Nate Robinson

Overview: A freakishly athletic undersized point guard with terrific scoring instincts. Has become an extremely effective NBA player, against all odds. Possesses solid physical strength, but is not always tall or long enough to capitalize on it. Just 5-7 ¾ without shoes, with a 6-1 wingspan. May be the highest leaper in the League today. Extremely quick and agile. Able to get to the rim almost at will. Can knock down shots from the outside as well. Much more of a scorer than a playmaker. Size hurts his ability to be an impact defender, but is very good at getting steals. An amazingly good rebounder considering his size. Played at the storied Rainier Beach HS in Seattle. Had a very nice four year career at Washington. Became an iconic player by his senior year. Something of a Summer League legend. Named the MVP of the Las Vegas Summer League in 2007, utterly dominating each game he played in. Has improved his production significantly over his four years in the NBA. Has been a very good fit in Mike D’Antoni’s offense. Incredibly tough and determined player who will always be a fan favorite.

Offense: A reasonably effective offensive player than scores in a variety of ways. Does a lot of his damage as a ball handler in pick and roll situations, but also gets some opportunities to run the break, spot up on the outside, and take his man one-on-one. Has a nice jump shot with good elevation that allows him to get his shot off over taller defenders. Able to make shots with a hand in his face, a characteristic that he’s had to develop over the course of his career to be effective. Elevates very suddenly on his jumper, helping his catch defenders off guard. Tends to fall in love with his jump-shot, forcing the issue badly at times. Relies very heavily on his 3-point shot as a source of production, and isn’t consistent enough a shooter to justify that quite yet. Lateral quickness gives him the ability to get his shot up off the dribble. Has no trouble creating separation from most defenders. Tends to lean in when he pulls up, allowing him to utilize the fact that he’s able to turn the corner more effectively. Takes a lot of slightly off balance shots. Doesn’t have much of a choice in that regard. Very tough to defend in one-on-one situations due to how easily he can break his man down off the dribble and get a clean look at the rim. Has consistently improved his ability to create high percentage looks for himself inside the arc, to the point that he’s become much more efficient. Finishes extremely well at the rim at a good rate despite his size. Size makes it tough for defenders to take the ball away from him. Doesn’t turn the ball over at all considering the frenetic pace he plays at. Is capable of blowing by his man and beating everyone to the rim. Will throw down a ridiculous dunk every now and again. Tends to be too aggressive and fancy with the way he finishes. A measure of consistency and patience would go a long way for Robinson as he continues to develop. Needs to work on recognizing when to cut off his drive and pass and when to take the ball all the way to the rim. Definitely thinks shoot first. Not much of a drive and dish player due to his scorer’s mentality, but his size hurts him in that regard as well. Very good at running the pick and roll, but doesn’t create many shots off of others by using it. Better at distributing in transition. Brings a lot to the table on offense as a scorer, but still has some things he can improve upon. Can mask some of his weaknesses as a passer and decision-maker in Mike D’Antoni’s offense.

Defense: A very good one-on-one defender who lacks the size to be a real factor. Is more than capable of staying in front of almost every point guard in the game. Is capable of defending the ball in full court situations at a high level, but doesn’t get many opportunities to do that. Will get beaten to the rim when he’s off balance, but is incredibly quick laterally. Will come up with quite a few steals due to his quick hands. Unfortunately, he lacks the size to effectively contest jumpers even when he does a great job staying in position. Will get caught in screens due to his size. Not effective when closing out the ball despite his ability to deny penetration. Contributes on the glass more than probably any other player his height. Is not a bad defender at all in terms of skill, but gives up too much size to not be taken advantage of.

Robinson had a very poor first contest, which is a shock considering how thoroughly he dominated this event last year. Robinson just couldn’t get a shot to fall all game, and had to do most of his damage attacking the rim. His quickness made it possible for him to get in the paint whenever he wanted to, but he put up a few wild shots around the basket. He did a pretty solid job running the point, but his teammates didn’t do a great job finishing when he set them up. His defense was decent at best, but he hasn’t nearly as aggressive in passing lanes as he was last year. Despite the fact that this was Robinson’s first game, his performance didn’t live up to expectations. It will be interesting to see is Robinson turns things around before the Summer League comes to a close.

Nate Robinson was the official MOP of the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, but it would be hard to say that he was more valuable to the Knicks squad than Barea was to the undefeated Mavericks. Robinson stood out on a roster filled with other solid players like Renaldo Balkman, Wilson Chandler, and Randolph Morris, but his team still looked capable of winning when he wasn’t on the floor, something that wasn’t true for the Mavericks without Barea.

Regardless of where he falls on this list, Robinson was one of the top players in the Summer League, and showed just how talented of a player he is in this setting. He got his shot off at will, and while his shot selection wasn’t perfect, he was knocking down his jumpers at a very high clip. What made Robinson stand out from many of the other point guards in attendance was the fact that he was beating his man off the dribble in addition to shooting the ball well. The fact of the matter is that Robinson is just too athletic to be contained at the Summer League level, and was able to do whatever he wanted offensively.

Though Robinson put on a show offensively, he hasn’t developed as much as some of the players he was matched up with. His court vision is tremendous, but he tends to over dribble at times, leading to bad passes and turnovers. It would have been nice to see him make better decisions with the ball to show off his improved point guard skills, but some of his mistakes can be attributed to the environment in which he was playing. The Knicks found themselves with such big leads that it almost seemed like they lost focus at time, which probably contributed to Robinson’s sloppy point guard play quite a bit. He tried to make some unnecessarily fancy passes, and while some of them led to highlights, others wound up creating transition opportunities for defenders.

