Officially, the Big 12 Sixth Man of the Year will trail Mark Pope to
Leading scorer at BYU last season, now under head coach Mark Pope of Kentucky, is traveling with him to Lexington.
Transfer to BYU Jaxson Robinson signed with Kentucky after withdrawing from the NBA Draft.
“Jaxson Robinson has been one of the most improved players in the country for two straight years and is barely scratching the surface of his potential,” Pope stated in a press release. “He is growing at an amazing rate. He can become a major playmaker and is an elite level shooter who poses a growing threat both off the bounce and at the rim. Jaxson is a long, balanced guard who knows how crucial it is to have a solid rapport with his teammates. Personally, I’m thrilled that I get to accompany him as we wrap up his college career and try to win Kentucky’s eighth national championship.”
With one year left on his NCAA eligibility, 6-foot-7 guard Robinson, the 2023–24 Big 12 sixth man of the year, can still play.
Ada, Oklahoma, native Robinson committed to Texas A&M as a four-star player in the 2020 class. For the Aggies, he appeared in 14 games, starting four of them. In 9.8 minutes a game, he averaged 2.1 points and 1.1 rebounds.
Robinson used the transfer portal to join Eric Musselman at Arkansas prior to the 2021–2022 season. He averaged 10.2 minutes per game while playing in 16 games with four starts during his one and only season with the Razorbacks. He shot 32.6 percent from three-point range and 38.0 percent from the field while averaging 3.4 points and 1.3 rebounds a game.
He re-entered the portal and arrived at BYU with Pope following a season with the Hogs.
In his 2022–23 season opener, Robinson saw action in thirty of the thirty games he began, averaging 28.1 minutes per game. He shot 34.3 percent from three-point range and 38.6 percent from the field while dishing out 1.8 assists, 2.9 rebounds, and 8.5 points on average per game.
His best season to date was this one.
Despite starting just six games, Robinson averaged 26.4 minutes of playing time and led the team in scoring with an average of 14.2 points per game. He shot 42.6 percent from the field, 35.4 percent from three, and 90.8 percent from the free throw line. Robinson was named the Big 12’s sixth-man of the year. He also contributed 1.3 assists and 2.5 rebounds per game.
The 6-foot-7 guard recorded a career-high 28 points in a victory over Denver, 25 points on 5-of-11 shooting in the Cougars’ NCAA Tournament loss to Duquesne, and 18 points on 4-of-9 shooting in the team’s thrilling road victory over No. 7 Kansas at the time.
According to 247sports transfer rankings, he is ranked seventh among small forwards and 36th overall on the transfer portal.
Along with Amari Williams (Drexel), Lamont Butler (San Diego State), Otega Oweh (Oklahoma), Andrew Carr (Wake Forest), Brandon Garrison (Oklahoma State), Koby Brea (Dayton), Kerr Kriisa (West Virginia), and Ansley Almonor (Fairleigh Dickinson), Robinson is Kentucky’s ninth addition via the transfer portal this offseason. Additionally, UK has signed three incoming freshmen in Travis Perry, Collin Chandler, and Trent Noah.