{"id":54606,"date":"2024-06-04T17:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-06-04T22:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/?p=54606"},"modified":"2024-06-04T17:00:00","modified_gmt":"2024-06-04T22:00:00","slug":"jaxson-robinsons-commitment-puts-kentucky-in-the-mix-for-sec-title","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/jaxson-robinsons-commitment-puts-kentucky-in-the-mix-for-sec-title\/","title":{"rendered":"Jaxson Robinson\u2019s commitment puts Kentucky in the mix for SEC title"},"content":{"rendered":"

We all know how huge Jaxson Robinson<\/a><\/strong>\u2018s addition was for Kentucky<\/a> and Mark Pope\u2019s year-one goals in Lexington \u2014 he was the ultimate prize from day one, tying the group together with a bow. We know that, though, because we\u2019ve been following this \u201cliving organism,\u201d as Pope calls it, piece by piece under a microscope from the beginning. The national talking heads have had the entire college basketball landscape to worry about at the macro level, just now starting to get into the weeds of each individual team a week removed from the draft withdrawal deadline.<\/p>\n

How did Robinson joining the fold change their thoughts on the Wildcats as a legitimate contender both in the SEC and nationally? ESPN broke down the significance of the BYU star\u2019s inclusion and how the pieces fit together for Pope in his debut season at Kentucky. <\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cPerhaps Pope will bring back Calipari\u2019s platoon system? Kidding. But Pope\u2019s incoming transfer class \u2014 anchored by Robinson and Wake Forest standout\u00a0Andrew Carr\u00a0\u2014 is ranked fourth in the nation by EvanMiya.com,\u201d ESPN\u2019s Myron Medcalf, also a current KSR summer co-host, said. \u201cAn abundance of talent, however, doesn\u2019t offer any guarantees. Calipari\u2019s final years at Kentucky proved as much. But Robinson is a future pro who helped Pope a year ago as a reserve for BYU. The addition gives Pope options with his rotations and also gives him experience off the bench, which is something Calipari lacked in recent years at Kentucky.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPope has clearly prioritized perimeter shooting in building his first Kentucky roster, and Robinson\u2019s decision adds to a squad with a deep group of shot-makers at the guard and wing positions. It will be interesting to see how Pope hands out minutes,\u201d Jeff Borzello added.\u00a0\u201cKerr Kriisa\u00a0(West Virginia) and\u00a0Lamont Butler\u00a0(San Diego State) are very different players at the point guard spot. Robinson will combine with\u00a0Otega Oweh\u00a0(Oklahoma) and\u00a0Koby Brea\u00a0(Dayton) to comprise a trio filled with size and shooting on the wings. And then there\u2019s ESPN 100 freshmen Travis Perry and Collin Chandler, the latter of whom provides a different dimension off the bounce. Even with the rotation headaches, Robinson\u2019s commitment puts Kentucky into the preseason top 25.\u201d<\/p>\n

There we go, a firm top-25 grade at the national level. That makes sense considering BYU finished ranked No. 18 by KenPom in the program\u2019s first year in the Big 12 under Pope and this roster is inarguably better than that one.<\/p>\n

How does it stack up in the SEC? The question of which conference title race was most impacted by the withdrawal deadline was posed to the ESPN panel, Medcalf immediately throwing Robinson\u2019s decision in there as one that could shake up a league that was already \u201cthe race to watch.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe SEC was already the race to watch, but the returns of Mark Sears and Kentucky\u2019s addition of Jaxson Robinson made the push for the 2024-25 SEC crown more competitive,\u201d he wrote. \u201cAlabama will enter the season as the favorite to win the conference title. But Kentucky,\u00a0Tennessee,\u00a0Texas A&M\u00a0and Arkansas are all contenders. And\u00a0Florida\u00a0added former\u00a0Florida Atlantic\u00a0star\u00a0Alijah Martin\u00a0to an intriguing Gators squad. Plus,\u00a0Dre Davis\u00a0joins\u00a0Ole Miss\u00a0after leading\u00a0Seton Hall\u00a0to the NIT title. The talent in the SEC only increased after last week\u2019s deadline.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not a bad position to be in if you\u2019re Mark Pope and the Wildcats.<\/p>\n

The post Jaxson Robinson\u2019s commitment puts Kentucky in the mix for SEC title<\/a> appeared first on On3<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We all know how huge Jaxson Robinson\u2018s addition was for Kentucky and Mark Pope\u2019s year-one…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-54606","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54606","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54606"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54606\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":54641,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54606\/revisions\/54641"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54606"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54606"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54606"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}