JayhawkSlant.com - Kings select Robinson

June 28, 2012

John Holihan

The blood, sweat, and tears paid off Thursday night when Thomas Robinson was selected by the Sacramento Kings with the fifth overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft.

It's been a long, hard road for Thomas Robinson. The 6-foot-9, 245-pound forward came to Kansas as a relative unknown but a player with plenty of promise.

His first two years were spent playing behind former lottery picks Cole Aldrich, Marcus Morris, and Markieff Morris. After an unbelievably sad and brutal sophomore year off the court with the deaths of three family members, including the shocking passing of his mother, Robinson went into his junior year with the focus squarely on his shoulders at Kansas.

KU wasn't supposed to do much after having lost a multitude of players which contributed greatly on both ends of the court.

Robinson took the previous year and all he went through and used it as motivation, finishing off one of the greatest individual seasons a player has ever had at a history-laden program like Kansas. The Jayhawks were national runner-up to Kentucky and Robinson was a close second in National Player of the Year to Thursday's top draft pick, Anthony Davis.

Robinson was left with nothing but his little sister Jayla and his family at Kansas. Now he moved on to the Sacramento Kings with his sister to live a life vastly different than anything he has known before.

The Kings have a younger team with promise, including perimeter player Tyreke Evans, and forward DeMarcus Cousins. The Kings have struggled since the glory days of the early 2000's when they competed for the Western Conference title with the likes of the Los Angeles Lakers and San Antonio Spurs.

After the pick, head coach Keith Smart said Robinson went immediately to what lies ahead.

"He just said, "I gotta work, I gotta work"," said Sacramento Kings head coach Keith Smart.

Robinson is the type of player which the Kings desperately need. His motor, physical abilities and skills on both ends of the court will bring a new energy to a team in need of a boost.

"The thing I am trying to preach to these guys is we have to work for it first and he's [Robinson] on a thin line with that exactly with the way he plays and how humble he is. This young man is very, very humble but he has a spirit that once he hits the floor, it's all business."

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