Post by wgt on Sept 11, 2014 8:50:23 GMT -5
Posted: Wednesday, September 10, 2014 11:42 am
Butler: Robinson ready for new role as SBU assistant By J.P. Butler, Olean Times Herald Olean Times Herald | 0 comments
ST. BONAVENTURE — As a player, Jerome Robinson always prided himself on his ability to defend.
“That’s how I got on the court, originally,” he said inside the St. Bonaventure Hall of Fame room last week. “The offense came after.”
<img src="http://b.scorecardresearch.com/p?c1=8&c2=15579784&c3=65203&c15=&cv=2.0&cj=1" />It’s also what allowed the 34-year-old, who looks as if he should still be playing right now, to become a standout at nearly every basketball stop.
As a senior at Bradley in 2002, he was named the Missouri Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Year, also earning first-team, all-conference status after averaging 17 points per game. As a pro, he was twice named the All-Austrian Bundesliga Defensive Player of the Year, and was a noted stopper in stints in France, Belgium and Austria.
His defensive prowess may have even made an impact in his one season as director of player development at Eastern Michigan, as the Eagles led the nation in field goal percentage defense last year.
That’s also how he wants to be defined as a coach — a defensive guy — and what he feels he’ll be bringing to the St. Bonaventure men’s basketball program in his first opportunity as a Division I assistant.
“I know I’m going to bring that to the table for the guards, maybe even (the big men),” said Robinson, who was hired as an aid by coach Mark Schmidt in July after spending the last three seasons in various roles at EMU. “Just my knowledge; how to guard the passing lanes, how to guard screens, how to read certain situations.
“At Bradley, I was coupled with two other great on-the-ball defenders. We were a pretty good defensive backcourt. So when you have that and you’re able to cause havoc … that’s such a big thing for me.”
Of course, that isn’t the only reason Schmidt tabbed the 6-foot-4 Robinson, a native of Toronto, as his replacement for the departed Jeff Massey.
The former Bradley star is young and hungry, someone who might be able to relate a little better to today’s 20-year-old college player. He knows what it takes to succeed at that level and play professionally. He has strong recruiting ties in Canada, where Bona has had success getting players the last six years, and the Great Lakes region.
Robinson has felt prepared to be an assistant, to demonstrate those qualities for real, since he began working his way up at Eastern Michigan. But until Schmidt called, he wasn’t sure when that opportunity would actually come.
“It was good because it’s difficult to break the men’s basketball club,” he said. “It’s a tight-knit community. It’s hard to get in. Once you get in, from what I hear, you’re able to find jobs for the most part. It’s just cracking and getting in.
“When I got the phone call, I was ecstatic, I was super excited. Obviously, it’s a chance to be closer to home, to be able to recruit Toronto and Michigan and the areas I’m familiar with. I had opportunities last year, or even early this summer, that kind of fell through. You’re the guy and then something happens. So I didn’t want to get too up when Coach called me, but I was happy to hear that it was going to happen.”
Since Robinson was “thrown into the fire” in July (that month is a live recruiting period in college basketball; or as he called it, a “super live period”), Bona has already been connected to a number of Canadian prospects, some of whom have already visited campus.
The Canadian coach also had to help his wife and three kids make the move, and transition, from Ypsilanti to Olean — his family just arrived for good last week — while adjusting to the always-on-the-move, yet hardly glamorous life as a college assistant. How have his first two months on the job gone?
“It’s definitely what I expected,” he said. “I know coming from Eastern Michigan, I’ve seen firsthand what the assistants go through.
“(July) was a busy month, but it was exactly what I expected. It was a lot of basketball. I got to watch some really good basketball and some bad basketball, but it was definitely a good learning experience. I got to see a lot of the AAU teams that I wanted to watch, some of the kids I followed throughout their career. I got a chance to watch the Canadian guys that we’re recruiting, as well as the Michigan AAU teams that I’m familiar with. It was a good experience.”
Robinson and his family have enjoyed their time in the Olean area so far. He said that while he and his wife lived in Europe, they lived in small towns and villages that had the same feel as their new community. “It’s a little different, but it’s nothing that (my wife) isn’t used to,” he said. “In Austria, we lived in a small village, in France, a small village. The actual small town feel is nothing new to us. And the people have been great. The people have been friendly. It definitely makes the adjustment a lot easier.”
Robinson still has plenty he needs to do. He needs to learn Schmidt’s system, his coaching style and the myriad plays he likes to run. But he’s ready to be a part of that “tight knit” college coaching community.
