By LARRY VAUGHT
Maybe some were surprised when Mark Pope was named the head basketball coach at Kentucky but Jaxson Robinson was not one of them.
Robinson played the previous two seasons at BYU for Pope after spending his first two collegiate seasons at Texas A&M and Arkansas.
“To be honest with you, when I saw all the UK news (about John Calipari leaving) and the coaches turning down the job, I knew coach Pope was gonna get it,” Robinson said. “It’s great seeing him here. I knew he wanted to be here.”
Robinson was the Big 12 Sixth Man of the Year last season — he made 30 starts his first year at BYU — when he averaged 14.2 points while shooting 42.6 percent from the field, 35.4 from 3 and 90.8 at the foul line. He hit 81 3-pointers and had eight double-figure scoring games. He also had 25 points in a NCAA Tournament game against Duquesne.
Robinson put his name into the NBA Draft after Pope did take the Kentucky job but always knew he was destined to become a Wildcat.
“Once I had figured everything out on my side with the draft process, I knew where I was going to go if I came out (of the draft). Me and coach Pope go back a couple years and have a lot of great memories, so why not continue it and go for a title?” Robinson, a 6-6 guard, said.
Robinson, a four-star high school prospect who reclassified from the 2021 class to the 2020 signing class, has basketball genes. His mother, Brandi McWilliams, played basketball for Missouri State. His aunt, Crystal Robinson, played basketball for Louisiana Tech and serves as an assistant coach for the WNBA’s Chicago Sky.
Yet it is Robinson’s off-court connection with Pope more than the on-court vibe that makes the UK guard like his coach so much.
“I think coach Pope builds great relationships with his players. Can’t tell you how many times I walked into coach Pope’s office not to talk about basketball, but he was just checking up on me and he was always telling me the truth,” Robinson said.
“You can ask for more than a coach to tell you the truth and let you know what you need to do to get better. I think coach Pope does that with every single one of his players and coaches. So I mean, he’s the best coach I’ve had.
“His offense, it’s free flowing. There’s a lot that you can do out of it, a lot of choices, a lot of decisions. It’s reactionary. It’s not necessarily set. So just being able to make decisions, make leads and play unselfishly with your teammates, it’s a great offense.”
No Kentucky player knows Pope’s offense and terminology better than Robinson and teammates praised his leadership in summer workouts.
“I just try to help out. The other guys and even the older guys, just trying to get used to this offense and also defense,” Robinson said. “Just making sure I’m a good voice for everybody, and always trying to make sure I’m giving out the right information.”
Pope has suggested he might get information/coaching tips from his wife, Lee Anne, the daughter of former Utah men’s basketball coach Lynn Archibald. He calls her his No. 1 mentor. Robinson said he “honestly didn’t know” if Lee Anne Pope did that or not.
“Miss Lee Anne’s one of my favorites. She’s always been there by coach Pope’s side since I got to know coach Pope, so I wouldn’t deny that she could be giving him advice,” Robinson said.
The BYU transfer is not sure whether he’ll come off the bench this year or move into a starting role because he’s not discussed that with his coach.
“I just want to win. I want to win a championship. So whatever it is I have got to do, to do it, I’ll do it,” Robinson said. “Coach is the same person he was at BYU. I think the guys love it, coaches love it. Just a great experience being around all these guys and these coaches and them getting to witness what coach Pope is about and the success that he’ll bring to this program.”
Sophomore Barion Brown is an elite kick returner/receiver who has speed few players even in the Southeastern Conference can match. However, he’s doing more than just relying on his game-breaking speed this season.
“He has done a great job. You can tell he has matured from spring until now. He has stepped into a leadership role. He demands the attention of young guys and it is important for him to do that,” Kentucky quarterback Brock Vandagriff said.
Vandagriff likes that Brown, a two-year starter, often asks him for advice.
“Obviously hoping to keep building on that and getting better with him. Barion is a great dude, great kid and any time we are talking it is a great time for me because I can learn from him,” Vandagriff said.
Brown has openly talked about how much harder he’s worked to get ready for this season than he did his first two at UK when he had 2,407 career all-purpose yards with 1,167 yards receiving, 145 yards rushing, 1,016 kick return yards and 79 punt return yards. He also returned four kickoffs for scores, including three in 2023.
“I think Barion would be the first one to tell you that he’s worked really hard and is just maturing and growing and that’s just a natural progression for players,” Kentucky coach Mark Stoops said. “I think everybody has such high expectations for him, as do we, because he’s so talented but he is just going into his third year.
“He was a true sophomore a year ago, and you just see that normal maturation process in what he’s doing and I appreciate the consistency that he’s had because he’s definitely maturing and growing and getting bigger, stronger, physically and mentally, more consistent. Very excited about Barion and what he’s capable of.”
He caught two touchdown passes against Southern Mississippi to extend his streak of at least one catch to 27 straight games – every game he’s been at UK – going into this week’s game with South Carolina.
