Robinson out of draft, goes from BYU to Kentucky

BYU transfer Jaxson Robinson is withdrawing from the NBA draft and has committed to Kentucky, he told ESPN on Thursday, giving the Wildcats one of the best available players in the portal.

Robinson pushed his NBA draft decision to Wednesday’s midnight deadline, but after withdrawing his name, he didn’t spend any more time thinking about a college decision: He’s following coach Mark Pope to Lexington.

The 6-foot-7 wing attended the NBA draft combine and was ranked No. 66 in ESPN’s NBA draft rankings, but he wasn’t a lock to be selected.

Robinson now has a chance to be the go-to guy on what should be a preseason top-25 team in Pope’s first season. He’s the ninth transfer addition this spring, as Pope took over a roster with zero returning players and only one recruit committed. He’s likely to operate on the wings alongside Oklahoma transfer Otega Oweh and Dayton transfer Koby Brea, leading the way for one of the best shooting teams in the country.

He was one of the biggest breakout stars in the Big 12 last season. Despite starting just six games, he averaged 14.2 points per game and shot 35.4% from 3-point range. He was named Big 12 Sixth Man of the Year and earned honorable mention All-Big 12 honors.

Robinson hit the 20-point mark on five occasions, including three times in a five-game stretch in November and December — capped by a 28-point effort against Denver in which he made eight 3-pointers. He scored 25 points and made five 3s in BYU’s NCAA tournament loss to Duquesne.

After failing to carve out a consistent role during his freshman season at Texas A&M or his sophomore season at Arkansas, Robinson transferred to BYU to play under Pope. He started 30 games in his first campaign with the Cougars, showing ability as a perimeter shooter with great size for the position.

Robinson is ranked No. 17 in ESPN’s transfer rankings.

Jonathan Givony is an NBA draft expert and the founder and co-owner of DraftExpress.com, a private scouting and analytics service utilized by NBA, NCAA and International teams.