Jamie Vaught: Kentucky newcomer Jaxson Robinson a familiar face in SEC

Jaxson Robinson, who earlier this week was named to Preseason All-SEC Third Team, is the only newcomer on the UK basketball roster who is familiar with SEC.

A graduate transfer of Brigham Young, Robinson spent his freshman year of 2020-21 at Texas A&M. The four-star prospect from Ada, Oklahoma played 14 games for the Aggies, including four starts.

Texas A&M coach Buzz Williams praised Robinson.

“He comes from a beautiful family,” said Williams during this week’s annual SEC Basketball Tipoff Media Days in Birmingham, Ala. “Graduated a year early so that he could come to Texas A&M and redshirt. Mom, dad, Jax, everybody was on board with that, and then by the time he gets to campus, it’s the (COVID) pandemic, and then eventually the NCAA says that the year doesn’t count. (Had) a great relationship with their family.

“I think you could probably ask nearly every coach now what’s it like to coach against somebody you’ve coached with the new rules since all that’s transpired. Great family, great kid. Enjoyed getting to know them. That was our first (actually second) year. (He) obviously had a lot of success since he’s left.”

That’s not all. Robinson moved again. He went northeast to join Coach Eric Musselman’s Arkansas team for his sophomore season. As a Razorback, he saw action in 16 games with four starts.

Then Robinson transferred again. The 6-foot-6 guard ended up at Brigham Young in Utah where former UK standout Mark Pope was the head coach. He finally grew up on the hardwood floor and became a star for the Cougars, starting 30 games as a junior and became the Big 12 Conference’s Sixth Man of the Year, while starting six games, as a senior. He is also the first bench player in BYU program history to lead the 2023-24 team in scoring with a 14.2-point average while helping the NCAA Tournament-bound Cougars to a 23-11 mark.

Jamie H. Vaught, a longtime sports columnist in Kentucky, is the author of six books about UK basketball, including recently-published “Forever Crazy About The Cats: An Improbable Journey of a Kentucky Sportswriter Overcoming Adversity.” Now a retired college professor who taught at Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College in Middlesboro., he is the editor and founder of KySportsStyle.com Magazine. You can follow him on Twitter @KySportsStyle or reach him via email at KySportsStyle@gmail.com .

Pope, now the head coach at Kentucky, had a lot to say about Robinson during the SEC Media Days.

“I could talk about Jax for days,” said Pope. “I’ve been blessed to coach him now going on my third season coaching him. And one of the great things in coaching is getting to watch young men just grow, and Jax came to us as a two-time transfer with a ton of potential that was unrealized with maybe some battle scars from some difficult times that we all have, that we all go through as we’re trying to grow into players.

“To watch him become an extraordinary leader to become a guy that is constantly reaching out to players on his team to build relationships, to see him increase his intensity level with the physicality of the game and to really, really embrace that, to see him grow into a player that kind of faces every situation with a level of fearlessness.”

“And clearly his ability to shoot the ball and his length, he’s a multifaceted player, and it’s a real gift for me as a first-year head coach at the University of Kentucky to have a veteran and seasoned, extraordinarily talented player like Jaxson who’s grown into a terrific leader.

“So I’m incredibly grateful to be able to coach him one more year. And on a personal level, to finish this journey that we got to start three years ago is really exciting for me.”

Robinson has been spending lots of extra time on the court to become a better player.

“I have become more comfortable on the court, just taking the time to work on my game in the offseason,” commented Robinson. “I have been putting in hours that people don’t see, putting in the work and being able to go out there and be comfortable in what I’m doing and trusting the work that I put in.”

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