the spokes off of them, nailed them to trees. Basketball was all-consuming for me, almost like a sickness. I tell people that all the time, and I think Jaxson may have that too. Sometimes when I played, I was so focused on being great that sometimes it wasn’t fun, and now trying to help him find a good balance between those two.”

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False Start

In high school, Jaxson established himself as the best player in Oklahoma and a top-40, four-star prospect in the 2021 class. In January 2020, he committed to Texas A&M, picking Buzz Williams’ Aggies over Arkansas, Houston, Oklahoma State, and Tulsa. In May of that year, he decided to reclassify and head straight to College Station. Unfortunately, like so many people his age, he was robbed of a true freshman experience due to the pandemic, especially one as an SEC basketball player.

Texas A&M was one of the programs hit hardest by COVID, with eight games postponed and never made up. The Aggies didn’t play a game the entire month of February. Jaxson originally planned to redshirt his freshman year at A&M but once the NCAA granted an extra year of eligibility, decided to give it a go. He played in 14 games, averaging 2.1 points and 1.1 rebounds in only 9.7 minutes per contest. The Aggies finished 8-10 that season and just 2-8 in the SEC.

“It was tough,” Jaxson said. “We weren’t a great team. We were at the bottom of the SEC that year. Everybody kept getting COVID. We had to cancel a whole bunch of games. We didn’t play a lot of our games.”

Because of all the outbreaks, Jaxson was isolated during most of his time at Texas A&M. College Station is roughly five hours from Ada, Oklahoma, so Brandi would make the trip down to see him when she could. His aunt also provided support.

“They just told me to keep fighting, keep going through it, and eventually, you’re gonna see the light at the end of the tunnel. So, I mean, look where I’m at now. It all worked out.”

Jaxson entered the transfer portal in April 2021. A month later, he transferred to Arkansas to play for Eric Musselman, who recruited him out of high school. Less than a year later, he would be on the move again.

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Roadblock

Jaxson Robinson doesn’t like to talk about Arkansas, specifically Eric Musselman. At SEC Media Day this past October, Arkansas beat writer Bob Holt asked Robinson about his time in Fayetteville and what it was like to play for Musselman, who is now at USC.

“Nah, I don’t really have anything to say about Coach Muss, to be honest,” he said, shaking his head.

While Jaxson declined to discuss the specific reasons he left Arkansas with KSR, he did have some fond things to say about his former teammates, with whom he remains close.

“Honestly, the experience wasn’t bad. I really enjoyed that team. That team’s still really close. We still talk almost every day. I learned a lot from those guys. They’re a whole bunch of older guys, a lot of fifth-years, and a lot of seniors. I think we had like seven pros leave from that team so just picking up all the knowledge I could, honestly. I went into that year knowing that I might not get a lot of playing time, but I knew just gaining some knowledge and experience through working out, being in the film room, just hanging around those older guys would eventually pay off.”

Jaxson’s production increased slightly in Fayetteville. He played in 16 games, averaging 3.4 points and 10.2 minutes per contest. He scored a then-career-high 14 points, including three three-pointers, vs. Elon, and played almost 32 minutes against Mississippi State, grabbing seven rebounds.

“I got a little bit of playing time that year, so I think it was really good just to get out on the floor, get some experience in the SEC, which I think could help me potentially this year. All basketball is good basketball.”

Jaxson was one of five players to transfer to Arkansas for the 2021-22 season. He was one of four players who transferred out of the program the following spring, entering the transfer portal on May 12, 2022. The clock was ticking for him to find a third school in as many years.

“I think the only time that I ever saw Jaxson get low and seem to question himself as a player was when he left Arkansas,” Brandi said. “That was a really hard situation and how things went are not how -– I don’t think they should have gone that way. And it was really hard for his mind to understand. You know, he’s 19 years old, and it was a huge change, and he didn’t expect it, and he’s kind of taken aback by it.

