Thomas Robinson Receives Praise from LeBron at Skills Camp
July 14, 2011
LAWRENCE, Kan. –
Kansas junior-to-be Thomas Robinson has found himself on the receiving end of numerous accolades and compliments this summer for his performances during scrimmages and workouts at various camps across the country. ESPN’s Jay Bilas and Fran Fraschilla have sung his praises for the past four weeks, saying how improved and complete a player Robinson has become. Last week, while working as a counselor at the LeBron James Skills Academy in Akron, Ohio, Robinson received some feedback from the King himself, LeBron James.
On Wednesday, Robinson sat down with Gary Bedore of the Lawrence Journal World to talk about the attention he has received this summer, his conversations with LeBron and the upcoming season.
On how it feels to be getting so much publicity for his work in the off-season:
“It feels good but I still have a lot more work to do and a lot more to prove. It’s great to earn the respect of Jay (Bilas) and Fran (Fraschilla), but there’s still a lot of people out there who are doubting my game, so I still have a lot of work to get done.”
On his high work level at the summer camps:
“I know that I’m a high intensity guy so I set a pretty high level for everybody to play at. Everyone there played great though which helped set a high level for the camp.”
On how much he interacted with LeBron James at last week’s camp:
“He talked to us a lot. He was really cool. He was way more down to earth than I thought. He went around the whole room and shook everybody’s hand, which is like 300 kids, so that was pretty cool that he did that. LeBron is just really down to earth, he’s cool and he’s a good guy. He also talked to me some after the camp so I really respect him.”
On the matchup between he and LeBron during one of the camp scrimmages:
“I played against him a little bit. I guarded him for the whole time pretty much. He’s really a great player and a great person. I felt like I did well, but he wasn’t playing full speed. I’m pretty sure he could’ve turned it up another notch.”
On what LeBron said about Thomas’ strength and conditioning:
“He said himself that I was strong, so that was a big compliment. I don’t think I need to get any bigger, I’m definitely going to keep working but I’m comfortable with the weight I’m at now.”
On if LeBron will follow Thomas’ play this upcoming season:
“I told him to look out for me and see how I was doing because I’m going to try and make some noise this year. He said he will, so I hope he does.”
On what he will do to not let the preseason publicity get to his head:
“I haven’t done anything yet. I’m still three months away from my first game at Kansas, which is what I’ve been working for. The summer has been good as far as getting my individual accolades up and getting people’s attention towards our season. I’ve done that and now it’s all about getting ready for my season.”
On the adidas camp he will be attending in three weeks in Los Angeles:
“That’s just another chance for me to go out there and prove myself as a better basketball player.”
On whether he is thinking at all about the 2012 NBA Draft:
“The only thing I’m worried about is winning a Big 12 Championship and making a run in the (NCAA) tournament. The NBA is out of the question for me right now. I’m still a junior and have two more years left of school.”
