Stanley Robinson

Stanley Robinson - Robinson's stock has been completely annihilated in the last twelve months. Even though he showed some improvements in his senior season, UConn imploded around him, and Robinson's once-surefire first round draft stock eventually picked with the penultimate 59th pick of the entire thing. He then got injured, failed to make the Magic team, got waived, went to the D-League, came off the bench behind Antonio Anderson, got injured again (or more specifically, ill, with a staph infection in his foot that left him hospitalised), and thus got waived again.

In his brief time with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, Robinson showed the range of his talents, averaging 9.7 points and 2.7 rebounds in only 11 minutes a game. He's big, athletic, hustles, plays defense, deflects, blocks, dunks, yells, rebounds, runs, passes and posts. The D-League is the perfect place to rebuild his crippled stock, and he certainly has the talent to do so. But a stroke of luck wouldn't go amiss.

(EDIT - My incredibly close personal friend Scott Schroeder informs me that Robinson's staph infection has ruled him out for the year.)

Robinson would in theory replace Matt Barnes, a defensive minded small forward with athleticism and the ability to get out and run. Orlando should have considered themselves lucky to get him; Robinson was long considered to have first round talent, and with good reason. He's a 6'9 athlete with good passing, rebounding and defensive skills, who can post up a bit, run the court, and may one day develop a jumpshot now that he has learnt not to shoot on the way down.

AAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Stanley Robinson was drafted about 25 places too low and single handedly makes Matt Barnes surplus to requirements. I stand by this. He is not as good as Barnes currently, but he will be.

[I]f you want a 6'9 athletic forward, why would you take Jeremy Evans and not Stanley "AAAAAAAAAAARGGGGGGGHHHHHHH" Robinson? (So nicknamed because he can't help but do this on every dunk:)



(....And I do mean every dunk.)



(Every.)



[...]

Pick 59: Orlando are lucky enough to pick at 59 the man they should really have picked at 29, as they draft Stanley Robinson from UConn and stop the freefall.

....And now they can let Matt Barnes walk.

Great pick. Robinson could be the draft's best steal. About 35 picks too low. An extremely obvious pick, of course, but everyone else managed to overlook him and Orlando could easily have done the same. Robinson runs the court, rebounds, dunks, blocks, can play terrific and versatile perimeter defense, and post-up a touch. He is not much of a ballhandler, shooter or creator, but even though those skills are kind of fundamental, you can easily contribute without having them. And as Matt Barnes himself has proved, jumpshots can always be learnt.

Robinson improved considerably last season when he learned to stop shooting his jumpshots on the way down. Imagine when LeBron James learns to do the same.

Had Stanley been here, I'm sure he would have yelled.