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Article about Robinson and Withey playing together at Kansas

Discussion in 'Portland Trail Blazers' started by chris_in_pdx, Jul 2, 2013.

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chris_in_pdx OLD MAN

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http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/writers/pablo_torre/03/28/Robinson.Withey.Kansas/index.html

Apparently they were best friends.

chris_in_pdx, Jul 2, 2013

#1

illmatic99 likes this.
mook The 2018-19 season was the best I've seen

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Very interesting article.

Robinson, a 20-year-old who averages 17.9 points and 11.8 rebounds a game, could be employed as LeBron James's body double. Andrea Hudy, the Jayhawks' strength and conditioning coach, attests that the 6-foot-9, 245-pounder, a projected top-five NBA Draft pick, can bench-press 300 pounds, clean 300, and parallel-squat close to 400.
Click to expand...

Little about the team's pecking order was surprising. The first time Withey had seen Robinson was in the summer of 2009, when Robinson was an incoming freshman snaring rebounds and dominating Self's basketball camp. "I didn't know too much about Thomas," recalls Withey, who hadn't paid serious attention to basketball until he began to be recruited in ninth grade. "I was like, 'Dang, who is this guy?'"
The center found out soon enough. Every time the 2009-10 Jayhawks would split themselves up into two teams, whether it was for practice or a summer pickup game, the fourth-string Robinson always wanted to go up against Aldrich and the Morrii, and he always wanted the fifth-stringer by his side. Elijah Johnson still cannot help but chuckle before doing a pitch-perfect imitation of his roommate's booming, almost hubristic demand: "Gimme Jeff! Gimme Jeff!"
"I don't want to say he always wanted the weakling," Johnson says. "But he was trying to take Jeff under his wing and give him a little T-Rob."
Click to expand...

If Robinson's game has a flaw, his coaches say, it's that he's too aggressive. The power forward's motor -- that inner desire that allows him to grab rebounds by sheer force of will -- can spin out of control if left unchecked. Spectators recall practices where Jayhawks teammates have leapt out of Robinson's way rather than draw contact of any kind. "No matter what he does, he's going to do it hard," Johnson says. "He just goes, and goes, and goes. That's the most dangerous thing about him." The guard then poses a question, by way of further explanation: "Have you ever stood in front of a freight train?"

By his sophomore year, Robinson was getting bigger, surging past 230 pounds, the product of a team workout regimen that runs 45 weeks a year. But even as he popped up on NBA Draft boards as a projected first-rounder during that trying 2010-11 season, a frustrated Robinson remained stuck behind the Morrii -- two of his best friends -- ultimately putting up 7.6 points and 6.4 rebounds in only 14.6 minutes a game. Withey, likewise, averaged just 2.3 points and 1.8 rebounds in 6.2 minutes.
As the duo continued to run the Kansas scout team, their rapport became self-evident. The Morrii still had the edge on them in games, certainly, and Robinson's instructions for Withey -- Shoot the ball! -- didn't stop coming. But now, whenever either Robinson or Withey was trapped, the other would intuitively cut to the rim and receive the ball. If either Robinson or Withey was getting double-teamed -- already a small victory -- the other would collect the easy putback at the basket. If either Robinson or Withey took a risk defensively, the other would be waiting in the paint to erase the mistake.
They were getting better, and yet bigger, together. "We had a great vibe," says Withey, whose increasing weight (now into the 220s) mirrored his climbing offensive initiative (centered around that jump hook). Adds Johnson, "If you bang with T-Rob all day, or just work out with him all day, you can't be scared."
...
"Everybody talks about Thomas, which they should," a victorious Self said while standing in a hallway in the bowels of the Edward Jones Dome on Sunday night. "But people in our program know that Jeff is our anchor."
Click to expand...

Very encouraging article. Reminds me of the ties between Dixon/Blake and Monia/Khryapa. Hopefully these guys impress a little more.

mook, Jul 2, 2013

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HailBlazers RipCity

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chris_in_pdx said: ↑

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/writers/pablo_torre/03/28/Robinson.Withey.Kansas/index.html

Apparently they were best friends.
Click to expand...

Awesome. Props to Oshley for making it happen.

HailBlazers, Jul 2, 2013

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Sedatedfork Rip City Rhapsody

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I remember being very impressed with T Rob at the draft. He was very emotional, but I was totally rooting for him. Haven't really watched him much this year, but it looks like he was a little lost. Maybe he would do better with a young team that has some gunslingers.

Sedatedfork, Jul 2, 2013

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Reep Well-Known Member

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Zybot said: ↑

I remember being very impressed with T Rob at the draft. He was very emotional, but I was totally rooting for him. Haven't really watched him much this year, but it looks like he was a little lost. Maybe he would do better with a young team that has some gunslingers.
Click to expand...

I remember not thinking too much about him because he wasn't going to be there at 5. When he slipped, I wanted Lillard, but still hoped we wouldn't regret passing on him. Now we have the best of both worlds.