The Knicks’ lack of urgency was also conducive to the way Robinson played defense as well. He hawked the ball effectively in the half court, but was reaching for the ball significantly more than he would in a regular season contest. This aggressiveness led to fouls more often than it led to steals. However, the officials had a lot to do with his discrepancy between steals and fouls.

It is hard to fault Robinson for the fact that the Knicks were too dominant for their own good in Vegas, because he was the best player on the best team. His court demeanor was less serious than many of his teammates, making his sentiments about the Summer League pretty clear. When the NBA season roles around, it will be intriguing to see if Robinson adjusts his level of play to his competition like he did in Vegas. Robinson will be spelling Stephon Marbury off the bench once again, and will have to really put in work to increase his minutes due to the depth Isaiah Thomas will enjoy next season.

Nate was in and out of the game for most of the night, picking up some cheap fouls and eventually sitting down with 3 fouls with 9 minutes to go in the first half. His foul trouble severely limited his aggressiveness, and without his trademark tenacity and fire, he's just not the same player. When he was on the court he wasn't in it mentally, presumably unable to turn that fire on and off at will in such a frustrating game for the Huskies. His shot wasn't falling for him either, but we've seen enough of Robinson this year to know just how good of a player he is, and this game probably doesn't hurt his stock that much if at all.

Just how does a 5'8 PG get the draft buzz that Nate Robinson has been getting this season? Watch Robinson play, and you don't have to be asking this question. One of the truly unique athletes in the draft this season, Robinson plays above the rim like a 6'6 wing. He penetrates at will, and is sure to have at least one dunk that makes the tourney highlight reel. While he deferred to his teammates at times during the season, Robinson really began to pick it up near the end of the year, and made crucial plays down the stretch in almost every win during Washington's Pac-10 title run. Robinson really has a chance to raise his stock during the tourney, as he matches up against some of the premier PG's in the nation. Chris Paul, Carl Krauser, and Jordan Farmar are just a few of the potential big matchups. Scouts need to see him against NBA-level talent, and a successful showing could push Nate Robinson into the late first round.

Strengths
Robinson is probably the quickest player in college basketball and maybe the most exciting one as well. At 5-9, he has the ability to stay low to the ground with his dribble and can push the ball from end to end as well as anyone. Thanks to his extraordinary leaping ability (his vertical is reportedly 40 inches or more), Robinson can finish with ease and is effective at either end of the alley-oop (one of the highlight plays of the first half of the season was Robinson's alley-oop dunk against Arizona). He has become a fixture on SportsCenter's Top Ten.

More than just an athlete, Robinson can shoot the ball effectively with college three-point range (37.3% this season, up from 25.7% as a freshman), and the NBA three doesn't appear to be a problem for him. Because of his speed and quickness, he can get a shot whenever he wants and his jumping ability has meant that blocked shots haven't really been a problem for him in college despite his height. When he's going well, this means he can take over a game.

On the offensive glass, Robinson has a tendency to get lost in the trees, making him extremely difficult to box out. He has put together a handful of spectacular tip dunks, and also come up with other important offensive rebounds. This skill will probably not translate as well to the NBA, but is valuable nonetheless. Nearly half his rebounds this season are on the offensive end.

Robinson's quick hands and feet make him an effective full-court defender, and he can harass opposing point guards.

Weaknesses
No matter how great his leaping ability or how strong he is for his size, Robinson's height will always work against him. In particular, his court vision can be bothered by bigger opposing guards, and he is vulnerable to being shot over by the man he is defending.

Robinson isn't a true point guard, splitting time on the ball with junior Will Conroy, but he can't be used as anything other than a point guard in the NBA. He averages around two and a half assists per game. Thus, he'll have to look to create for his teammates more and improve his court vision.

Despite all the easy shots he creates, Robinson is still shooting around 43%, poor for a college player. Inconsistency is a major problem; he was a non-factor during this year's non-conference play and even in Pac-10 play he's been hold under double-digits three times thus far.

Competition
Scored a career-high 31 points on 11-of-15 shooting as Washington upset Arizona in Hec Ed on January 29. Had team-high 25 points in 22 minutes and hit a buzzer-beating three to send the game in overtime in eventual 103-99 victory at Oregon State that turned the Huskies' season around. Held to nine points on 2-of-11 shooting in blowout loss to Gonzaga.

Averaging 15.2 points and 4.1 rebounds through 15 games of Pac-10 play.

Outlook
Despite his many skills, Robinson's height dooms him to likely being a second-round pick at best. At 5-8, he would be the second-shortest player in the NBA, taller than only Denver's Earl Boykins. However, he can be encouraged by Boykins' success and T.J. Ford's selection in last year's lottery, which seems to be opening the door for smaller point guards.

Comments
After four down years, Washington basketball is on the rise this season, ascending as high as second in the Pac-10, and Robinson has been the catalyst. He is one of the most exciting players in the NCAA at both ends of the court, and also plays with as much heart as anyone. That may not be enough to guide him to the NBA at all, let alone being successful there, but Robinson has proved doubters wrong before.

Facts
Played football as a freshman, the only true freshman to see action for the Huskies. Moved into the starting lineup at cornerback by the end of the season and helped shut down 6-6 Washington State standout Mike Bush (himself a converted basketball player), holding Bush to five catches for 40 yards and picking off a pass. Quit football team after season to concentrate on basketball.

Named to All-Pac-10 Freshman team.

Father Jacque Robinson was a halfback at UW who starred in the 1982 Rose Bowl, winning MVP honors after rushing for 142 yards on 20 carries.

Played at Rainier Beach High School in Seattle with USC's Lodrick and Rodrick Stewart. 2002 Washington State Player of the Year for class AAA and the Seattle Times' 2001 football Player of the Year. Led Beach to a 28-1 record and state championship his senior season. Set a state record in 110-meter hurdles during his senior season.