Jerome Robinson was a superlative shooting guard at Boston College. As a junior last season, he was second in the ACC to Duke’s Marvin Bagley III with 20.8 points per game. Robinson’s outstanding efficiency and production included elite 3-point shooting (40.9 percent on 198 attempts), excellent shooting off the dribble and very good finishing around the basket.
That track record makes Robinson a good NBA wing prospect despite questionable defensive ability and so-so length (6-foot-7.25 inch wingspan, 8-foot-2 standing reach as measured at the combine). If the Hawks want to add to their collection of wing prospects, Robinson could be available when they use the second of their three first-round picks (No. 19 overall)
Robinson could be even more valuable to an NBA team if he can improve his defense and make the transition from off-ball scorer to a true combo guard capable of running the point.
“I feel like my leadership ability, my play-making is something that sometimes I didn’t get to show at BC, just being the two guard and having to score a lot of points sometimes and not being able to play with the ball in my hands as much,” Robinson said. “I think I also can play the point guard.”
According to Synergy Sports, Robinson did the bulk of his scoring in 2017-18 as a spot-up shooter and in transition. Robinson averaged 1.11 points on 152 possessions used as a spot-up shooter (84th percentile) with a 59.1 effective field-goal percentage. In transition, Robinson averaged 1.04 points on 116 possessions used (51st percentile) with a 56.7 eFG% and high rate of free throws earned (18.1 percent).
Last season Robinson was BC’s secondary ball-handler with sophomore Ky Bowman running point (Bowman declared for this draft before deciding to return to BC). Robinson led the Eagles in assists per game as a sophomore, but Bowman was the primary ball-handler. Senior Eli Carter was the point guard during Robinson’s freshman season.
From 2015-17, Boston College had just one recruit ranked better than 200, according to 247.com’s composite rankings. Robinson was ranked the 308th recruit in the 2015 class out of Raleigh, N.C. If not for Robinson’s development into one of the ACC’s top scorers the Eagles likely would had a much worse record than 34-64 over his three seasons.
“It was weird for me stepping into that scoring role in college because, growing up, I was playing the point guard and being the play-maker,” Robinson said. “And then when I got to BC I had to be a scorer. I never had a 30-point game until I went to BC. I feel like I’ve always had that play-making ability. I never lost it. I think my understanding of the game is something that’s huge and it easily translates.”