Butler: Robinson ready for new role as SBU assistant By J.P. Butler, Olean Times Herald Olean Times Herald | 0 comments
ST. BONAVENTURE — As a player, Jerome Robinson always prided himself on his ability to defend.
“That’s how I got on the court, originally,” he said inside the St. Bonaventure Hall of Fame room last week. “The offense came after.”
<img src="http://b.scorecardresearch.com/p?c1=8&c2=15579784&c3=65203&c15=&cv=2.0&cj=1" />It’s also what allowed the 34-year-old, who looks as if he should still be playing right now, to become a standout at nearly every basketball stop.
As a senior at Bradley in 2002, he was named the Missouri Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Year, also earning first-team, all-conference status after averaging 17 points per game. As a pro, he was twice named the All-Austrian Bundesliga Defensive Player of the Year, and was a noted stopper in stints in France, Belgium and Austria.
His defensive prowess may have even made an impact in his one season as director of player development at Eastern Michigan, as the Eagles led the nation in field goal percentage defense last year.
That’s also how he wants to be defined as a coach — a defensive guy — and what he feels he’ll be bringing to the St. Bonaventure men’s basketball program in his first opportunity as a Division I assistant.
“I know I’m going to bring that to the table for the guards, maybe even (the big men),” said Robinson, who was hired as an aid by coach Mark Schmidt in July after spending the last three seasons in various roles at EMU. “Just my knowledge; how to guard the passing lanes, how to guard screens, how to read certain situations.
“At Bradley, I was coupled with two other great on-the-ball defenders. We were a pretty good defensive backcourt. So when you have that and you’re able to cause havoc … that’s such a big thing for me.”
Of course, that isn’t the only reason Schmidt tabbed the 6-foot-4 Robinson, a native of Toronto, as his replacement for the departed Jeff Massey.
The former Bradley star is young and hungry, someone who might be able to relate a little better to today’s 20-year-old college player. He knows what it takes to succeed at that level and play professionally. He has strong recruiting ties in Canada, where Bona has had success getting players the last six years, and the Great Lakes region.
Robinson has felt prepared to be an assistant, to demonstrate those qualities for real, since he began working his way up at Eastern Michigan. But until Schmidt called, he wasn’t sure when that opportunity would actually come.
“It was good because it’s difficult to break the men’s basketball club,” he said. “It’s a tight-knit community. It’s hard to get in. Once you get in, from what I hear, you’re able to find jobs for the most part. It’s just cracking and getting in.
“When I got the phone call, I was ecstatic, I was super excited. Obviously, it’s a chance to be closer to home, to be able to recruit Toronto and Michigan and the areas I’m familiar with. I had opportunities last year, or even early this summer, that kind of fell through. You’re the guy and then something happens. So I didn’t want to get too up when Coach called me, but I was happy to hear that it was going to happen.”
Since Robinson was “thrown into the fire” in July (that month is a live recruiting period in college basketball; or as he called it, a “super live period”), Bona has already been connected to a number of Canadian prospects, some of whom have already visited campus.
The Canadian coach also had to help his wife and three kids make the move, and transition, from Ypsilanti to Olean — his family just arrived for good last week — while adjusting to the always-on-the-move, yet hardly glamorous life as a college assistant. How have his first two months on the job gone?
“It’s definitely what I expected,” he said. “I know coming from Eastern Michigan, I’ve seen firsthand what the assistants go through.
“(July) was a busy month, but it was exactly what I expected. It was a lot of basketball. I got to watch some really good basketball and some bad basketball, but it was definitely a good learning experience. I got to see a lot of the AAU teams that I wanted to watch, some of the kids I followed throughout their career. I got a chance to watch the Canadian guys that we’re recruiting, as well as the Michigan AAU teams that I’m familiar with. It was a good experience.”
Robinson and his family have enjoyed their time in the Olean area so far. He said that while he and his wife lived in Europe, they lived in small towns and villages that had the same feel as their new community. “It’s a little different, but it’s nothing that (my wife) isn’t used to,” he said. “In Austria, we lived in a small village, in France, a small village. The actual small town feel is nothing new to us. And the people have been great. The people have been friendly. It definitely makes the adjustment a lot easier.”
Robinson still has plenty he needs to do. He needs to learn Schmidt’s system, his coaching style and the myriad plays he likes to run. But he’s ready to be a part of that “tight knit” college coaching community.
