I’m not going to lie. I really enjoyed Mitchell Robinson’s game during this his rookie year. A lot of dunks and blocks. He turned out pretty good for a second-round draft pick. Then the next year came and it was… the same thing but with more dunks and blocks and recklessness on the court with always being in foul trouble. Well, he’s a bit reckless when it comes to the business side of it too. I started thinking about him and how he actually got to the NBA. It’s a very strange one. The more I read on it. The more I got concerned. I doubt anyone knows this but he just fired Rich Paul. He basically downgraded without giving a reasonable explanation. Which has me wondering what do the Knicks really have on their hands?
He Went To College, For About A Month
So he was pretty good in high school. 23 points, 12 rebounds, and 7 blocks a game in his senior year to be exact. So this mess started in Louisiana (it makes sense, from experience there are a lot of messes in that state.) Robinson did originally commit to Texas A&M. Only to not commit to Texas A&M about a half a year later. He originally wanted to go there to play because he was recruited by Rick Stansbury. Who was the assistant coach of the Aggies at the time. So once Rick got his own gig at Wester Kentucky, Robinson went with him.
Now this is where things get a little Keith Sweat (Twisted… hey I tried!) So he Robinson left, but no one really knows the true reason why, because according to The Dallas Morning News. Texas A&M was apart of an FBI case and Robinson’s name was apart of it. It’s basically like what happened to Will Wade in Baton Rouge. Minus the wiretapping.
Kentucky Basketball… No Not That Kentucky
So once Mitchell Robinson graduated High School he wanted to go play for the guy that recruited him at Western Kentucky. Makes sense. If someone believed in you for a good-paying job, you’d take it too. All was fine and dandy until it wasn’t. At the end of July Mitchell Robinson went back to Louisiana… without telling anyone at the school. He literally packed up all his stuff and just dipped. The only reason anyone knew about it was that some of the staff members checked his dorm and found out that nothing was there.
Coach Stansbury flew out to New Orleans (not to the French Quarter for crawfish and beignets) to talk to him and his mother. He wanted to leave because he was having second thoughts and wanted to leave before the team left the country for Costa Rica the next week. I just don’t understand how West Kentucky had money for all that but anyway Stansbury suspended Robinson indefinitely. Shortly after that the coach announced that Robinson was free to go.
So He Did What Now?
So he went to visit other schools… then a month later he decided to go back to Kentucky. West Kentucky… The same school he left a month ago. He re-enrolled. Then 3 WEEKS LATER he said he would be skipping the season to train for the 2018 NBA draft and that he’ll be working out in Dallas. So this begs the question. Why did he put The Hilltoppers through all that nonsense?
Well, it turned out that his godfather was one of the assistant coaches at West Kentucky. It was the ONLY reason why Ben Simmons went to LSU. He barely kept a 2.0 GPA. Back to Robinson, so his godfather left the staff in early July. Apparently, this was the third coach that left the staff in a span of 12 months so yeah, I would be pretty crossed about that too. Part of it didn’t make sense because Robin pulled a Deandre Jordan and had his mother do some portion of the talking to ESPN. To sum up wat she said, was yes he’s going to go play for West Kentucky. Sooooooo?
His NBA Decision Making
Mitchell Robinson didn’t really have a choice but to train for the draft because it was really too late in the process for anything else and I don’t think going to junior college would help him at all. The Kentucky thing and his basketball limitations are why he dropped to the Knicks in the second round. As good as Mitchell Robinson is on the defensive in, he’s just as bad on the offensive end I’m sorry. All his highlights are really fun and entertaining but he doesn’t have any post moves or a jump shot. Athleticism can only get people do far in the NBA.
He is also on a really team friendly contract with the Knicks. There are also rumors that Mitchell Robinson has a reputation of being a bad communicator and that he listens to his family more than his agents. I’m starting to believe that reputation (like I believe that James Harden is the Houston Rockets biggest problem). He fired Rich Paul. How do you do that? Why Would you do that? Rich Paul represents the biggest names in basketball including the GOAT LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Ben Simmons, and Trae Young and others.
Why not Rich?
So Robinson joined another company where his manager’s biggest names are Russell Westbrook and the 4th overall pick in this years draft Patrick Williams. So it looks to me like he made that move because he felt that he was being over shadowed by a lot of other bigger names and honestly better players than him. If you look at the roster of clients. Mitchell Robinson would probably be close to the bottom of the list. That’s how deep Rich Paul’s clientele is.
Mitchell Robinson has a lot of game. It’s very difficult to play in the NBA some people need more guidance than others. Mitchell Robinson needs it badly if he wants to do well in the NBA. There are a lot of people with a lot of pull in the NBA and it’s hard to change a reputation so he may need to change it before it’s too late.
A Brief Side Note
Playing in the NBA is not easy, I’ve never played in the NBA obviously and not a lot of people have either. I don’t think some people understand how difficult it really is. So I just want to put it in perspective for some people. I’ve had coaches who have played against NBA stars and regular NBA players (ok I lied I played against Marcus Thornton and he is a walking bucket.) It is HARD AS HELL. Not every NBA player needs to put up 20 points a night to be good.
These guys are super athletic and rarely miss shots. A few years ago I watched Marcus Thornton and his brother who is a pro in Germany now bet who could make the most shots without missing. They were shooting for 30 minutes straight until someone missed. 30 damn minutes. An NBA player against some amateur is like LeBron James playing against Patrick Beverley. I just wanted to throw that out there.
If you enjoyed this article, and are looking for more articles in the future, follow me on Twitter @emir_sykes. Don’t forget to check out all the other content and also check out what Belly Up Fantasy Sports and Picks has to offer.