“We had two weeks to find a school before the portal closed, so we were out there. There weren’t many teams that still had spots open, and we were just on the phone, on Zoom calls all day long, every day, meeting coaches, meeting teams, getting a feel for things. And that was probably the first time I ever heard him out loud question his ability to play basketball, if this really what was for him.“

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“You don’t fix that in a day”

One of the calls the Robinsons took was from Mark Pope at BYU. The family liked his initial pitch, so they agreed to visit Provo. Both Jaxson and Brandi had the same thought when Pope and Cody Fueger greeted them at the airport.

“I didn’t realize he was that tall,” Jaxson said. “It threw me for a loop.”

“I walked out and said, ‘Jaxson, did you know he was this tall?'” Brandi said.

It didn’t take long for Pope to make the Robinsons feel at ease.

“The thing I remember most about him is sitting in that car with the seat all the way to the back, with his leg hooked up, and just chit-chatting like it was the easiest thing for him,” Brandi said. “And he immediately makes you feel at peace and at home and really just comfortable.”

Leaving the SEC for the West Coast Conference wasn’t exactly the path Jaxson had in mind for his college career, but the more Pope talked, the more the Robinsons liked what they heard.

“I honestly didn’t know anything about BYU going into the portal, so I had to do my research,” Jaxson said. “They had a plan, a well-put-together plan that we all thought was a really good idea. We knew that first year we were going to be in the WCC, but we knew we were transitioning to the Big 12, so just taking it a step at a time and eventually knowing that it’ll work out, which it did.”

It wasn’t easy, especially early on. After his experiences at Texas A&M and Arkansas, it took Jaxson time to open up to his new coaches and teammates. It took even longer for him to trust them.

“When he got to BYU, in some ways, he was super broken, right?” Pope said. “Like all of us are when we go through tough stuff, I’m sure he felt some real defensiveness and protectiveness, and certainly lack of trust in me, in the situation, in all of it, right? He never in a million years imagined that he was going to be playing at BYU, right?

“I don’t think he had a ton of trust in his new teammates – he was playing with the greatest guys ever, but just because of his experience, right? It had been really hard, and you don’t fix that in a day. And so there were actually some points in the season where things got bad, like it got really ugly and bad and all the conversations that you could imagine, and I’m sure, all the feelings.”

One of the teammates that Jaxson credits with helping him was Rudi Williams. Williams was a senior that season and Jaxson’s roommate. He reached out to Jaxson before he got to campus and likes to take credit for getting him to Provo. Williams had also transferred several times in his career, with BYU his fourth and final stop. He took Jaxson under his wing that season. The two still talk every day.

“At first he was definitely feeling everyone out,” Williams said. “At that time, it was my fifth year in college and there wasn’t anything that I really hadn’t seen yet or didn’t much about when it came to college basketball and all of that throughout my career so I just made a serious effort to pass on my knowledge and my wisdom to him becuase I felt like he was goign to be a really good player for us and later on for himself.”

From the start, Williams could tell Jaxson was a natural talent; however, during one of BYU’s scrimmages, the senior couldn’t help but call him out.

“I vividly remember telling him that he’s capable of doing more. There was a day in the summertime we were scrimmaging and he was just letting out all these deep shots go from basically halfcourt. And I yelled at him, like, ‘Bro, you can do more than shoot from halfcourt. You’re not just a three-point shooter.’”

After playing sparingly in his first two seasons of college basketball, Robinson was thrown into the fire, appearing in 33 games and starting 30. He averaged 8.5 points and 2.9 rebounds in 28.1 minutes per game, totaling 61 threes. The increase in playing time was something Jaxson had been searching for, but it was also an adjustment. He called that year “trial and error.”

“Just getting the experience and learning who I was as a player at that point, especially going through the adversity I went through the first two years, I thought, even though it wasn’t necessarily what I hoped it to be, my first year at BYU, I still really loved it. I enjoyed it. I was happy just being back on the basketball court.“

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Breaking through

The summer of 2023 was the summer of change for Jaxson Robinson. For the first time in his college career, he wasn’t on the move. So, he started to put down roots. Before he left Ada to return to BYU for summer classes and workouts, Jaxson got a dog, a three-month-old German Shepherd named Astro.

