BYU's Jaxson Robinson declares for NBA Draft
Once Mark Pope was officially introduced as the head coach of Kentucky men’s basketball, all eyes shifted toward building a team for the 2024-25 season. The Big Blue Nation looked up and down the BYU roster to see if any of Pope’s former players could possibly follow him to Lexington.
One of the names that stood out was senior guard Jaxson Robinson, who was tabbed the Big 12 Sixth Man of the Year this past season after posting per-game averages of 14.2 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 1.3 assists in 26.4 minutes per game. Robinson spent the last two seasons at BYU under Pope and has developed into a possible NBA Draft pick.
And speaking of which, Robinson announced through social media on Tuesday that he has declared for the 2024 NBA Draft without any mention of a return to college. Kentucky has been cited as a possible transfer destination for Robinson if he decides to stick around for a fifth season of college basketball.
“To all my family and friends, all of my past teammates, coaches, and trainers, thank you for your continued love and support,” Robinson wrote. “Having said that, I will be pursuing my dream and declaring for the 2024 NBA Draft.”
For those wondering about Robinson’s draft status, he will be given a hard look by NBA personnel. ESPN has him ranked No. 55 on its “best available” list. If the 6-foot-7 sharpshooter performs well during the pre-draft process, it’s likely he keeps his name in the draft in hopes of getting picked this June.
That being said, if Robinson ultimately does make a return to college, expect Kentucky to be heavily involved. In fact, soon after Robinson announced his decision, KSR’s Matt Jones said “I think Kentucky will be the destination” if the BYU star elects to turn down the NBA.
Something else to keep in mind is former Kentucky center Ugonna Onyenso declared for the 2024 NBA Draft last week by saying he would not consider a return to college, only to enter his name into the transfer portal on Tuesday.
Robinson was a four-star recruit and Top 100 prospect from the class of 2020 out of Ada (OK) High School. He began his college career in a reserve role for Texas A&M (’20-21) before transferring to Arkansas for one season (’21-22) only to see a similar role again.
But once he arrived at BYU in 2022-23, his talents began to shine.
Robinson averaged 8.5 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 1.8 assists in 28.1 minutes per game in his first season with the Cougars. He started 30 of 33 games for Pope. Although he was moved to coming off the bench in ’23-24, Robinson’s numbers greatly improved. Along with winning Big 12 Sixth Man of the Year, he was also named Big 12 Honorable Mention. Robinson shot 35.4 percent from deep on 6.9 attempts per contest and 90.8 percent from the line.
The NCAA early entrant withdrawal deadline for the 2024 NBA Draft is May 29.
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