MBB Recruiting: 2015 6'7" Williams College F Duncan Robinson
Per Chris Balas at TheWolverine.com (linked below since embed won't work on my computer), Duncan Robinson, a 6'7" forward from D-III Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts, will visit campus Monday and stay for a few days. An offer and immediate pledge seem highly likely.
Robinson played under Mike Maker while at Williams. If the Maker name sounds familiar, that's because it is. Maker recently accepted the head coaching job at Marist, beating out none other than Patrick Beilein, John Beilein's son, for the lead spot. Apparently, Maker asked Robinson to follow him to Marist, but Robinson had his sights set higher and declined. Maker was kind enough (and mature enough) to put in a call to Coach Beilein and recommend that he look at standout frosh.
As a freshman, Robinson led the team in basically every statistical catergory and led the team to the D-III national championship game, where they lost in a close contest. He was named the D3Hoops.com National Rookie of the Year and made the NCAA All-Tournament Team.
Robinson would sit a year before joining the team as a sophomore in 2015. This would likely mean the end of 2015 recruiting, although I would think the coaches would still pursue Coleman in the event that LeVert departs.
Highlights below, but apparently the kid has put on about 15 pounds of muscle and added another inch since the highlights were shot.
($) https://michigan.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1663626Reposted here since I don't see them above:
Robinson attended Phillips Exeter, one of the most prestigious prep schools in America as any Exeter grad will tell you. Exeter is a member of the NEPSAC, probably the best high school/prep basketball conference in the country and was home to other Michigan players like McGary, Stauskas, Albrecht, Dawkins, and Bartelstein. As such, Robinson is no stranger to very high level competition.
Robinson apparently turned down multiple D-1 offers to attend Williams, given it's strong academics and proximity to home.
(that's kind of sarcastic, kind of serious)?
I can't find a recruiting profile on him.
The love child of Tim Duncan and David Robinson is coming to Michigan!?!?!
I dunno, he's interesting. 6'6" is good size for a wing (his listed size in the video), and he looks to have a good, smooth shot, but athletically, especially laterally as a defender, he doesn't look great. If he was three inches taller and held his athleticism and skill set he'd be a great stretch 4. I dunno, I just see either a pretty undersized four (not just height, but bulk as well) or a fairly unathletic 3. I think he'd make a good mid-major player, but have a tough time seeing him work in the B1G. We'll see I guess, I'm not what I'd consider a basketball scout by any means.
That was the big thing that stuck out to me in that video too, although, Stauskas' lateral defense didn't look much better in his high school highlights. I think a combination of non-AAU defensive effort and S&C can go a long way toward rectifying that.
Stauskas was great laterally, he just has incredibly slow feet and bad reaction time
Uhh...wut?
Also, I'd side with DraftExpress and just about all draft analysts, who noted his poor-to-mediocre lateral quickness:
It was bad analysis...
Stauskas had excellent lateral quickness,especially when dribbling, and his combine numbers back it up.
Stauskas had feet stuck in cement. Big difference.
Well, both Space Coyote and I were talking about defense, not offense. That aside, you're right and a plethora of professional draft analysts are wrong? Mmmkay.
Lateral quickness doesn't change from offense to defense, reaction time does
And unlike vert testing, sprint and agility test are reliable.. guess what? Stauskas was top tier in agility and bottom tier in sprint. Feet stuck in cement.
Stauskas was probably the slowest lateral defender in the starting lineup the past two seasons for Michigan and one of the slower ones even in terms of serious contributors. Also, I don't think his offensive lateral speed was as fast as people think either. This is why the smaller/quick guards gave him a lot of trouble for awhile until he simply starting shooting over them.
Nik is much better laterally than GR3 and he struggled with small guards because he couldn't get the step, not because he couldn't change directions or move side to side.
We're lumping in "first step" into the idea of lateral quickness whereas you're breaking it out as something separate. I think your distinction between "first step" and lateral quickness after the first step is worthless because it doesn't change the practical reality that he was a poor defender laterally.
The are different and a guy like GR3 who had no shake to him was a perfect example.
Stauskas had a point guard type of handle and GR3 did not. That's a pretty big thing you're ignoring in this assessment.
Also, the concept that Stauskas is faster laterally than GR3 is ... yeah.
Hey, if you want to put stock into 0.43 seconds in a lane agility drill at the NBA Combine over 2 seasons worth of play, that's fine by me. Stauskas was routinely beaten off the dribble as a defender and was unable to stay in front of players. Is your argument that this was due to a body positioning issue or something else because usually when a player can't stay in front of another player off the dribble, it's a lateral quickness issue. I mean, I know Stauskas doesn't have the length of some of the longer defenders out there, but I just really don't see this issue relating to his length or use of his hands. It's not like they were just shooting over him or backing him down, they just got around him because he couldn't stay in front of them. When he got posted up down low, sure, that wasn't a quickness issue, but it's pretty rare that Stauskas ever ended up down there.
