ATLANTA – Brandon Robinson’s first trip back home as a North Carolina Tar Heel didn’t go so well.
The then-freshman played nine minutes missing all five of his shots from the perimeter and he committed a pair of turnovers in UNC’s shocking 12-point loss to Georgia Tech on New Year’s Eve in 2016.
On Tuesday, Robinson and the Heels were back at McCamish Pavilion and this time the tale was quite different.
Robinson, now a junior, has forged an established role and has become one of the team’s more consistently reliable players, as was evidenced by his performance in front of hometown friends and family in Carolina’s 77-54 victory over the Yellow Jackets.
“I used 20 tickets from North Carolina, but I had a lot of people, friends and family buy tickets,” said Robinson, who is from Douglasville, GA, which is exactly 24.8 miles from Tech’s home arena.
He estimates 40 people were there to see him play, and then some. In fact, when Robinson converted his three field goals on the night, there was a surging roar from the crowd, including scattered cheers from the student section.
“I had a lot of friends here, too, that (go) to Georgia Tech,” he said. “It felt pretty good.”
What they saw was yet another solid performance off the bench from Robinson. He finished with seven points on 3-for-4 shooting, including 1-2 from 3-point range, two rebounds, two assists and another night of solid defense from the 6-foot-5 wing.
“I thought B-Rob did some good things when he came in,” UNC Coach Roy Williams said.
Williams has been noting Robinson’s play more and more of late, especially after road games, of which the Tar Heels are 4-0 away from Chapel Hill in ACC play.
Robinson is averaging 16.3 minutes in those games scoring nearly four points a game on 5-10 shooting from the floor, including 3-5 from beyond the arc, while handing out eight assists. And, of course, he plays sound defense and always infuses the Heels with some energy.
But on Tuesday, Robinson was on the receiving end of that energy, courtesy of the hometown folks.
