It all became too overwhelming for Kentucky Wildcats senior Jaxon Robinson when he came around to realize that his season and college career were over. Robinson injured his wrist ahead of the Feb. 10 game against Tennessee at Rupp Arena.
Jaxson Robinson Couldn’t Hold His Emotions Back in Locker Room, Mark Pope Reveals
On Tuesday, in the game against the LSU Tigers at Rupp Arena, Robinson, along with five other Kentucky graduate students and seniors, celebrated Senior Night. In the press conference, coach Mark Pope recalled the game against Oklahoma when Robinson burst into tears despite the win.
Robinson returned to the lineup in the game against the Oklahoma Sooners on Feb. 26. The guard made three of his seven shots fall in the first half. However, a hard fall on his right wrist meant his season was done.
Mark Pope talks about how Jaxson Robinson bursted into tears after Kentucky defeated Oklahoma because he knew his season was over.
“Because we went back to the locker room, and everyone was celebrating like crazy. The celebration breaks, and then Jax just bursts into… pic.twitter.com/675S8SeMci
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Despite the gruesome injury, Robinson remained cheerful for his teammates, who won the thrilling game 83-82. However, the celebrations soon turned into an emotional moment for Robinson, who knew his college career was done.
“Jax was 100% dialed in the whole time,” Pope said. “And you only recognize how hard that was for him because we went back in the locker room; everybody’s celebrating like crazy. The celebration breaks, and then Jaxson bursts out into tears, like inconsolable tears.”
Robinson is scheduled for surgery on Wednesday.
Mark Pope Lauds Jaxson Robinson’s Dedication for the Team
Pope also made sure to give Robinson his props for his dedication to return to the court amid intense pain.
“And what’s really special about him and about this team is, Jax really, in his heart of hearts, knew the second he went down and really couldn’t — he tried to go back in the game, just couldn’t really move this wrist, couldn’t catch a ball, couldn’t do anything, and the pain was pretty excruciating,” Pope added.
“And so he knew before halftime, but he wasn’t going to indulge in feeling sorry for himself or sad at all. He was going to be totally focused on this team for the next hour through this incredibly emotional comeback, where we need every ounce of energy that everybody had and then you just saw it come spilling out of him after, and he’s just a really special human being.”
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Robinson will need three months of recovery time following his surgery on Wednesday. This comes a year after he removed himself from the NBA draft in hopes of landing the national championship with Pope and Kentucky.
Now that his final college season is cut short, Robinson will have to explore other pro options this summer.
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