TJ Robinson: Louisville’s Next Great Guard
photo by: Anthony Ferrara
With his recent commitment to the University of Louisville, TJ Robinson has been catching the eyes of many in the high school basketball season. Hailing from Paterson, Robinson is a junior at Immaculate Conception High School in Montclair and not only one of the best point guards in the state, but in the entire country. This is of course a great feat to accomplish, but because of Robinson’s upbringing, this position was destined for the 6’4 standout.
“Everybody I knew who I grew up with played basketball,” Robinson said. “With the combination of that and my dad being a former college player himself, I feel like it was automatic for me to love the game.”
Robinson made a name for himself this past summer on the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League (EYBL) where he played for the NJ Scholars 16U team. Known as arguably the most competitive circuit in high school basketball, Robinson averaged 20 points per game, third most out of all players in his age group. Due to his pace and ability to shoot or drive, it is a hard task to guard Robinson.
To Robinson, though, his ability to create space to get his shot off whenever he wants is the best part of his game and the thing that makes his game more mature than others.
“My ability to create separation whenever I feel like it allows me to score in a variety of ways,” Robinson said. “This ability also allows me to have a lot of confidence in myself, no matter the situation of the game. NBA guards who I try to model my game off are James Harden and Brandon Jennings.”
These skills Robinson possesses did not come out of the blue, although. Robinson’s every day schedule consists of hard work to help him perfect his craft and get to the highest level.
“My daily routine consists of me waking up at 5:30, which then leads to me working out before school. When I’m done, I head to the shower, complete my classes for the day, and go right back to playing basketball, whether it is practice with my high school team or a workout with my dad. After that, I either go lift weights or have my last meal of the day. That is pretty much what happens every single day.”
With all the success Robinson has had so far in his young career, he is very eager to pass down his knowledge to younger kids who want to be successful as well.
“If I ever get the chance, I would tell people who are younger than me to treat everything like they would treat basketball,” Robinson said. “If they have passion for the sport, translate that passion to all things you are able to do. If you can work on and off the court, you will be able to receive great things in things that don't even have to be basketball related.”
The way Robinson pays attention to detail to everything he does will take him very far. I hope to see him outperform his competition in the coming years.