When Eduprize High School's gifted 6-foot-10, 215-pound versatile post talent Shon Robinson gave a very early verbal commitment last week, it shocked the basketball community in the state and abroad. It wasn't the school that he committed to that was huge, but rather the timing of his commitment and also the school he chose. With a large number of scholarship offers on the table for himself from numerous different high major schools, and offers even from some elite high-major division-I college programs, Robinson decided to pull the trigger with a basketball program in the SEC Conference.
The timing of the commitment was rather unique for Robinson, as he had not even began competing in his final spring and summer yet, and, rather than play through his final two seasons and reel in more offers and interest, he decided to give a quick and early commitment to Ole Miss and Head Coach Kermit Davis and his basketball staff. Assistant coach Levi Watkins was instrumental in landing Robinson at the program, as he has been recruiting Robinson for some time. A previous assistant coach at Arizona State University under Head Coach Bob Hurley, Watkins left for Ole Miss during the spring of 2018, and now has brought with him the big prize in landing Robinson, even before the start to the 2019 spring and summer evaluation period.
Robinson was as hot a prospect as there was also in America's 2020 Class, as he had numerous scholarship offers on the table for himself - choosing Ole Miss early over a long list of suitors. Robinson held offers from Marquette, Rutgers, Kansas State, Xavier, Arizona, Florida, Florida State, USC, Illinois, Iowa, DePaul, Texas A&M, Wisconsin, Okalahoma State, UNLV, Nevada, Grand Canyon, UTEP, New Mexico and UTEP. With each of these big offers for himself on the table, Robinson decided to end his college recruitment early, and elect for Ole Miss and his close personal relationship with Watkins, over the lure to play for a much more prominent high-major division-I college program.
Robinson and his Eduprize teammates had an excellent 2018-2019 season - winning this year's Division-I CAA State Championship. His commitment to Ole Miss puts a capping end to an excellent junior season for himself and his Head Coach Phil Lowe, who was responsible for helping bring Robinson to the state of Arizona more than a year ago from Chicago, Illinois, where he played as a freshman for Morgan Park High School (IL). He moved to the state of Arizona for his sophomore season, where he played for Higley HS.
Robinson is a tremendous young talent and will only continue to develop over time as he physically matures. He is still growing a great deal, and now stands 6-10 in heigth. Arizona's 2020 class is absolutely loaded with top-rated national talent, and Robinson is at the top of the class with Hillcrest Prep's Kyree Walker and Bella Vista's Addison Patterson.
This spring and summer, Robinson will now be able to focus on his own develpment as a player, and also competing against the nation's top prospects, rather than cloud his mind with his previous significant amount of college recruitment.
Congratulations to Robinson, Head Coach Phil Lowe and the Eduprize basketball program on this tremendous accomplishment, as Robinson has found his college fit early in the recruiting process. While I am sure many college programs will continue to follow him closely, in hopes that he will change his mind, it looks that Robinson has found his fit with Ole Miss.
Arizona Hoop Review Scouting Report: Robinson is a long, and lengthy combo-forward/post prospect that likes to play on the perimeter much more than he does in the post, but he is able to do so through a variety of offensive skillsets. He has very good versatility as a player and is capable of scoring inside and out. He has a nice shooting stroke with range on his shot, and a quick release that allows him to make shots from the perimeter with ease. He also has good low-post footwork, combined with a variety of low-post moves and a good jump hook. He runs the floor hard and is a good finisher in transition. Robinson's length allows him to block/change shots consistently on the defensive end. He is also very active on the floor, which allows him to impact shots anywhere near the paint, while also allowing him to rebound outside of his area on the floor. An active rebounder. A good ball handler for his size. A good passer that sees the floor and pushes the basketball on outlets. An ultra-talented prospect with a bright future ahead of himself.