“My first year wasn’t the best for me, so going into that second year, I felt like I needed something that could keep me sane when I was not playing basketball. I didn’t have any family or really any friends in Utah, so I thought that getting a dog might be a good option. So, I got Astro back in Oklahoma off of Craigslist, and I flew him back with me to Utah, and then ever since then, he’s been my best friend.”

The change in Jaxson was immediately noticeable.

“I’m telling you, the most amazing thing was to watch him that summer, after his first year, he did two things incredibly well,” Pope said. “First, he went way out of his comfort zone, I mean way out. He was so intentional about going out of his way to build relationships with his teammates. It was incredible, right? For a coach who believes those connections are everything, it was awesome to watch. And it wasn’t me, it wasn’t anybody else. It was Jax. Like, Jax just said, ‘I’m going to do this.’”

All that off-court work quickly translated on the court.

“And then the second thing he did was he had this incredible renewed focus on growing his game with an intensity that was new,” Pope said. “And I don’t think it was the first year that changed him or his trajectory forever; it was that summer. Like, it was kind of the autopsy of the first season with us, where he just said, ‘You know what? I’m doing this different, and actually, I’m gonna go be great.’ It was just incredible to watch.”

After starting 30 games in his first year at BYU, Jaxson only started six in his second, thriving in his role as the sixth man. He became the first bench player in program history to lead the team in scoring, averaging 14.2 points in 26.5 minutes per game. He hit 81 three-pointers that season, an average of 2.5 per game. He made at least one three in each of BYU’s final 21 games, all while facing Big 12 competition.

Jaxson had always been proficient offensively; Pope was most proud of the improvement he made on defense.

“Here’s the truth. I mean, I want to be super careful, but I can’t really tell the story without telling the story. There were times in his rookie year when I was like, ah, when this game gets tough, Jaxson’s probably not going to be on the floor, right? And now, when the game gets tough, that’s the first guy I look to.”

For Pope, there is no better example than BYU’s win at No. 7 Kansas, the Cougars’ first victory at Phog Allen Fieldhouse in 64 years.

“I’ll never forget, we’re at Kansas, which is a terrific venue, last year, and things weren’t going well, and I found myself leaning on Jaxson more than any other guy on my team, in the guts of the toughness of that game. And I remember thinking to myself, wow, this is incredible, because this is not where I was a year ago, right? It’s not the place I was looking to kind of find the answers the year before. And it just is such a credit to Jaxson growing.”

BYU made it to the NCAA Tournament but was upset by Duquesne in the first round. Jaxson scored 25 points in the 71-67 loss, just three points shy of his career high. Although his time at BYU was over, he had finally broken through.

“It was huge. Obviously, it changed my career. Like I said, I couldn’t be more thankful for Coach Pope, but I mean, it was really fun just playing against that top competition, being in the Big 12, going to the NCAA Tournament. Those are all really cool experiences that will tell my kids eventually one day.”

From there, the path seemed laid. On April 23, 2024, Jaxson declared for the NBA Draft, finally heading toward his dream of being a professional. Little did he know there’d be one more detour.

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Surprise Twist

Eleven days before Jaxson declared for the draft, Mark Pope was named the head coach at Kentucky. The one person not stunned by the hire? Jaxson Robinson.

“To be honest, I had a feeling he was going to get it. After Scott Drew turned it down, I had a feeling that Coach Pope was going to get it. And as soon as he got it, he called me, which was really cool. I congratulated him.”

Brandi was so excited for Pope and his family that she broke her own rules and called him immediately.

“Oh my goodness, I was so happy for him because if you’ve met Coach Pope, even when he was at BYU, if you’ve ever had any conversations with him, you know that he absolutely loves the Wildcats. Like, he has the best stories to share, and it’s something that means so much to him and to his family. So the minute I heard — and I try not to ever contact any of Jaxson’s coaches with the coaching staff because that’s his thing to do — I immediately picked up the phone and called him, and I called Lee Anne, and I was just so happy and so proud for them, because I think that they’ll do great things here, and I know it means so much for him to be here, leading this team.”

