Robinson has an “above the rim” game and a Gopher scholarship offer in hand.
Alex Robinson, a 6-foot-1, 170-pound point guard from Mansfield (TX) Timberview, is among the talented group of point guards that has attract interest from the Minnesota coaching staff and received a scholarship offer from the Golden Gophers.
Gopher Hole caught up with Texas Titans AAU head coach Scott Pospichal Monday evening to learn the more about his standout guard’s recruitment.
Gopher Hole: What do you see as Alex’s strengths as a player?
Scott Pospichal: He can get to the paint. You always wonder how (San Antonio guard) Tony Parker scores so many points. Tony Parker is always able to get the ball into the lane area and Alex does that really, really well. I think that his athleticism is something that people do not have a great concept of how athletic he is. He is a windmill dunker. He finishes great above the rim. Not at the rim. Above the rim. He is really a tremendous competitor. In all the years I have coached, I don’t know if I coached too many more kids that love to play as much as Alex. Alex Robinson loves to play. Every minute of every game. He loves practice. He loves to play.
Gopher Hole: Are you helping him much with his recruitment or is he doing that on his own?
Scott Pospichal: I think that his mother and dad and he have a really good handle of it. All the coaches called us and say hello and ask us our thoughts and opinions. Alex has really done an incredible job. He had a great summer. It was really difficult for him to come into a new program. I am a little controlling and Alex has probably played more in programs that have allowed him to have the ball and said “go get them.” We have a lot of good players and we have to take care of all of them. I tell him that playing quarterback is a tough job. You want the ball and you want to be the quarterback, well they don’t let offensive linemen call the plays, so you really have to learn to lead. I think that from the beginning when he started with us to where he finished was just an incredible job.
Gopher Hole: What schools do you hearing from the most in regards to his recruitment?
Scott Pospichal: Miami has offered me. Vanderbilt’s offered. Pitt has offered. West Virginia has offered him. There are a ton of them. I know that Vanderbilt has always been a fan. Pit’s strong. West Virginia. Tennessee has been trying to get on him hard now. Memphis just came in and offered the other day. He is getting a lot of attention. There are some Big 12 schools involved. Texas A&M has been hard on him from Day 1. He is going to have a really nice selection of places to go. The choice will never be easy. I don’t know if there is a bad place in any of the schools we talked about.
Gopher Hole: Are you hearing much from Minnesota about him?
Scott Pospichal: I know that they are involved
Gopher Hole: I read that he has made some unofficial visits recently like Pittsburgh, TCU, Vanderbilt and Memphis, right?
Scott Pospichal: Vanderbilt has been on him for a long time. Vanderbilt started on him in the EYBL early.
Gopher Hole: How about your dealings with him as a kid one-on-one?
Scott Pospichal: At first when we went through the beginning stages, that is always easy in the relationship and then we went and played the first three or four tournaments it was difficult because he is a strong-willed kid and I am strong-willed coach. I think that we were both learning how to try to deal with each other and then once he realized that I trusted him, then our relationship got really good. I think that it really picked up when he went Houston in June. I think that from June on through the whole month of July, it was spectacular. It was difficult at first. It truly was and I don’t blame him for it. I don’t blame me for it. I think it was just one of those things that you go through in a relationship when you both want to achieve at a high level and there is more than two people involved, you have got to do what is best for everybody and sometimes that can be difficult for people to buy into that and trusting his teammates and trusting his coaches, but in the end I think he was just tremendous. He was unbelievable at the Peach Jam.
Gopher Hole: Has he said much to you about signing in the early period or waiting until the late period? Has he said much about that?
Scott Pospichal: I am letting he, his mother and his father deal with that. I don’t particularly have a care of where he goes to school. My goal is to want him to have a good place to go to school. That is where we are in that situation.
Gopher Hole: Who have you talked to from Minnesota? Was it Coach Pitino or one of the assistants?
Scott Pospichal: One of the assistants.
Gopher Hole: What have they said to you about him?
Scott Pospichal: They naturally like him. I haven’t talked to them lately, so I think that they are dealing more directly with Alex and his mom and his dad, which is what I would recommend that they do.