One year later, KU’s Robinson is a star

AUSTIN —

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Kansas (15-3, 4-0 Big 12): The Jayhawks have won eight straight and lead the Big 12. Tyshawn Taylor has scored 28 points in each of the last two games and leads Kansas in scoring in league games at 18.6 points. Jeff Withey averages four blocks per game in Big 12 play. Kansas is a 68-percent free-throw shooting team. But that number climbs to 72 percent in the game’s final five minutes and overtime.

Texas (12-6, 2-3 Big 12): Texas has won nine of its last 11 home games against top-10 ranked teams. Point guard Myck Kabongo has a double-figures in points and assists in each of his last two games. The Jayhawks have been ranked every time they’ve visited Austin in the Big 12 era, and Rick Barnes holds a 4-2 record against Kansas in the Erwin Center.

RPIs as of Friday: KU x, UT xx

Clark Kellogg, calling today’s Kansas-Texas game for CBS, was the analyst for the same matchup a year ago and remembered being swept up in the emotion.

“What Thomas Robinson was working through that day, your heart just went out to him,” Kellogg said.

Nobody who was in Allen Fieldhouse that Saturday or watched the broadcast will forget it. Kansas assistant coach Barry Hinson said he looked up in the stands saw tears flowing from everybody.

When the Jayhawks take on Texas today in Austin, it marks the one-year anniversary of the event that turned Robinson’s world upside down.

Robinson’s mother, Lisa, died of a brain aneurysm on Jan. 21, 2011. Robinson got the word from his sister Jayla late that Friday evening. The next afternoon, the Jayhawks and Longhorns were to battle in one of the biggest basketball games of the season, a showdown of top-10 powers.

How would Robinson handle this week?

If he’s been thinking of the occasion, Robinson’s thoughts have been private. When Kansas players met with reporters Thursday, they were briefed that the subject could come up and said they hadn’t noticed a change in Robinson’s demeanor.

“We are there for him,” senior guard Tyshawn Taylor said. “If he does break down, we’ll be there. He hasn’t mentioned it. He hasn’t seemed any different.”

Kansas coach Bill Self said he didn’t want Robinson talking to reporters as the Texas game approached.

“I don’t think that’s fair to have him go through that,” Self said.

Nothing was fair about what Robinson endured last year. Lisa’s parents, Thomas’ grandparents, preceded Lisa’s death by only four weeks.

Now, Robinson would bury his 43-year-old mother as well.

But first there was a night to get through and a game to be played the next day.

Mothers of players who lived in Lawrence came to comfort the team. Sleeping became a chore.

Everybody would have understood had Robinson decided to sit this one out. He showed up for the shootaround on Saturday morning and told his teammates he needed to be on the floor. Basketball, if only for a couple of hours, would offer a reprieve.

Tears flowed. The game tipped off, and the adrenaline-filled Jayhawks raced to an 18-3 lead.

But Texas’ talent won the day. The Longhorns became the first visitor to emerge victorious at Allen Fieldhouse since 2007 — and they are the 1 in Kansas’ 85-1 home record over the last five seasons. Kansas players said afterwards they were emotionally spent.

“It was a rough weekend, really emotional,” Taylor recalled.

The next few days would be about getting the team to Washington, D.C., for Lisa Robinson’s funeral and the concern over the welfare of Jayla.

Today, Self marvels at how things came together for the right seasons. Plenty of arrows have been slung at college sports administrators for seemingly heartless actions. But in this case, Kansas and the NCAA showed a human touch, like allowing the athletic department to raise money to help pay for Lisa Robinson’s funeral, and to set up a scholarship fund for Jayla.

Kansas State coach Frank Martin was among those who donated and encouraged Wildcats fans to contribute.

Jayla lives in Washington, D.C., with her father, who hadn’t been part of her life but won a custody battle with other family members. He is not Thomas’ father.

Through it all, Self saw Kansas grow in a way most teams don’t.

“That was a prime example of a group of guys actually becoming a family,” Self said. “Teams always talk about becoming families, but I think it’s hard to become a family unless you go through a crisis-type situation. To see how everybody responded to that...

“I think they handled it extremely well. That’s a tribute to our players and our fans. They made Thomas feel like he had a family here. I don’t think there are many places in America that could actually get it done like Kansas did.”

Robinson, a sixth man for the Jayhawks last season, has emerged as the one of the nation’s top players this year. He carries averages of 17.8 points and 12.3 rebounds into today’s game and is coming off a 27-point, 14-rebound effort in Monday’s victory over third-ranked Baylor.

During that game, ESPN analyst Dick Vitale called Robinson his top candidate for national player of the year, and Robinson’s name rises in NBA draft projections. At the moment, he’s the top player on a team ranked seventh and leading the Big 12, and getting better by the week.

“I couldn’t have handled that situation he went through nearly as well as he did,” Self said. “He’s a remarkable kid and he deserves the things that have come his way.”