'STICKS' TO STAY PUT
September 9, 2008
by Zach Smart
The road to redemption nearly hit an early pothole for the University of Connecticut men’s basketball team this off-season. Stanley Robinson, a freakish 6-foot-9 junior forward and a significant cog in the starting lineup his freshman and sophomore seasons, entertained thoughts of leaving the NBA factory he was sold on as one of the top high school players in Alabama.
It turns out the kid the UConn fan base knows as “Sticks” won’t be taking his 10.4 points, 6.5 boards and ultra-athletic frame that screams NBA draft elsewhere. Whether or not he will suit up for the 2008-2009 campaign, one which looks promising for the Huskies, is still up in the air.
Jim Calhoun, the eccentric, longtime Husky coach has made it clear that Robinson’s services will not be available for the first semester of the season. Robinson has said he still needs to pass a sociology course that he’ll be taking via the internet (at his uncle’s house in nearby Vernon, Conn.) and he’ll be ready to return before the start of the second semester.
Robinson has indicated that he’d like to return to UConn, just weeks after weighing his transfer options.
“I don’t want to jinx myself and say I’m coming back and then the class doesn’t go well,” said Robinson during a recent interview with the New Haven Register. “But I’m determined, because I have to be back in that uniform.”
But is it really an academic issue?
Throughout Robinson’s stay at UConn, he’s been a big man with a big question mark tattooed on his forehead. He’s shy around the media and is known to keep to himself. He’s a polite kid, with a smile as wide as the Withlacooche River who UConn fans love and his teammates would love to understand.
“Few people understand Stanley Robinson and I’m not one of those people,” said teammate Jeff Adrian, following the Huskies’ early-season drubbing of Buffalo in the 2K College Hoops Classic at Storrs. Robinson registered his presence that game (10 points, 13 rebounds, six blocks), after being called out by his coach for a paltry 0-point, 0-5, six turnover performance the previous game (Morgan State).
He’s the kid who hit up Maine for 32 and 11 but went to sleep against Providence (four points, five turnovers) despite cracking an ESPN Top Ten Play with a vicious rim-rattling putback in the first half.
He’s feast or famine. A ball of athletic potential, Robinson finds the frantic-pace northeast colossally different from his stomping grounds of Birmingham, Ala. Fitting, as the UConn family finds him to be different as well.
One second he’ll be chatting it up with Hartford Courant writer Mike Anthony. Moments later he’ll duck away from a media interview, as he did following his 18-point, eight-board effort in a 96-51 walloping of Cincinnati. UConn Sports Information Director Kyle Muncy said he literally chased Robinson down, to no avail, following that game.
Like Robinson’s game, this whole situation is inconsistent.
“Right now, he’s in a pretty good place,” Calhoun said. “He always wanted to go home to Alabama, then he couldn’t wait to get back here. He’s a young man that has a lot of work to do.”
While Robinson may need some time off and possibly a redshirt season, he’s certain he wants to continue to play in a Huskies’ uniform.
“There were so many rumors back at home — the papers were like, ‘he’s going to UAB, he’s going to Alabama.’ But I never said that,” explained Robinson.
“People asked me what I’m going to do, I said I’m still a part of the UConn family, I never left, I don’t want to leave. It’s my home, so I’ll keep it a home.”
by Zach Smart
The road to redemption nearly hit an early pothole for the University of Connecticut men’s basketball team this off-season. Stanley Robinson, a freakish 6-foot-9 junior forward and a significant cog in the starting lineup his freshman and sophomore seasons, entertained thoughts of leaving the NBA factory he was sold on as one of the top high school players in Alabama.
It turns out the kid the UConn fan base knows as “Sticks” won’t be taking his 10.4 points, 6.5 boards and ultra-athletic frame that screams NBA draft elsewhere. Whether or not he will suit up for the 2008-2009 campaign, one which looks promising for the Huskies, is still up in the air.
Jim Calhoun, the eccentric, longtime Husky coach has made it clear that Robinson’s services will not be available for the first semester of the season. Robinson has said he still needs to pass a sociology course that he’ll be taking via the internet (at his uncle’s house in nearby Vernon, Conn.) and he’ll be ready to return before the start of the second semester.
Robinson has indicated that he’d like to return to UConn, just weeks after weighing his transfer options.
“I don’t want to jinx myself and say I’m coming back and then the class doesn’t go well,” said Robinson during a recent interview with the New Haven Register. “But I’m determined, because I have to be back in that uniform.”
But is it really an academic issue?
Throughout Robinson’s stay at UConn, he’s been a big man with a big question mark tattooed on his forehead. He’s shy around the media and is known to keep to himself. He’s a polite kid, with a smile as wide as the Withlacooche River who UConn fans love and his teammates would love to understand.
“Few people understand Stanley Robinson and I’m not one of those people,” said teammate Jeff Adrian, following the Huskies’ early-season drubbing of Buffalo in the 2K College Hoops Classic at Storrs. Robinson registered his presence that game (10 points, 13 rebounds, six blocks), after being called out by his coach for a paltry 0-point, 0-5, six turnover performance the previous game (Morgan State).
He’s the kid who hit up Maine for 32 and 11 but went to sleep against Providence (four points, five turnovers) despite cracking an ESPN Top Ten Play with a vicious rim-rattling putback in the first half.
He’s feast or famine. A ball of athletic potential, Robinson finds the frantic-pace northeast colossally different from his stomping grounds of Birmingham, Ala. Fitting, as the UConn family finds him to be different as well.
One second he’ll be chatting it up with Hartford Courant writer Mike Anthony. Moments later he’ll duck away from a media interview, as he did following his 18-point, eight-board effort in a 96-51 walloping of Cincinnati. UConn Sports Information Director Kyle Muncy said he literally chased Robinson down, to no avail, following that game.
Like Robinson’s game, this whole situation is inconsistent.
“Right now, he’s in a pretty good place,” Calhoun said. “He always wanted to go home to Alabama, then he couldn’t wait to get back here. He’s a young man that has a lot of work to do.”
While Robinson may need some time off and possibly a redshirt season, he’s certain he wants to continue to play in a Huskies’ uniform.
“There were so many rumors back at home — the papers were like, ‘he’s going to UAB, he’s going to Alabama.’ But I never said that,” explained Robinson.
“People asked me what I’m going to do, I said I’m still a part of the UConn family, I never left, I don’t want to leave. It’s my home, so I’ll keep it a home.”
Labels: Connecticut news
posted by NBE Blogger @ 11:48 AM
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