University of North Carolina Athletics
Brandon Robinson
Photo by: J.D. Lyon Jr.
GoHeels Exclusive: Versatility
March 15, 2019 | Men's Basketball, Featured Writers
By Pat James, GoHeels.com
CHARLOTTE — With under eight minutes left in North Carolina's 83-70 win over Louisville in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals on Thursday, Brandon Robinson made perhaps the game's best play, although the box score doesn't reflect it.
At the time, the Cardinals were still hanging around, trailing by just nine points. And when Luke Maye switched onto Christen Cunningham and the Louisville point guard started aggressively driving toward the basket, it looked like UNC's lead would shrink to seven.
But not on Robinson's watch.
Based on what he learned from the scouting report, Robinson left his man, V.J. King, to help defend Cunningham. He arrived just in time, stripping the ball from Cunningham as he attempted a layup. Robinson then corralled the ball, took one dribble and fired a nearly three-quarter court pass to Kenny Williams, who drew a shooting foul and made two free throws.
"The guy in the corner (King) wasn't as great of a shooter and I knew (Cunningham) has a tendency of when he goes to the basket, he's not giving it up," Robinson said. "So I just knew to stick my hand in there and strip it."
Robinson wasn't credited with the block in the box score, though. Maye was. Robinson didn't get an assist on the play either after Williams couldn't convert his layup through the foul.
Ultimately, Robinson's effort resulted in just a single rebound being added to his final stat line. But in making that play, as well as several others throughout Thursday's victory, he did all the little things that the Tar Heels need him to do, many of which extend beyond the box score.
In playing 14 minutes, his most since the win at Duke on Feb. 20, Robinson scored seven points, grabbed four rebounds and tallied two assists. He drained two 3-pointers, marking the second time in his past 15 games that he's made more than one. He's now shooting a career-high 45.5 percent from behind the arc this season.
But Robinson knows his team needs him to do more than make the occasional 3-pointer. And he prides himself on his versatility.
"I just think I can add a lot of things," he said. "I can get my teammates involved, I can help some people score, I can get some defensive stops and I can make shots when I need to. I think I just have an all-around game that people don't really notice."
It took some time and some patience for Robinson to learn how to best employ his skillset. But as he did that across his freshman and sophomore seasons, he said he watched Luke Maye and Kenny Williams. Specifically, he paid close attention to how they worked, knowing if he worked as hard as them that he'd be prepared when a larger role became available.
"When my time came, I wanted to seize the moment and be ready for it," Robinson said. "I think I just worked hard every offseason and just put in a lot of time and I think it's paying off."
It certainly did Thursday, especially in the second half.
With Garrison Brooks, Nassir Little and Maye each saddled with at least three fouls for most of the second half, Robinson played 10 minutes during the period, more than he'd played in four of the previous five games. That included a stretch from the 12:20 mark until 4:02 remained where he didn't leave the court. In that span, he posted four points, three rebounds and an assist. UNC also outscored Louisville 21-13.
Robinson also continued playing his now customary strong defense. In addition to his strip of Cunningham, he made another standout defensive play on the ensuing possession.
With Cunningham driving toward the basket again, Robinson provided help, but not too much. Cunningham ultimately kicked the ball out to Darius Perry for a 3-pointer. But Robinson recovered and contested the shot. He then took off down the floor, received an outlet pass from Maye and fed Williams a picture-perfect bounce pass between two defenders for a layup.
"I knew the guy was probably going to come over and try to help on me because I was a little ahead of Kenny," Robinson said. "I knew just to make a bounce pass because Coach (Roy Williams) always gets on me about making bounce passes. And he laid it up."
Williams' layup extended Carolina's run to 6-0 and its lead to 74-61. The Tar Heels' run grew to 11-0 and was capped by a free throw by Robinson to make it an 18-point game with 4:54 left.
Robinson wouldn't score again the rest of the game. His seven points ended up being more than he'd scored in his previous six career ACC Tournament games combined (six). With him on the floor, UNC outscored the Cardinals 38-22 en route to securing a spot in Friday's semifinals.
Playing potentially three games in three days will place a premium on Robinson's contributions off the bench this weekend. And that'll continue to be the case as the postseason progresses.
"I think every team needs one, a guy who will do the dirty work, the things that get someone on the court," Kenny Williams said. "Every team has their four or five top scorers, and he's found a way to get on the court and contribute. Now, he's even giving us five, six, seven points a game.
"I'm happy for B-Rob, especially with his first two years not being what he wanted them to be. … Just the fact that he's contributing in big ways. Every team needs one, and I think if you get that one, that one person can energize you at the right time."
