Thomas Robinson would welcome playing for hometown Wizards - ALL-MET ELITE

Thomas Robinson

would welcome playing for hometown

Wizards

ALL-MET ELITE
RIVERDALE BAPTIST HS.
UPPER MARLBORO MD.

Kansas power forward Thomas Robinson would welcome the chance to play for his hometown Washington Wizards, who hold the No. 3 pick in the June 28 NBA draft, The Washington Post reported. “That’s where I started my dream at, in D.C.,” Robinson said, according to the newspaper, “and to be able to come back home would mean a lot to me, because that’s something that you fantasize in your mind about when you’re little, bringing the city back to where it belongs. That’s something that I definitely wouldn’t mind doing.”
The New Orleans Hornets are expected to take Kentucky’s Anthony Davis with the first overall pick—though Robinson told The Post that he thinks he should at least be in the conversation.
“Of course I feel that way,” Robinson said. “I’m a competitor.”
Robinson—a consensus first-team All-American—could go No. 2 to the Charlotte Bobcats, but there’s also the chance he could slide to the Wizards at No. 3.
And unlike Oklahoma City Thunder superstar Kevin Durant, another D.C. native who has repeatedly said he has no interest in playing so close to where he grew up, Robinson would be OK with that.
According to The Post, the Wizards like Robinson as a person and a player, with his triumphs over personal loss—his mother, grandmother and grandfather died within a one-month span from December 2010 to January 2011—serving as a great example of his character and mental toughness, as did his patience in waiting his turn at KU.
The 6-foot-9 Robinson, 21, was a backup to Marcus and Markieff Morris for two years at Kansas but then dominated Big 12 play with his physical style and led the Jayhawks to the national title game.
“I felt I did what the typical college player is supposed to do,” Robinson told The Post. “I waited my turn. I grew as a person, as a player and when my name was called, I produced. Now, I’m happy with my career. I gave it my all and I can be happy with that.”
Robinson averaged 17.7 points and 11.9 rebounds last season and decided to leave college so that he could provide a better life for him and his sister, Jayla, who was raised by her father, James Paris, in Washington after their mother, Lisa, died of a heart attack at age 43.
A Wizards decision to take him would say a lot about their opinion of the young forwards they have on the roster. In the past two drafts, the Wizards have taken forwards Kevin Seraphin, Trevor Booker and Jan Vesely, but they still have a glaring need for help on the perimeter, The Post noted.