Even though Pope was headed toward his dream at Kentucky and Jaxson toward his in the pros, Pope made it clear early on there was a spot for him in Lexington if he wanted it. When he declared for the draft, Jaxson also entered the transfer portal, a safety net should he want to return to college for a final year.

“He gave me a hard time and just explained that he was still going to recruit me, but he understood the boundaries, and he wanted me to be able to go out and experience things for myself and see how it goes, but he wanted me to know that he still wanted me here.”

Jaxson went to Los Angeles to train for the NBA Draft Combine. His confidence had come a long way after holding his own in the Big 12, but playing alongside other future pros was another form of validation.

“Seeing where I was at at that point was really cool. It was exciting. I think it’s given me a lot of confidence going into this year also.”

Pope and Alvin Brooks were in the stands for one of Jaxson’s scrimmages at the combine. Pope’s support meant a lot but it also served as a reminder that a year at Kentucky was on the table if Jaxson wanted it. After the combine, Jaxson continued to work out with teams and gather feedback on his game. The No. 1 thing they said he could improve with another year in college? The same thing Brandi and Crystal had preached for years.

“Probably just defense. That’s been my main focus all summer and leading up to this season. I think that’s something that I want to improve on. I have the intangibles to do it so just like I said, experience is the best teacher. So just getting out on the court and figuring out different ways to be effective defensively, I think it would pay off.”

On the day of the deadline, May 29, Jaxson worked out for the Milwaukee Bucks. He was trending as a second-round pick and whether or not he would stay in the draft was the talk of the gym that afternoon.

“There were a lot of coaches at the workout. Different players who I was also competing against were asking me what I was going to do. Coach Pope was the hot topic at the time so everybody knew that Kentucky was definitely an option for me. So, I mean, it was really funny just being there and knowing that everybody was kind of waiting on my decision, but yeah, I didn’t know until I got into the airport after the workout and I made my decision there.”

When he called his mother to tell her what he wanted to do, she was stunned — and secretly relieved.

“I’ll be honest, I honestly thought he would go to the NBA,” Brandi said. “Jaxson was so dead set on it. He’d worked so hard throughout the summer. He’d had great feedback. He really felt confident in where he was going to be but I do think that, you know, through the conversations we had as a family, we circled back with some people, and then he called me from the airport and said, ‘I’m going to go back to school.'”

“I honestly was very shocked but I tried to play it off because I really wanted another year of college basketball. So just absolute shock. And I’m really proud of him for taking on the challenge. To play college basketball again after that is a big thing, but to do it on one of the biggest stages after having the success he had is not an easy thing to do. You have to show up, you have to perform, or everyone’s going to know.”

Decision made, Jaxson turned off his phone for the night and tried to get some rest. After seeing Kentucky fans speculate what he would do for weeks, he had an idea of the reaction the news would bring. Even then, after the report came out the next day and he turned his phone back on, he was taken aback. It was his first true introduction to Big Blue Nation.

 “It was just better for me, personally, mentally, because it’d been a long summer, just to take the time to reflect on everything that went on and just let my decision sink in,” he said. “But I know that social media was going crazy that day, that night, so just getting back on social media the next day, it was really cool to see my name plastered everywhere…It was crazy. I can’t say I’ve seen anything like it personally.”

As you might imagine, Mark Pope was thrilled.

“He called me that next day as soon as I had announced it. We had been together for the last two years before that, so it was just a cool moment, knowing that we had both been through those last two years together, especially knowing the first year wasn’t great for us.”

For the fourth time in his college career, Jaxson packed his bags and left Oklahoma for a new school, with Astro in tow. This time felt different.

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Ready to Lead

Jaxson Robinson is one of nine transfers on Mark Pope’s first Kentucky team. Outside of Travis Perry, who committed to Kentucky before John Calipari left for Arkansas, none of the players on this year’s squad expected to be Wildcats. Although Jaxson didn’t dream of playing for Kentucky like Perry or fellow Bluegrass native Trent Noah, he enjoyed watching the Cats growing up, especially the 2016-17 team.

