Jaxson Robinson will be the first to admit the draft withdrawal deadline was tough.
Like all basketball players growing up, his ultimate dream is to play in the NBA. He just had to decide if now was the right time or if he wanted one final run in college.
The former BYU star and reigning Big 12 Sixth Man of the Year did his best to avoid social media leading up to the midnight deadline and the hours that followed, but he knew the basketball world was on the edge of its collective seat waiting impatiently — Big Blue Nation particularly sweating bullets.
When the time was right, though, he made the call. And with the dust now settled a few weeks after the fact, he’s confident his lunchtime move on May 30 was the correct one.
“I did (know people were waiting for the announcement),” Robinson told KSR. “I tried not to pay too much attention to it, obviously, because at the end of the day, it was a tough decision to be made. I’m glad I made the right decision.”
The 6-7 wing says he knew pretty quickly a return to college was the probable outcome, but “didn’t have anything finalized yet,” leading to the post-deadline delay. He just had a few I’s to dot and T’s to cross before making it official.
The interesting part of it all, though? Robinson knew from the beginning Kentucky was the landing spot if he ultimately decided to pull his name out of the draft. Other schools may have tried — BYU and Kansas being the rumored culprits — but his heart was set on playing for Mark Pope in Lexington.
“Before anything had happened with the NBA, I already knew if I had come back to college, this is where I’d be,” he told KSR. “Me and Coach Pope were super close, that’s my guy, so I’m excited to be here.”
The magnitude of his situation is finally starting to hit him, wearing Kentucky across his chest on a daily basis now signed, moved in and officially a Wildcat. This is something he’s always wanted, and now, it’s real with a jersey and locker to prove it.
“It’s exciting. I grew up looking up to Kentucky, it’s crazy seeing everything and experiencing this whole environment,” he said. “Putting the Kentucky jersey on, it’s surreal. It’s something you can’t really make up, to be honest with you. I’m excited.”
One person we know shares that same excitement? His head coach, who had Robinson atop his priority list from the minute he made his way from Provo to Lexington. Pope wanted to give his BYU star space when deciding what was best for his basketball future, but if Robinson felt another season of college basketball was the answer, he was going to do whatever it took to ensure it’d be at Kentucky.
“Really special and really important,” Pope told Maggie Davis of BBN Tonight this past week. “Jaxson would have been drafted this year. He was clearly in the draft (range), he just wasn’t exactly sure where he would be drafted. But he has proven that is the player he is. He’s been with me for two years, we’ve gone through a real growth cycle at BYU. He knows us.”
The talent is there on this roster, as is the experience, six other players being super seniors entering their final year of eligibility. That was to go with a few players with some experience, but also more time left on the clock while adding a trio of talented freshmen, as well.
None of them had played for Pope at BYU, though. No one knew how he operated or was familiar with his system from a hands-on standpoint — only what they saw on film and heard from their new coaches.
Robinson changed all of that, adding a pro-level talent who was a star in Pope’s system while also being a fifth-year senior in his own right. He checks all of the boxes, the missing piece that has thankfully been found.
“He’s important for a lot of reasons,” Pope added. “One, he’s a great player and he’s a pro. Two, he’s one of the most dangerous offensive players in all of college basketball, proven. Three, because he has the potential to be an elite, elite-level defensive presence on the court. And four, most importantly for me and maybe for our team and our locker room is he knows me. He knows how we play, the only guy on this roster that has actually played the kind of unique and pushing style of play that we do. He’s gonna be a great advocate and interpreter of what we do and how we do it.
“For all of those reasons, it’s really important that he’s on this roster. And for me personally, the fact that I get to have a third year to kind of watch his growth continue. Really selfishly, that is exciting for me.”
There was never any doubt on Robinson’s end. Once he withdrew from the draft, the BYU transfer was always coming home to Kentucky.
