Introducing Frank Robinson

by Hoopinion on Oct 1, 2008 12:35 PM EDT Comment 0 comments

Micah Hart, in his eyewitness account of the first day of training camp, had some nice things to say about Frank Robinson...

Frank Robinson impressed me a bit today. Frank is a rookie training camp invite, and probably a bit of a longshot to make the team out of camp. I often wonder what it's like to be in that position, but Robinson appears at ease. He took part in several after-practice shooting competitions, and he seemed right at home jawing back and forth with his camp teammates. I liked the confidence - I'm sure you need it in spades when you are matched up against some of the best basketball players in the world and trying to earn your own spot.

...so I thought I'd begin with Robinson in examining the statistical record of the three free agents who were late additions to the training camp roster.

Robinson, a Los Angeles native, began his college career at East Carolina. He played one season there before transferring to Cal State Fullerton where he played his final three seasons. You can read his Cal State Fullerton media guide bio here.

Robinson's college stats and more after the jump...

Year	%Min	eFG%	2pt%	3pt%	TS%	FT%	FT Rate	Pts/100	A/100	TO/100	BS/100	S/100	OR%	DR%
03-04	33.0	53.2	45.6	37.5	55.6	64.0	20.3	16.4	1.64	3.77	0.33	2.79	4.9	8.9
05-06	57.1	58.2	48.4	44.5	60.4	72.4	16.8	27.7	3.50	4.00	0.83	4.00	7.6	16.9
06-07	65.0	50.0	43.0	30.2	52.5	63.0	18.9	21.7	4.80	3.79	0.95	2.37	8.6	13.7
07-08	74.2	51.9	45.1	34.2	56.3	73.8	26.8	28.5	4.49	4.15	0.90	2.19	7.6	18.1

NOTE: points, assists, turnovers, blocks, and steals are represented per 100 possessions (/100)

Robinson obviously struggled to get the ball in the basket from anywhere during his junior season but bounced back with a strong senior year. His rebounding and blocked shot rates suggest he may, even at his listed height and weight (6-4, 200), be athletic enough to contribute defensively as an NBA 2-guard which, considering his college shooting and scoring numbers (which are fairly typical of a good college role player) and the conference in which he played (Big West), will almost certainly be how he'll have to contribute to make the roster. To put Robinson's senior season in some sort of perspective, let's compare it with those of his competitors for a roster spot, Mario West (06-07, Georgia Tech) and Thomas Gardner (05-06, Missouri).

Player	%Min	eFG%	2pt%	3pt%	TS%	FT%	FT Rate	Pts/100	A/100	TO/100	BS/100	S/100	OR%	DR%
Robinson	74.2	51.9	45.1	34.2	56.3	73.8	26.8	28.5	4.49	4.15	0.90	2.19	7.6	18.1
West	46.0	56.3	51.9	28.1	60.3	70.8	32.7	14.6	5.14	3.49	1.16	5.05	4.9	10.8
Gardner	85.1	53.7	42.9	39.7	56.7	72.0	19.6	34.7	2.83	5.79	0.00	1.70	3.7	7.4

I had forgotten just how one dimensional (and not especially productive in his singular dimension) Thomas Gardner was at Missouri. No blocked shots, not even by accident. HA! And, yes, a guy who couldn't play even earn half-a-game's worth of minutes over his senior season for a thoroughly mediocre ACC team spent the entirety of 2007-08 as a member of the Atlanta Hawks. Again, I like Mario West. I just like the home team trying to win games more.

It may speak mostly to his competition (I'm confident the departed Jeremy Richardson is better than all these guys.), but in a fair camp battle, I don't see why Frank Robinson can't earn the final roster spot that's going to go to a guard.

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