Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, March 25, 1995 TAG: 9503270053
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: KANSAS CITY, MO. LENGTH: Long
No other Virginia basketball player dunks as spectacularly, none changes directions more quickly, none shows as many expressions or exhibits as much flair.
Robinson only wishes he could be as confident and as uninhibited when it counts. The basketball games would be so much more enjoyable if he could only eliminate the mind games.
``It's been a personal battle,'' Robinson, a 6-foot-7 sophomore, said earlier this week. ``I'm not going to say I'm glad it's happened, but hopefully it's made me a stronger person.''
Robinson and the Cavaliers, 67-58 upset winners over Kansas on Friday, will face Arkansas Sunday for a berth to the Final Four.
Many predicted greatness for Robinson after the 1994 ACC tournament, when his electrifying drive and spin move led to the winning basket in UVa's upset victory over Duke in the semifinals. A starter for only three games as a freshman - all in the ACC tournament - he was named first-team all-tournament.
``Put it down: Robinson is going to be a star at Virginia,'' television commentator Dick Vitale said. ``[Harold] Deane and Robinson are going to be something special. What a future!''
While Deane followed up a solid freshman year by being second-team All-ACC, Robinson struggled. Twice he lost his starting job, and he experienced significant drop-offs in scoring (7.1 average to 5.5) and field-goal percentage (42.5 to 36.3).
``I took what everybody said and let it go in one ear and out the other,'' Robinson said, ``[but] I expected to do very well. I expected to average 14 or 15 points a game and do all the other things.''
As it turned out, Robinson did not score 14 points in a single game. His playing time fluctuated wildly, from a low of six minutes at North Carolina to a high of 33 minutes at Clemson, and his confidence wavered in a corresponding pattern.
``You're constantly worried about making mistakes,'' Robinson said of his fear of substitution. ``You're walking off the floor as soon as you hear the horn sound. It's second nature. I wasn't like that last year.''
Robinson appeared to be on the verge of a turnaround when, following Virginia's 73-71 victory over North Carolina on Feb.19, he was informed his grandfather had become ill. Robinson returned home to Jamaica, N.Y., where his grandfather died the next day.
It was uncertain whether Robinson would play in the next game, but he rejoined the team Feb.22 in Atlanta, where he came off the bench to score 11 points in 16 minutes. It capped an 11-game stretch in which he scored in double figures seven times - his only double-figure games of the season.
While Robinson's grief was unmistakable, his reduced effectiveness probably had more to do with missed practice time and the increased productivity of freshman Curtis Staples, who got most of the extra minutes when Cory Alexander suffered a season-ending injury.
``Jamal Robinson is a good player,'' said UVa coach Jeff Jones. ``Jamal can do a lot of things on the court. The challenge is getting it done. There's more playing time out there for Jamal, but he's got to earn it.''
Robinson played 23 minutes in the Cavaliers' 60-54 overtime victory over Miami of Ohio in an NCAA second-round game, but his overriding concern was a missed shot - an airball - that could have won the game in regulation.
``He's very critical of himself,'' said Robinson's father, James. ``He's always been that way. But even when he calls us, he's not as enthusiastic. Instead of joking and carrying on, he's like, `Hi, dad. How are things? I'll be OK. I'm fine.'''
Robinson was so frustrated early in the season that the family discussed the possibility of transferring. There was media speculation that he might join former UVa assistant Dennis Wolff at Boston University, a notion Wolff rejected.
``I thought about a lot of crazy things,'' Robinson said. ``I even thought about quitting basketball. I'm not going to say [transferring] hasn't entered my mind, but I'm not going anywhere. I'm not running away.''
His father added, ``No one in my family's ever been a quitter. How often do you see a player leave one program, go to another and do very well? Not very often. I'd rather Jamal got his degree at Virginia than begin that bouncing-around process.''
James Robinson played at Denison (Ohio) College in the 1970s, and his brother, Darryl, played for Bobby Cremins at Appalachian State. It's a family that knows something about basketball.
``My biggest disappointment is that he's satisfied with shooting jump shots,'' James said. ``Jamal's first step is his best asset and, when he doesn't use it, that split-second advantage he has over his man is gone.''
The younger Robinson was 3-of-3 from 3-point range against Clemson, but is only 16-of-56 from beyond the arc for the season. There have been only glimpses of what should be his signature move, the drive and spin that beat Duke.
``I hear that from a lot of people,'' Robinson said. ``I haven't attacked at all this year. I don't understand why I came thinking I had become a 3-point shooter when I have been successful doing other things.''
James Robinson said he will urge his son to forget this season and stay in Charlottesville during the summer to study, lift weights and work on his game. Some might suggest Jamal also discard his No.13.
``I don't even want to think about it,'' Robinson said.
by CNB