Lexington’s locker rooms have seen their share of raw emotion, but nothing prepared Big Blue Nation for the scene Mark Pope described Monday. Jaxson Robinson had every reason to celebrate, but inside the Kentucky locker room, reality hit hard. The Wildcats had just pulled off a thrilling 82-83 win against Oklahoma, yet Robinson sat there, eyes red, shoulders slumped—overcome with emotion.
Mark Pope, Kentucky’s head coach, witnessed it firsthand.
“He broke into inconsolable tears,” Pope shared, painting a gut-wrenching picture of the night. The reason? Robinson had come to terms with what he’d been fighting to ignore. His season—and his college career—was officially over
The Kentucky guard had played through pain, but deep down, he knew the second he went down that this was different. Yet, like a true competitor, Robinson kept his emotions in check until after the final buzzer. He didn’t want to be a distraction. But once the game was over, the weight of it all came crashing down.
Mark Pope says Jaxson Robinson broke into “inconsolable tears” after Kentucky’s win against Oklahoma.
“In his heart of hearts knew the second he went down.”
Adds that he waited to show the raw emotion until after the game so it was not a distraction for the team.
— Tristan Pharis (@TristanUda) March 3, 2025
Expand Tweet
Following the game against Auburn, Pope announced that Robinson would be undergoing surgery and was hence ruled out for the rest of the season. For weeks, he had been pushing through an injured wrist, even suiting up for a game despite knowing surgery was inevitable. It was a risk, and it backfired. Against Oklahoma, in just 12 minutes of action, his tendon sheath tore even further—leaving no more room for hope.
Pope later admitted, “We kind of knew he was gonna need surgery, but he just wanted so badly to play.” That drive, loyalty and stubbornness are why the Big Blue Nation loves him. And that’s why this moment stings even more.
Robinson was averaging 13 points per game, shooting nearly 38% from deep, and had single-handedly bailed Kentucky out of tight spots all season. His absence was painfully clear against Auburn, where the Wildcats managed a poor 4-of-17 from the three point line in 94-78 loss.
Jaxson Robinson gave everything to the game, and now, he’s forced to sit back and watch. The Wildcats are just as heartbroken.
Mark Pope helps bring familial air to Robinson’s final year
The fifth-year senior guard had a 2-year disappointing college-career run with Texas A&M and Arkansas, thus, entering BYU with all trust lost. But Mark Pope and his then coaching staff believed. “He didn’t trust anybody. And it took a little while to crack that shell,” Cody Fueger had said. And well, he turned out to make immediate impact. Robinson would start in all but three games the first season there and average more minutes than anyone, while shooting a team-high 178 3-pointers.
“It was just a matter of having somebody that would give me a chance. And Coach Pope took that chance. And, like I said, I can’t thank him enough,” he had admitted. So when the coach left for Kentucky, and his doubts for NBA draft crept in, he forewent the decision and followed Pope.
Entering the transfer portal, he was believed to be one of the best available players in the country and he did not disappoint. Robinson soon became the Wildcats’ second-leading scorer and as Koby Brea puts it, “He’s a super important piece to our team. He’s done great things for us.” The loss of Robinson sure makes things worse on the court, but it hurts equally bad watching a brother take the hit.
“Nobody wants to see somebody go down like that, especially somebody like him. He’s obviously one of our brothers. We’re a family, so it hurts seeing that,” Brea added. But Wildcats got to keep going.
Leave a Reply