Alex Robinson Jr. hopes his selfless play will get him into the NBL

One of the NBL1 South’s brightest stars Alex Robinson Jr. says he’s ready for the next step in his career; playing in the NBL. 

The American guard is currently the NBL1 South Knox Raiders star point guard, he is currently averaging 18.6 points per game and five assists per game. 

Another throwdown from Deng Acouth, this time on the alley-oop pass from Alex Robinson to open second half for @Knox_Basketball against @GeelongSupercat

Watch #NBL1South live and free on https://t.co/NEk1I7BLMG and the #NBL1 App ??? pic.twitter.com/bX90wQHmqd

— NBL1 (@NBL1) May 13, 2022

Robinson said that he loves the Australian brand of basketball, the selflessness and the support he’s received has made his transition to Australia easier. 

“The basketball support, and in general the people here are super nice and friendly,” he said. 

“It’s made the transition a lot easier, even though I’m far away from home, the people here are super considerate and I’ve enjoyed my time here.” 

But it hasn’t been Robinson’s first exposure to Australian basketball. He has had a lot of experience playing with and being coached by many familiar names. 

He played with Kouat Noi and Lat Mayen in college, while being coached under former NBL player David Patrick with the TCU Horned Frogs. Before this NBL1 season, he was playing for the NBA G League Long Island Nets, coached by Boomers assistant coach Adam Caporn. 

When asked what the consistent thread between all these people is, Robinson replied. 

“[Australian basketball] is super selfless,” he said. 

“That goes for K (Kouat), that goes for Patrick, all those guys necessarily didn’t have to be selfless but they chose to for the betterment of the team. Kouat and Lat are some of the best teammates I’ve ever had, and Knox is one of the best teams I’ve ever played on.”

Robinson said the “Australian style” suits his game well. In Knox’s Overtime series he said, “A lot of people have selfish aspirations when it comes to pro basketball, but I feel like everybody has one goal; We’re all kind of focused on winning.” 

Robinson said that he faced challenges of trying to stand out in the G League as a selfless player.

“It’s been a big relief [to play with selfless teammates],” he said. 

“You can play with guys who are solely focused on themselves and winning isn’t very important to them. But out here it seems like we have a common goal, and that’s to win. That’s the purpose of playing basketball to me, to have fun and win.” 

Robinson had all the right to be a more ball-dominant player, his BallIsLife mixtapes have over 150 thousand views and was named Second Team All-Big 12 in college. 

“As a professional, you have a lot of different people in your ear, and different people are telling them how to achieve their goals,” he said. 

“You always have those kinds of things and different teams. But luckily for us, we don't have not one guy on our team who is selfish. I think everybody on our team has said one common goal from the top and bottom, it's very hard to find a team like that.” 

Robinson said that NBL veteran and Knox teammate Adam Gibson has been instrumental in developing his own skills as a point guard. 

“From a verbal and physical standpoint he’s been great for us,” he said. 

“Gibbo is always putting his stamp on every game, whether it’s on the court, talking to us at half-time or leading huddles. He’s definitely a great model to have and he’s helped me throughout this season.”

Robinson said his “number one goal” is to make it into the NBL. After learning about the league back in college when Kouat Noi was considering leaving early to join the Cairns Taipans, he says it’s been on his radar ever since. 

“That’s for sure my number one goal,” he said. 

“I personally believe from the bottom of my heart that not only could I play in the NBL but I could have a major impact and help a team win a lot of games. I love Australia, but I also don’t try to look too far ahead into the future.” 

Image via Connor McKenzie