LEXINGTON, Ky. (WDRB) -- Kentucky forward Amari Williams asked a simple question Tuesday night: "Has anyone ever seen Jax get a tech?"
It was a fair thing to ask. The usually mild-mannered UK guard in Jaxson Robinson, playing against a former team of his in Texas A&M on Tuesday night, was assessed a technical foul after hitting a three in front of the Aggie bench with 1:23 left in the first half. Robinson turned around and made a gesture but didn't remember saying anything.
"Honestly, I don't know," Robinson said when asked what he received that technical foul for. "That's a good question. I blacked out. I don't know."
One minute and 19 seconds later, Robinson hit another three before halftime and made a similar gesture but received no technical foul.Â
"I didn't say anything on the second one," Robinson said.
"We've never seen him talk or get a tech," Williams said. "I feel like he had a point to prove."
Consider it proven. While Robinson downplayed any extra motivation against the Aggies, whom he played for as a freshman, his play did enough of the talking. After dropping a season-high 27 points at Mississippi State, he followed up with 22 to lead all scorers in an 81-69 home victory. The 49 points are the most the BYU transfer, who missed his first three shots vs. Texas A&M, has scored over a two-game stretch in his collegiate career.
Kentucky guard Jaxson Robinson, left, prepares to shoot a basket past Mississippi State forward KeShawn Murphy (3) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Saturday, Jan. 11, 2025, in Starkville, Miss. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
"It's just fun to see growth, right?" Kentucky head coach Mark Pope said. "You miss your first three or four shots, you can start evaluating if you're having a rough night or not. And he didn't. He turns that kind of slow start into a night where he's pretty productive."
"The last three games, we've been talking about a next play mentality, regardless of what happened the play before," Robinson said. "You just got to move on. You can't hang your head, especially me personally. I've done a great job the last two games of moving on from the next play, regardless if it's a miss, make or turnover."
Williams said there have been times where Robinson's teammates have had to help keep his confidence up, telling him to keep shooting. He had not put together back-to-back scoring performances with at least 20 points yet in a Kentucky uniform but has now done so while shooting a combined 59% from the field in those wins over the Bulldogs and Aggies.
"I feel like that's something that can affect a lot of players," Williams said of Robinson's confidence. "I feel like everyone's gone through a slump this season where their confidence maybe isn't there. And with a guy like Jax, we always kept faith in him. Knowing that he's got his confidence back and performed like this is great for us."Â
"My teammates and my coaches have done a great job of instilling it in me," Robinson said. "I mean, it showed tonight."
So did other facets of his game. In fact, the graduate student said he was not even most proud of the 22 points he scored, but the eight rebounds he pulled down against one of the best rebounding teams in the nation. It ties his career high, a mark he also hit in an earlier win over Louisville.
"I was just going for the double-double, but it's all right," Robinson said with a smile. "But that's definitely a big area I've been trying to improve on, especially throughout the summer leading into the season. And I think I've done a good job of that."
His head coach would agree. Pope has watched the guard grow over three seasons with him, lauding Robinson for consistently defending and focusing on becoming a tougher player. He picked out two plays against the Aggies, one where he stepped up to guard Texas A&M's Zhuric Phelps and another later, where he made a blind cut from the corner to the basket for a two-handed dunk.
"I think it's probably the most well rounded I've seen him play," Pope said. "It's those plays that I think are setting him apart. It's the eight rebounds, right? It's the resilience of missing his first three or four shots and, 'Man, was the other night just an anomaly and I'm going back to it?
"He didn't. He's like, 'Nope, I'm here to play and I'm going to keep making plays.' So, it's all those pieces of his game that are pretty exciting, man."
Big Blue Nation feels that excitement too. Kentucky is now 5-0 against teams ranked inside the top 15 of the Associated Press poll, answering any questions regarding the team's toughness by winning in Starkville and then beating the Aggies on a night where physicality would be greatly needed.
"We've been hearing the 'soft' word being thrown around with this Kentucky jersey," Robinson said. "We take that personally. And we don't think people are saying that anymore. We went out and showed it the last two games."
So did Robinson. And that makes an already dangerous Kentucky team even scarier.
Kentucky Basketball Coverage:
- CRAWFORD | Winning Ugly: Kentucky defense shines in 81-69 win over No. 11 Texas A&M
- BOZICH | Kentucky grabs valuable SEC road win, beating Mississippi State, 95-90
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