“There’s a lot of history here. I grew up watching all the players at Kentucky. I remember watching Malik Monk and De’Aaron Fox, that group, Bam Adebayo, that was one of my favorite groups here. So just knowing that I’m wearing a jersey that they used to play in, it’s crazy, and I think it just makes not only me, but my teammates and my coaches just want to play even harder because we know there’s so much history here. It’s been a great experience so far, getting to learn BBN and just learn what it’s about to wear this jersey.”

As the only person on the roster who had played for Pope before, Jaxson was expected to lead from the start. Fans nicknamed him the “Translator” and “Pope Whisperer” in anticipation of how he’d teach his teammates Pope’s complex and unique system. Jaxson said he, Pope, and Cody Fueger may have received some confused looks early on, but for the most part, everyone picked up the terminology quickly.

“Everybody’s put in the hours, the time, just to be able to make sure that we have the system down. And I think you’re seeing it out on the court. It’s looking good. We still have a long way to go, obviously, but we know that there are things we can get better at, but I think we’re in a great position.”

“It’s a gift,” Pope said in June of Robinson’s ability to disseminate his thoughts to the rest of the group. “I bumble around saying what I’m saying and then Jaxson is like, ‘All right guys, this is what he really means, okay?’ He’s a great interpreter. And he’s not just an interpreter of words and concepts on the court but he’ll also double down on the ideas about like, ‘Hey guys, this is really important. You’re gonna hear this — what we just talked about, you’re gonna hear this every single day for the rest of the season.’

“And then there’s a lot of things where Jaxson is like, ‘Ah, don’t listen to him, he doesn’t know what he’s talking about.’”

Jaxson had come into his own as a player in his final year at BYU, but at Kentucky, he was becoming a leader. He is the first to tell you how big of a deal that is.

“I’ve taken huge strides. That’s definitely not something that I’m used to. I’m usually the quiet kid, so it’s been really cool, just to be able to figure out myself as a leader. There’s a lot of things that I can still get better at, but I think I’m well on my way.”

“That is probably the thing I’m most proud about, is Jaxson’s ability to finally understand that he has something to offer as a leader,” Brandi said. “He is a very quiet person. He doesn’t say much. He always says, ‘I don’t talk unless I have something to say.’ So, to see him go out of his way to make sure that everyone is cohesive, everyone feels like they’re part of this team and to make connections with teammates has been huge for him.”

While Jaxson helped his teammates learn Pope’s system, he got some lessons of his own. Lamont Butler and Otega Oweh came to Kentucky with reputations as defensive specialists, with Butler winning Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year and Oweh known for his physical, disruptive style. Going up against them in practice every day has helped Jaxson sharpen his own defensive skills.

“Being around Lamont, and Otega was guarding me all summer, so just picking little things from them, I think them going hard and then playing really good defense, also pushed me to be a better player. I thought it was an area where I could improve, obviously. So just having guys like that is a real pleasure for me, personally.”

Kentucky’s game vs. Duke in the Champions Classic on Nov. 12 served as the first big test of the Mark Pope era. It was also the biggest game Jaxson had ever played in. With the eyes of the sport, including several scouts, watching, Kentucky pulled off the incredible win — all without a single field goal from Jaxson, expected to be the Cats’ top scorer this season. Jaxson was 0-4 from the field, including 0-3 from the three-point line, in 27 minutes. He scored just one point off a free throw.

Most people would interpret that stat line as Jaxson choking under the bright lights; not Brandi.

“Honestly, my mom didn’t really have anything bad to say,” Jaxson said. “Even though I didn’t play great offensively, she knew my defense was really good, so she was proud of me for that, and that was the thing that she had brought up.”

Jaxson allowed just two points on defense all night, earning kudos from Mark Pope in the postgame press conference. He had two blocks, a steal, and a plus/minus of six despite not scoring a field goal.

“I was just so proud. His defense during that game was phenomenal,” Brandi said. “And of course, he can’t see that. He thinks, ‘My shots didn’t go in. I didn’t have a very good game.’ And I’m like, no, that’s one of the best games I’ve seen you play. Like, I know you can shoot the ball. I know you can score some points. It’s fine, but I’ve never seen you get into passing lanes, get deflections, just get stops on defense. That’s what I think is a game-changer.”

