After former BYU Cougars head coach Mark Pope left the program to become the new head coach for the Kentucky Wildcats, it was inevitable that players would begin to make decisions about their future. On Tuesday, one of those players, Jaxson Robinson, did just that. Robinson took to social media to announce that he would be declaring for the 2024 NBA Draft.
Robinson made his announcement with this message posted to his X account.
“First and foremost, I would like to give all glory to God, without him none of this would be possible. I want to thank my amazing parents, who have been a blessing and made every effort to help me pursue my dream. I would like to thank Cougar Nation, coaching staff, trainers, my teammates, and professors who helped me grow so much as a person these past two years period to all my family and friends, all my past teammates, coaches, and trainers, thank you for your continued love and support,” said Robinson.
“Having said that, I will be pursuing my dream and declaring for the 2024 NBA Draft. I am looking forward to the next chapter of my life and what God has in store for me.”
Robinson did not start his collegiate career at BYU. In fact, he jumped around a bit in the SEC, starting off at Texas A&M as a freshman in 2020 before transferring to Arkansas the following year. While with the two SEC programs, he played in 30 games with eight starts and averaged 10 minutes of game time per contest.
Robinson saved one of his best performances for last in this year’s NCAA tournament as BYU took on Duquesne. In the contest, the Cougars struggled to find consistency against the Dukes, all except Robinson. The reigning Big 12 Six Man of the Year came off the bench to lead not only BYU but all scorers in the game. Robinson finished the contest with two rebounds, one assist, and 25 points on 53 percent shooting from the field and 45 from long range.
In 2022, he would land in BYU, where he would start his first season with the Cougars. Robinson played in 33 games and was credited with thirty starts, averaging 8.5 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 1.8 assists in just over 28 minutes per contest. Following BYU’s struggles that season, finishing the year with a 19-15 record and finishing fifth in the WCC, Robinson and Pope made the move to have him come off the bench this year. And that decision paid off significantly for BYU in their first season and, arguably sure, the most challenging basketball conference in college: the Big 12.
Last season, Robinson played in all 33 games but only started six times. However, his productivity significantly increased, as he averaged 14.2 points on 43 percent shooting from the field, 90 percent from the free-throw line, and 35 percent from beyond the arc. He would also finish the year averaging 2.5 rebounds, 1.3 assists, and 0.7 steals in just 26 minutes on the floor.
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