Eleanor Beavin was the 2021 Gatorade Kentucky Volleyball Player of the Year and was the Southeastern Conference Libero of the Year her fist season at Kentucky. She has over 1,300 digs and almost 300 assists in her UK career but isn’t sure what she might do when her UK playing career ends.
“I might want to play in the PVF (Pro Volleyball Federation). I haven’t really decided on that yet,” Beavin said. “I kind of want to go into coaching, that could be an alley for me, too. Or with sports journalism, I’d love to be an announcer for games, doing side stories with athletes, interviewing athletes, I think that’s really cool.
“I think I’ll decide whether I want to go down the coaching and volleyball route or stick to sports but go with more like my major.”
Beavin, who played on four state high school runner-up teams at Louisville Mercy, has enjoyed working as a student journalist and has especially enjoyed covering gymnastics, tennis and golf.
“College gymnastics would be really cool, then tennis and golf would be on the pro stage. I like that they are individual sports. It’s different from what I know as a team sport, so I’ve enjoyed watching those and I think those would be really fun to cover,” Beavin said.
Currently Beavin is focused on making her senior special season. Kentucky is looking for an eighth straight SEC title, a task made much more difficult by the arrival of two-time defending national champion Texas in the SEC this season.
“That is just a kind of expectation or standard we have at this point. Texas coming in is more of a challenge and Florida will also be a tough team but we believe in our own program,” Beavin said. “We can win another SEC title and hopefully get a natty (national title).
“For me, being consistent is the biggest goal. I do want to go out with a big bang, though, and just have fun.”
All-American teammate Emma Grome is in her fourth season with Beavin and continues to be “amazed” by things she sees her do.
“She has gotten a lot better, too, and that is the cool part about it. You think it is your senior year and you can not improve that much but somehow she has,” Grome said. “Nothing hits the floor around her.
“The passing has been amazing. She is a very strong piece for us.”
Kentucky assistant coach Madison Lilley was the nation’s most outstanding player when UK won its only national championship four years ago. She says Beavin has “some of the best touch and feel for the game” she has ever seen.
“It’s hard to describe. You can tell how easy it is for her. She makes it look easy even when she is diving for a ball eight feet away and you wonder how does she do it,” Lilley said. “Her IQ is so awesome and she also does a great job just leading by example.”
Beavin is also the ultimate team player. Coach Craig Skinner started sophomore Molly Tuozzo started the last two games at libero while Beavin took over her defensive specialist spot.
“They are both elite and we are just looking at things but Eleanor is always so smooth and consistent and will be no matter where we play her,” Skinner said.
The UK Radio Network pregame football show had a new voice when the Cats beat Southern Mississippi last week as Logan Stenberg joined host Christi Thomas and former all-SEC defensive lineman and NFL veteran Jeremy Jarmon.
Stenberg was a first-team all-Southeastern Conference choice and second team all-American his senior year at Kentucky in 2019 and picked in the fourth round of the 2020 NFL draft by the Detroit Lions. He was with the Lions for three seasons before being signed by Chicago and then Tampa Bay in 2023. He was released by the Bucs this spring and moved back to Lexington.
Thomas said someone associated with the football program knew the network show needed another member to take over for former UK quarterback Dusty Bonner. Thomas said it needed to be an “offense guy” and Stenberg, 27 and retired from the NFL, fit the need.
“He’s all grown up, married and has a baby. He’s doing grown up things and we are glad to have him. He was edgy as a player and he’s kind of that way when he talks football,” Thomas said.
“I think sometimes offensive linemen are underestimated for how well they know the game. This guy can talk the talk. Regardless of the position on offense, he gets it. He had to hone in on knowing every position to get into the league because that football IQ is a huge part of it in the NFL.
“I also appreciate that he played for Mark Stoops and has a great understanding of the system and how Stoops works and thinks as a coach while the rest of us just speculate about that because we didn’t play for Stoops.”
Thomas became the first female to host a SEC football pregame show in 2017 and says it is still important to her to provide “good content” for the two-hour show leading up to kickoff.
“I think about what I would want to hear these guys talk about. They see things a lot of us don’t and are in that football building to know what is going on,” she said.
She said a recent meeting to plan what the show’s 12 segments would be took two hours.
“We take this show seriously. We love fan feedback because this show is for the fans to help them know what is going on and what might go on in the game,” Thomas said.
Quote of the Week: “All these fans stayed for the two hours of just sitting around and watching ball boys run out on the field. Pretty impressive. They are getting their money’s worth now,” SEC Network analyst Jordan Rodgers on UK fans staying through lightning delay to watch UK win over Southern Mississippi.
Quote of the Week 2: “I really love the fans and how loyal they are. I’m seeing how loving they are as well. They brought me in and they have accepted me since I’ve been here and I’m just happy to be here,” North Texas transfer receiver Ja’Mori Maclin on being at Kentucky.
Quote of the Week 3: “Obviously, with the rivalry, I’ve paid very close attention to what he’s done and what he’s built. He’s underselling. He’s like Noah’s Ark. He’s got two of everything,” Louisville coach Pat Kelsey at the Leadership Louisville Conference on UK coach Mark Pope’s roster.