Just also throwing out that they do several things in that drill including forward sprinting, backpedaling, and shuffling.
Stauskas was routinely bodied and late on close outs due to speed, not agility.
Bodied? By who? The only time he was bodied was when was switched and ended up inside, which wasn't all that often. When he was late on close outs it was usually because he couldn't get around a screen and ended up late.
Draftexpress scouting reports are online and should answer all of your questions
And he was just slow, not caught on screens.
Yeah, DraftExpress said he had "mediocre lateral quickness." So I'm not sure that's the site you want to cite to support your argument.
Not poorus, though. Him getting bodies and late on close outs had a 6 min segment, on the other hand.
Uh, ok then.
EDIT: For the record, DraftExpress stated that GR3 has "good lateral quickness," so if anything, I think using their analysis only supports my point.
Show me where that was stated in pre draft video
Using 2 year old written reports is lol worthy
DraftExpress on 5/29/14:
"Mostly defending the power forward position at Michigan, Robinson played with a more consistent motor than he did as a freshman and had some nice moments defending the perimeter thanks to his lateral quickness, but he'll benefit from gaining experiencing defending the small forward position full time and playing with a greater sense of urgency given how much of an impact he appears capable of making on this end of the floor."
HoopsHype on 6/27/14 on Stauskas:
"He lacks great foot speed and doesn't show much lateral quickness, though."
nbadraft.net on GR3:
"Good lateral quickness and long arms makes him a solid perimeter defender ...
Link, man. DX does videos, not write-ups. Hoops hype and Draft net? Please
I am just replying to see if the window box for this comment will shrink even further!
What is he searching for?? This but all tells me M not going to get caught flatfooted by ANY decision he makes...good for JB & staff.
Since kids make the jump from HS to D1 every year, I think it can work.
I think the bigger question is why does a kid who played at what Ypsituckyboy called the best high school / prep school basketball conference in the country and who was also good enough to be the D3 rookie of the year wind up in D3 to begin with?
He had offers at the Ivy level and he wasn't dominant in HS
Full replay of DIII semi game in which Robinson dropped 30 on 13-18 shooting:
http://www.ncaa.com/video/basketball-men/2014-03-21/diii-mbk-semifinal-…
MLive had news yesterday on Eric Davis, another 2015 player holding a Michigan offer. He plans to make official visits to Texas, UCLA, and UNLV, and:
There are no official visits planned for Michigan or Michigan State.
But that doesn't mean the Wolverines or Spartans are out of the running for Davis, who is ranked by 247sports.com as the No. 32 player in the country and No. 7 shooting guard in the country.
"It's possible," Davis said. "I really don't have a top team right now. For those three schools, I really like the coaching staffs and the style of their offense."
This kid is legit. One of the best players nationwide in D3 as a freshman, played top HS competition and turned down D1 offers. Especially after sitting a year he will contribute here and it doesn't hurt with any of the top '16 talent we are in on.
the sitting a year. So you can be eligible immediately if you transfer from D1 to D3, but if you transfer up you have to sit?
I'll get excited when I see a 6"10 or taller recruit get mentioned...
3 year spot up shooter off the bench
but frankly with all the talented kids Michigan is in on right now, I can't get too excited about this. It almost seems like Robinson is a plan C in case a number of other players don't come here. Maybe I'm wrong and the coaches have found another diamond in the rough. Either way, you have to be impressed with the kid's academic pedigree going to Phillips Exeter and Williams College.
This isn't a Plan C. Most of the 2015 Top-100 guys haven't even made decisions yet, so there's no rush to fill the 2015 spot. We're likely in the top 2 for Coleman and involved with many other guys. If the coaches take him, they think he's a Plan A option.
I can't imagine the staff values this kid over Coleman, Leaf, Battle, Brunson, Davis, Towns, Ali, etc. This move seems like a Dawkins/MAAR type addition, which are nice for depth, but this team needs more high end wing talent in 2015 and 2016 particularly after striking out on Booker, Blackmon, Blueitt, etc in 2014.
And yes we are still in on a lot of the high end guys in 2015 and 2016, but until they commit it is just hopes and wishes. JB and staff have done a great recruiting job to date, but this is a what have you done for me lately business.
If the coaching staff wants him at Michigan, then I want him at Michigan.
But daaaaang, this guy REALLY looks like a kid.
As a lifelong Michigan fan and a Williams alum (hence the username), I don't know how to feel about this news.
As a Williams and Michigan alum, I'm right there with you. I was already feeling conflicted about Maker's departure and his taking CJ Lee from UM. There's little doubt that Robinson makes a bigger impact on the Eph squad than he would (will?) at Michigan.
I had similar feelings when Maker's predecessor at Williams, Dave Paulsen, was hired by Bucknell, which is in my hometown and is the only other place I've taken college courses.