NCAA correspondent Andy Katz released another list of player rankings on Tuesday evening, this time projecting his top-ten breakout players of the year with Kentucky’s Jaxson Robinson highlighting the list at No. 1.
Robinson, like most of Kentucky’s squad, is an incoming transfer looking to make a name for himself at one of the most prestigious basketball schools in the nation and Katz sees him as a leading candidate to emerge in that role.
The road that Robinson, a former four-star recruit, went down after high school saw many triumphs, going from averaging just 9.7 minutes a game at Texas A&M — where he started his college career — to averaging just 10.2 minutes per game a year later after transferring to Arkansas.
All in all, Robinson had to earn his right to the hardwood.
His SEC journey came to a halt after that as the 6-foot-6 guard transferred to BYU to begin a new relationship with, at the time, BYU head coach turned Kentucky head coach Mark Pope.
Under Pope at BYU, Robinson elevated his game to new heights, averaging 8.5 points through an average of 28 minutes his junior season and an explosive 14.2 points through an average of 26.5 minutes his senior season.
Almost immediately after BYU fell in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to Duquesne, Pope decided to accept the fierce role as the next head coach of Kentucky, leaving Robinson with a decision to make: follow Pope to Lexington or enlist in the NBA Draft.
After careful consideration, Robinson decided to unpause his SEC expedition and head to the Bluegrass in a mission to ascend to the top of the college hoops world with Pope.
“Our relationship is super close,” Robinson said. “I talk to him (Pope) a lot. He tries to help me out when he can, so I’m making sure that I appreciate him for everything that he’s done for me, especially leading up to this point. He helped me get here. I couldn’t thank anybody else but coach Pope.”
After earning trust from Pope with the accolades of being a lethal three-point shooter and a hard-nosed finisher at the rim, Katz predicts Robinson will reach new levels this season, given that he is his top selection to have a breakout season.
Like most, Katz sees a good-sized, structured guard who has played in two different conferences, one of them arguably being the best conference in college basketball in the Big 12.
With that comes experience, mostly funded by sharing the court with teams like Kansas, Houston and Iowa State.
Katz likely also sees a talented shot maker who has the ability to land shots from anywhere. Robinson landed 42.6% of his shots from the field and 35.4% of his attempts from deep while averaging 6.9 3-pointers taken per game.
Finally, he likely sees confidence as Robinson serves as one of six players on UK’s roster who has played at least four seasons of college ball, resulting in a bond of trust between him and the younger guys as there is no doubt the Cats will turn to him when in need of a bucket.
Katz’s high praise for Robinson is easily justifiable, but in his fifth season where few know what to expect from this newly assembled Kentucky team, Robinson needs to do what Katz thinks he will and have a breakout season that will uplift the surrounding UK roster and help it, as a whole, to achieve something that Lexington hasn’t seen much of: meaningful wins.
Robinson and the Wildcats will begin their 2024-25 campaign on Friday, Oct. 11, inside Rupp Arena with the annual Big Blue Madness preseason event. The 2024 edition of the event is set to begin at 7 p.m. ET and will air live on the SEC Network.