Reep, Jul 2, 2013

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illmatic99 formerly yuyuza1

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Good find. I got the Kansas connection, but didn't know they were that close. Hope that camaraderie transfers into production on the floor for our 2nd unit.

illmatic99, Jul 2, 2013

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THE HCP NorthEastPortland'sFinest

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Man, I am totally getting a WHITEY jersey!

THE HCP, Jul 2, 2013

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BBert Weasels Ripped My Flesh

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Ebony and Ivory.

BBert, Jul 2, 2013

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Mediocre Man Mr. SportsTwo

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HCP said: ↑

Man, I am totally getting a WHITEY jersey!
Click to expand...

Actually that word probably shouldn't be allowed any longer since a mod decided coon was a bad word to use in a thread about raccoon's

get on this SPD

Mediocre Man, Jul 2, 2013

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Rastapopoulos Well-Known Member

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mook said: ↑

Reminds me of the ties between Dixon/Blake and Monia/Khryapa.
Click to expand...

Way to harsh the good vibe!

Rastapopoulos, Jul 2, 2013

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mook The 2018-19 season was the best I've seen

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Rastapopoulos said: ↑

Way to harsh the good vibe!
Click to expand...

lol. Yeah, sometimes college buddies don't work out.

Actually, do they ever work out? I'm trying to recall college teammates who went on to have multiple great seasons on the same team in the NBA.

mook, Jul 2, 2013

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BrianFromWA Editor in Chief Staff Member Editor in Chief

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Hakeem and Clyde?

(too soon?)

BrianFromWA, Jul 2, 2013

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handiman Well-Known Member

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I actually view the "good" from this article as a bit of a negative. Well, maybe not a negative per se, but an indication of why Robinson struggled so much last year and why we got him so cheap. Yeah, he was glued to the bench behind two future middling NBA'ers, but he was basically an unknown that had one good year. That's a bit of a red flag if you're looking for upward trends vs. flash in the pan seasons.

handiman, Jul 2, 2013

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Foulzilla No Blood, No Foul.

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Worthy and Perkins?
Howard and Webber? (Both pretty young, so probably not multiple "great" seasons, but they both got payed like it afterwards.)

Dixon and Blake!

Probably some other examples, these were just off the top of my head. But I can't think of many really good examples.

Foulzilla, Jul 2, 2013

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Further Guy

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I'm actually getting excited about both these guys. I was not in the TRob camp last year, and I was not very excited we got Withey this year, but I've read articles, watched video, talked with Kansas friends, and little by little my excitement has grown. Especially for Withey, but for both of these guys. I know I am setting myself up for a disappointment, but OH Well, at least I'll have the offseason to feel giddy.

Further, Jul 2, 2013

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jlprk The ESPN mod is insane.

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I wouldn't count on a center picked #45. All he does is block shots. Here's a clue as to why the Kings and Rockets let the #5 pick go. Is it hard for coaches to control him?

If Robinson's game has a flaw, his coaches say, it's that he's too aggressive. The power forward's motor -- that inner desire that allows him to grab rebounds by sheer force of will -- can spin out of control if left unchecked. Spectators recall practices where Jayhawks teammates have leapt out of Robinson's way rather than draw contact of any kind. "No matter what he does, he's going to do it hard," Johnson says. "He just goes, and goes, and goes. That's the most dangerous thing about him." The guard then poses a question, by way of further explanation: "Have you ever stood in front of a freight train?"
Click to expand...

jlprk, Jul 2, 2013

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EL PRESIDENTE Username Retired in Honor of Lanny.

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Oops!

hoop fam

EL PRESIDENTE, Jul 4, 2013

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maxiep RIP Dr. Jack

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Oh, well. It was nice while it lasted.

maxiep, Jul 4, 2013

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PtldPlatypus Let's go Baby Blazers! Staff Member Global Moderator Moderator

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Thinking about the Aldridge/Lopez/Leonard/Robinson big man rotation got me thinking about this article. When Aldrich and the Morris twins were the men at Kansas, Robinson and Withey teamed up, practiced together, and made each other tougher and better. Now that Aldridge and one Lopez twin are the men in Portland, Robinson and Leonard have an opportunity to forge a similar relationship.

PtldPlatypus, Jul 12, 2013

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Eastoff But it was a beginning.

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PtldPlatypus said: ↑

Thinking about the Aldridge/Lopez/Leonard/Robinson big man rotation got me thinking about this article. When Aldrich and the Morris twins were the men at Kansas, Robinson and Withey teamed up, practiced together, and made each other tougher and better. Now that Aldridge and one Lopez twin are the men in Portland, Robinson and Leonard have an opportunity to forge a similar relationship.
Click to expand...

That's something good to hope for. Maybe we'll find out by pre-season

Eastoff, Jul 12, 2013

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