Do the Right Thing

I remember when UGA was recruiting Thomas Robinson. He was a senior the same year that Dustin Ware came out, if memory serves me. At any rate, we had a real shot at him, I thought. But that was before he blew up on the AAU circuit and attracted the attention of teams like Kansas.

I spotted the attached article that chronicles the tragedy that has struck in Robinson's life.

Lisa Robinson

Just in case the article becomes no longer available at some point, the story explains that Robinson's mother died suddenly of an apparent heart attack, and now the young man and his 7-year old sister (I think she's 7 and not 9) have to figure out how to manage.

Seems like the NCAA has really stepped up to the plate, here, allowing Kansas to foot the bill for taking the team to Maryland to show support for Thomas and his little sister. I hope that they will continue to do the right thing, and allow his sister to move to Kansas if that is the best thing for her. The best might be for her to stay in the D.C. area where she has some support, but the fact remains that the only adult that she is close to at this point is her big brother.

Sometimes the rules have to bend some to accommodate life.

Recruiting: More on Thomas Robinson

Hadn't planned on updating the information on Robinson, but since he was featured prominently today on a Rivals article, I decided to post the link.

http://basketballrecruiting.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=829920

In the above article, Robinson lists a ton of suitors for his commitment, and he'll have even more, based on his strong play of late. Georgia was named as being in the mix, but as I said yesterday, I would consider it a long shot to secure his commitment. And Robinson said he'd probably wait until the spring to decide. That's a long time to wait on an out of state prospect.

On a side note, if I'm not mistaken, Robinson played on the Riverdale Baptist team that was beaten by North Cobb Christian. I think Dustin Ware went for almost 30 in that game. So as good as Robinson might be, he wasn't the MVP of the NACA, the Christian schools national tournament. Dustin Ware was.

Ware might just be pretty good, and we already have him on campus. Adding Robinson next year would be gravy. I like gravy. If we can get Thomas Robinson, especially if it's sooner rather than later, let's do it.

Recruiting: Thomas Robinson

Thomas Robinson is a combo forward at Brewster Academy up in New Hampshire. Robinson transferred to Brewster from Riverdale Baptist school in Riverdale, Maryland. Robinson is deemed a 4-star by both the Scout and Rivals networks, with Rivals pegging him as the #82-ranked player in the class of 2009.

Here's the info out there:

1. Washington Post

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/03/AR2008010303671.html

2. Slam Online

http://slamonline.com/online/2008/07/live-from-the-reebok-all-american-camp/

3. Yahoo

http://76.13.116.113/ncaab/news?slug=rivals-223244&prov=rivals&type=lgns

4. DaugMan's Take

I think the coaching staff might view Thomas Robinson as a guy like Terrance Woodbury-- a power forward at the high school level, but skilled enough to project at the small forward spot in the college game. Robinson also reminds me of the reports that surrounded Jeremy Jacob when Jacob was at Hargrave, i.e., non-stop motor, combo forward with good shooting touch.

Perhaps UGA will end up accepting 4 signees, one each at shooting guard (Demario Mayfield), power forward (Derrick Favors), center (Daniel Miller or Shawn Kemp, Jr.), and small forward (Thomas Robinson or Ari Stewart).

Robinson appears to have the personal discipline, the aptitude and the skill set to thrive in UGA's system. I'd say it's a little bit of a long shot to get him, but since Felton is a Maryland native and UGA was on Robinson early, maybe that will hold us in good stead.