Crystal was also at State Farm Arena that night. She said the game served as proof of what she’s been trying to get her nephew to understand for years after her eleven years as a professional.

“Just what we’ve watched him go through, he just keeps climbing and scratching. And getting him just to understand that you’re going to have bad games if you play this sport long enough. You’re not always going to be great every night, but on the nights that you’re not great, you find other things to do. And I think that he’s definitely growing in that. And I think that’s how you stay at a high level. You can’t get down on yourself too fast. You might have three bad games in a row, but I preached to him, ‘You’ve got to forget the shots that you make, throw them into the sea of forgetfulness like the Lord, and shoot the next one.'”

“I can’t say I didn’t feel pressure that game; that was the biggest game of my career so far,” Jaxson said. “I always reminded myself of that after we had won, even if I didn’t play the way I wanted to offensively, but I still think I contributed defensively. And I think not every game you’re going to have your best offensive game, so just making sure that it doesn’t affect the rest of how you play on the court, that’s the most important thing.”

There was another significant development in Atlanta. Jaxson admitted he was frustrated after his performance, to the point he felt the need to apologize to his teammates for his body language. Even though they said it wasn’t necessary, for Jaxson, it was.

“I also just want to be a great teammate. And I felt like there were times when you could see my frustration, and I don’t think that’s acceptable as a leader, and that’s what I’m trying to be. So just trying to hold myself to a high standard for not only myself but this program and my team as a whole.”

“To hear him say that is something that meant so much to me because we’ve thought about that,” Brandi said. “We’ve talked about that. We’ve talked about it and talked about it and talked about it. You have to be able to control your reactions to things outwardly. You have to be able to control those things. And it’s something that he’s put a lot of focus into. And during that game, I never one time saw the frustration that I would have seen two years ago.”

Controlling your own actions is one thing; taking accountability for them is a leap Brandi wasn’t sure she’d see her son take after the experiences he had early in his college career.

“When he left Arkansas, he was in a really hard place. His first year at BYU wasn’t easy. It was a rough year for him, and I think coming through that, and the support that Coach Pope had with the sports psychologists that were available to talk to, and just Jaxson kind of talking through some of those things, it’s helped him to understand how important it is to talk about things when they happen, to be aware of those things, and also to make sure if you see your teammate down, hey, you need to come over there and let them know. ‘Hey, next play, let’s keep going,’ because that means a lot to hear it from someone, especially someone you know and you trust and you love. So I think that’s been the biggest growth in this game that I’ve felt so impressed with.”

In the week after the Duke game, Jaxson lived in the gym, getting up shots every day before and after practice. His efforts were rewarded vs. Lipscomb when he scored a season-high 20 points in just 22 minutes. When Lamont Butler and Kerr Kriisa both went down with injuries, Robinson took over at point guard, leading Kentucky to an improbable comeback vs. Gonzaga.

In UK’s behind-the-scenes video from that game, you get to see Jaxson lead the halftime conversation in the locker room. After Kentucky played one of its worst halves of the season, Jaxson pleaded with his teammates to up their intensity and communication, showing passion fans rarely see behind that smooth, effortless exterior.

“We ain’t playing hard. We ain’t talking. We talk about being together, we ain’t together. We look like a ——- mess out there. We’re embarrassing the —- out of ourselves. In the second half, bro, at least go out there, and let’s all go play.”

Jaxson’s speech and the halftime adjustments worked; Kentucky rallied from a 16-point deficit to win 90-89 in overtime.

Butler returned to the lineup vs. Louisville, but Jaxson’s time at point guard was another important step forward. Pope told reporters that a year ago, Jaxson loathed playing point so much that he told Pope that he would never do it again. Now, he’s embracing opportunities to get outside of his comfort zone.

“It’s been in every way,” Pope said of how Robinson’s leadership has grown. “It’s been in how he deals with adversity now. There was a time when Jaxson dealt with adversity like most of us, right? Where he would recoil, get quiet, be defensive, get really introspective, and maybe even kind of hide sometimes, and now, like when he’s faced with adversity, I’m telling you, man, he stands there like a man with broad shoulders, and he takes it head on. It’s almost like he can’t wait to dig into it.

