After commitment to play for UNC, life has changed for shooting guard Brandon Robinson

Douglas County (Ga.) High shooting guard Brandon Robinson committed in September to play basketball at North Carolina for coach Roy Williams.

His life hasn’t been the same since.

“I feel like everywhere I went that people knew I was going to North Carolina,” Robinson, a 6-foot-5 senior, said Monday night. “Even in Georgia, people know me as ‘Brandon Robinson, North Carolina.’ ”

Robinson and his Douglas County teammates are in Charlotte this week to play in the annual Hoodies House of Hope tournament at Providence Day. When the Tigers got to their hotel Monday afternoon, the clerk checking them in was decked out in Carolina blue -- and using the hotel computer to watch Robinson’s highlights on YouTube.

“It’s a great feeling,” Robinson said. “I feel a lot of support when people come to watch me play. I love it. It helps my teammates, too. It’s a chance for other schools to look at them, too.”

Robinson, who had a game-high 30 points in a 73-56 loss to Providence Day Monday night, is thin at 170 pounds and has long arms. He’s known for his 3-point jump shot and it is effortless. He struggled shooting in a 60-49 loss to Long Island (N.Y.) Lutheran Tuesday, going 3-for-15. Robinson said his biggest improvement made this season is worrying less about everything.

Robinson, who said he chose the Tar Heels over Georgia, Georgia Tech, Louisville and Maryland, averages 27.4 points, four rebounds and four assists. He’s making nearly 60 percent of his field-goal attempts and 54 percent of his 3-point attempts.

As a junior, he averaged nine points and four rebounds. He shot 40 percent from the field and made 27 percent of his 3-pointers. The difference? Robinson said it’s just good old-fashioned hard work.

“It’s just long hours in the gym and getting my mechanics back right, focusing and staying confident in my shot,” he said. “A lot of times, I was not confident in my shot and was second-guessing myself. NowI just shoot unconsciously and think of every shot as a make, so even when I miss, I felt like I made it, to train my body to keep on shooting.”

Douglas County is in Douglasville, Ga., about 27 miles from Atlanta. Tigers coach Hollis Bethea III said even in such a large market, Robinson is a rare talent.

“First of all,” Bethea said, “he’s a great kid. Good on and off the court. On the court, he’s very smart and intelligent and can shoot the ball really well. He can play all five positions.

“He’s really good and does everything we ask of him. He’s very coachable. He’s very unselfish. Man, he’s one of those players that comes around rarely, around once every blue moon, and I’m proud of him.”

Robinson grew up playing point guard and is as comfortable setting up teammates to score as he is scoring. Monday, when Providence Day was pulling away, Robinson didn’t force shots to get his team back in the game. Instead, he consistently drew the defense to set up teammates up. Skills like that, ESPN director of recruiting Paul Biancardi said, will serve him well in Chapel Hill.

“He’s wiry strong and got great size for a guard,” Biancardi said. “What I love about his game is that he can shoot it from deep and he can straight line drive you to the basket. But what’s going to make him productive at Carolina is that he doesn’t hunt down his shots.

“He’s made gradual progression over time. He played at a high level on the summer circuit (with the Georgia Stars and Team Loaded) and he plays the game the way it’s supposed to be played. He’s aggressive without being selfish, and when you’re aggressive without being selfish, you have a chance to be very effective. He’ll blend in nicely with the players at Carolina.”

This story was originally published December 29, 2015 at 5:45 PM with the headline "After commitment to play for UNC, life has changed for shooting guard Brandon Robinson."