Much like Robinson did Thursday.
CHARLOTTE — With under eight minutes left in North Carolina's 83-70 win over Louisville in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals on Thursday, Brandon Robinson made perhaps the game's best play, although the box score doesn't reflect it.
At the time, the Cardinals were still hanging around, trailing by just nine points. And when Luke Maye switched onto Christen Cunningham and the Louisville point guard started aggressively driving toward the basket, it looked like UNC's lead would shrink to seven.
But not on Robinson's watch.
Based on what he learned from the scouting report, Robinson left his man, V.J. King, to help defend Cunningham. He arrived just in time, stripping the ball from Cunningham as he attempted a layup. Robinson then corralled the ball, took one dribble and fired a nearly three-quarter court pass to Kenny Williams, who drew a shooting foul and made two free throws.
"The guy in the corner (King) wasn't as great of a shooter and I knew (Cunningham) has a tendency of when he goes to the basket, he's not giving it up," Robinson said. "So I just knew to stick my hand in there and strip it."
Robinson wasn't credited with the block in the box score, though. Maye was. Robinson didn't get an assist on the play either after Williams couldn't convert his layup through the foul.
Ultimately, Robinson's effort resulted in just a single rebound being added to his final stat line. But in making that play, as well as several others throughout Thursday's victory, he did all the little things that the Tar Heels need him to do, many of which extend beyond the box score.
In playing 14 minutes, his most since the win at Duke on Feb. 20, Robinson scored seven points, grabbed four rebounds and tallied two assists. He drained two 3-pointers, marking the second time in his past 15 games that he's made more than one. He's now shooting a career-high 45.5 percent from behind the arc this season.
But Robinson knows his team needs him to do more than make the occasional 3-pointer. And he prides himself on his versatility.
"I just think I can add a lot of things," he said. "I can get my teammates involved, I can help some people score, I can get some defensive stops and I can make shots when I need to. I think I just have an all-around game that people don't really notice."
It took some time and some patience for Robinson to learn how to best employ his skillset. But as he did that across his freshman and sophomore seasons, he said he watched Luke Maye and Kenny Williams. Specifically, he paid close attention to how they worked, knowing if he worked as hard as them that he'd be prepared when a larger role became available.
"When my time came, I wanted to seize the moment and be ready for it," Robinson said. "I think I just worked hard every offseason and just put in a lot of time and I think it's paying off."
It certainly did Thursday, especially in the second half.
With Garrison Brooks, Nassir Little and Maye each saddled with at least three fouls for most of the second half, Robinson played 10 minutes during the period, more than he'd played in four of the previous five games. That included a stretch from the 12:20 mark until 4:02 remained where he didn't leave the court. In that span, he posted four points, three rebounds and an assist. UNC also outscored Louisville 21-13.
Robinson also continued playing his now customary strong defense. In addition to his strip of Cunningham, he made another standout defensive play on the ensuing possession.
With Cunningham driving toward the basket again, Robinson provided help, but not too much. Cunningham ultimately kicked the ball out to Darius Perry for a 3-pointer. But Robinson recovered and contested the shot. He then took off down the floor, received an outlet pass from Maye and fed Williams a picture-perfect bounce pass between two defenders for a layup.
"I knew the guy was probably going to come over and try to help on me because I was a little ahead of Kenny," Robinson said. "I knew just to make a bounce pass because Coach (Roy Williams) always gets on me about making bounce passes. And he laid it up."
Williams' layup extended Carolina's run to 6-0 and its lead to 74-61. The Tar Heels' run grew to 11-0 and was capped by a free throw by Robinson to make it an 18-point game with 4:54 left.
Robinson wouldn't score again the rest of the game. His seven points ended up being more than he'd scored in his previous six career ACC Tournament games combined (six). With him on the floor, UNC outscored the Cardinals 38-22 en route to securing a spot in Friday's semifinals.
Playing potentially three games in three days will place a premium on Robinson's contributions off the bench this weekend. And that'll continue to be the case as the postseason progresses.
"I think every team needs one, a guy who will do the dirty work, the things that get someone on the court," Kenny Williams said. "Every team has their four or five top scorers, and he's found a way to get on the court and contribute. Now, he's even giving us five, six, seven points a game.
"I'm happy for B-Rob, especially with his first two years not being what he wanted them to be. … Just the fact that he's contributing in big ways. Every team needs one, and I think if you get that one, that one person can energize you at the right time."
Much like Robinson did Thursday.
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