“I think his confidence is so high now that he’s like, you know, I’ve faced this in ways most people will never even understand, and I know how to deal with it, and I know I can get to the other side of it. And like I’m telling you, when you get to be around people, that when they face adversity, they know that they can get to the other side of it, it’s just super cool man. And he’s that guy.”

“I think that he’s conquered his fear of failure,” Crystal said. “Understanding failure is a part of everything you do; you have to embrace it.”

“I feel like I’ve been through enough adversity in my collegiate career to the point where I just kind of know who I am as a person and a player,” Jaxson said. “Just being confident in myself and knowing that Coach Pope brought me here to help him lead this team and get everybody just on the same page.”

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Full Circle

With SEC play approaching (including one game Jaxson admits is circled on his calendar), there are plenty of challenges ahead. When he isn’t in the gym or filling hours for his sports management internship with the Kentucky men’s golf and baseball teams, Jaxson is with Astro. Most of the time, that’s at his apartment, which has become a graveyard of toys (there’s an NIL opportunity here, pet stores of Lexington). Some of the time, it’s at Pope’s house in horse farm country just outside Lexington.

“He loves it. There’s a lot of open land here, so I’ve been taking them out to Coach Pope’s house, actually, to throw his ball, stuff like that. They have a lot of land out there. He’s really enjoying it. He’s made new friends. He hangs out with a whole bunch of dogs. Hopefully, he likes it; I think he does at least.”

Astro has become a hit with the team, hanging out with the players during downtime and Brandi and Crystal when they visit. Being a Kentucky Basketball player, a grad student, and a dog dad isn’t easy, but Jaxson manages it, even if his life looks a little different than others.

“It’s like taking care of a kid,” he said. “You have your responsibilities, but you can always find a way, if you really care enough.”

That maturity is just one example of how Jaxson has grown since he left Ada, Oklahoma at the age of 17. Or College Station at 18, Fayetteville at 19, and Provo at 21. While Jaxson has done the brunt of that work on his own, Crystal knows there’s another person to thank.

“I think Coach Pope is the first coach that Jaxson has played for in college that leads this way. He’s a gentle leader. I don’t think leadership always has to be loud. It doesn’t have to be intimidating. It doesn’t. He leads those boys with love and he teaches them about themselves. I would say he builds up their confidence. I’m thankful that Jaxson is able to play for Mark Pope because he’s teaching him more than basketball. He’s teaching him how to be an outstanding citizen, a good man.”

“I think that at this level, winning is such a big thing that coaches get caught up in, ‘I gotta figure out how to win. I gotta figure out a win. I gotta figure out a win,’ and they forget the human part of it. And I think that Mark does such a good job with the human part with every single individual on his team.”

“His mom and his aunt are like his whole heart and soul,” Pope said. “Like, they are. He is them, right? And so he’s becoming what he’s becoming because of them and it’s super cool to watch.”

Thanks to that hard work, Jaxson is living out a dream he didn’t even know he had. The same can be said for almost all of his teammates, another reason this team has quickly become beloved.

“It’s funny because a couple of us have played each other in the past, even just last year in the Big 12, playing Kerr [Kriisa], Brandon [Garrison], and Otega [Oweh],” Jaxson said. “It’s just really cool, just looking across the locker room, and he was just the enemy. And just being grateful. We all weren’t supposed to be here, but somehow, some way, we made our made our way to Kentucky, and that’s every little kid’s dream.”

“It’s been such a beautiful journey,” Pope said. “It’s just been so incredible to watch him grow, right? You just kind of get to bear witness to him grow.”

For Pope and Jaxson, that journey will come to an end in a matter of months, hopefully with championships in hand. For now, they’re making the most of each game, practice, and prayer circle, grateful for moments that once seemed impossible.

“Being able to play for a coach who believed in me, even when I wasn’t at the top,” Jaxson trailed off. “It’s been really cool just to be with a great guy, a great coach, like Coach Pope.”

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