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Jaxson Robinson Broke a Promise to Mark Pope and it Resulted in a Heroic Win

Nick Roushby:Nick Roush12/08/24

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Jaxson Robinson - Stephen Brashear, Imagn Images
Jaxson Robinson - Stephen Brashear, Imagn Images

The Kentucky backcourt was running out of options. Lamont Butler was in sweats on the sidelines nursing an ankle injury. Kerr Kriisa started in Butler’s place, then was sent to the sideline with an ankle injury of his own.

Mark Pope tried out Collin Chandler. He gave Travis Perry some run. That wasn’t going to work. The Kentucky head coach had to turn to Jaxson Robinson to run the point.

The most celebrated offseason addition to the Kentucky basketball roster, Robinson filled it up at BYU as the Big 12’s Sixth Man of the Year. Last year he developed a reputation as a prolific scorer who can light it up from behind the three-point line, but a ball-dominant point guard? That’s not exactly his forte, as Pope learned firsthand last year during a game at Oklahoma.

“There’s a game that I tease Jax about all the time. Last year, we were playing at Oklahoma and we were in a really good part of the season, but we just kind of laid an egg that night. Jax was having to play a lot of point guard for us at the time,” Pope recalled during the Gonzaga postgame press conference.

“After one bad play, he was in transition defense in the first half running right by me on the bench, and he turned and yelled in transition, ‘I’m never playing point guard again!’ And my guy a year later has five assists, zero turnovers, played the point for the last eight minutes of the game under massive duress and the full overtime. I’m telling you, he’s special, man.”

Robinson was the clutch, crunch-time performer Kentucky desperately needed. It may have been the preseason expectation, but many Kentucky fans were still waiting to see something special from Mr. Robinson. He struggled to find his shot early on in the season. How he pushed through a few tough stretches prepared him for his big moment, playing point guard against Gonzaga.

“I think it starts with my teammates and my coaches. I can’t give them enough credit,” said Robinson. “They instill confidence in me every day, regardless of the shots going in or not. They know that I can affect the game in many more ways than just just shooting the ball, so just trying to stay locked in and dialed in on the keys to win the game.”

Kentucky needed Robinson to get out of his comfort zone and play the point. They also were probably really happy to see his final shot go through the net. The jumper with 14 seconds remaining gave Kentucky a 4-point lead and gave Robinson 18 points. It was a special performance by a player Mark Pope is grateful to coach.

“What Jax has done the last three or four games defensively is breathtaking, and toughness-wise is incredible. And hitting the insanely difficult shot in overtime period to boot. He was really special, man,” said the Kentucky head coach.

“The first thing he did was go straight to the training room and try to get Lamon and Kerr healthy. We’ll see how that works out, but until that happens, we’re really blessed to have Jaxson Robinson here.”

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2025-01-09