Two weeks ago, UConn coach Jim Calhoun said he didn't expect Stanley Robinson to be with the Huskies next season but said 'he could wear the uniform again.' Robinson has taken the first step toward getting back on the right academic and social tracks with plans to spend at least one semester away from UConn while taking courses at a junior college near his Birmingham, Ala., home, The Day of New London reported.
If he re-enrolls at UConn either for the second semester or in the fall of 2009, Robinson would rejoin the Huskies with two years of eligibility left.
Robinson, a 6-foot-9 forward and among the Huskies' top-rated recruits in 2006, started 32 of 33 games as a sophomore and averaged 10.4 points and 6.5 rebounds. He had a career-high 32 points against Maine Dec. 22.
Inconsistent but gifted, Robinson has occasionally shown a multifaceted game. He is the Huskies' most athletic player but his game isn't fundamentally sound.
A source close to the program told The Courant that Robinson, uncomfortable away from home since his arrival in Storrs, has met NCAA academic standards but that his hiatus is geared mostly toward addressing personal issues.
Calhoun, speaking to The Day, said, 'He does things that are very different and some of those things end up being very hurtful to him. And by different I mean whether it be missing classes or disappearing for two or three days at a time and going to Alabama. And he's a terrific, nice, nice kid. But he's got to get his life squared away. And this is the only way that we feel that we can get Stanley to start reacting. So he's got some responsibilities this summer.'
Calhoun told The Day that Robinson does not intend to transfer.
With Robinson out of the picture, spots are open for incoming players Kemba Walker, Ater Majok, Nate Miles, Charles Okwandu and Scottie Haralson. Jeff Adrien, A.J. Price and Craig Austrie will exhaust their eligibility after next season, leaving room for Robinson and other recruits.
Robinson's departure also places more importance on the ability of Nate Miles, the well-traveled incoming freshman from Toledo, Ohio, to make an immediate impact. Miles, a 6-7 guard/forward, hasn't played much organized basketball the last two years but is thought to have NBA-caliber talent.
The second session of summer classes began Monday. Miles, Haralson, Adrien, Jerome Dyson, Jonathan Mandeldove, Gavin Edwards and Hasheem Thabeet, are on campus. Robinson originally had planned to take two classes this session after returning to Birmingham, where he has two children, for most of May and June.
