Robinson’s importance to Kansas can’t be overlooked

DETROIT | Villanova coach Jay Wright said something interesting this week. He was asked to describe the thing that separates the big-city, New York point guards from the rest. He said there was one thing: New York guards seem to have this inner sense about when they need to step out of their character and make something happen.

In this case, Kansas guard Russell Robinson, who grew up (of course) on the asphalt courts of New York, seemed to understand that he needed to score early and often. He did. The odd part was that the key moments in the game came early. Robinson poured in 13 points in the first 8 minutes of the game Friday night. He made three three-pointers. He controlled the game.

And when his scoring flurry ended, Kansas led Villanova by 14 points, and the game, in all significant ways, was over. In fact, you kind of wish the game would have ended there. What followed was like 32 minutes of credits rolling after a movie.

“I didn’t think in the second half, we had much rhythm,” Self would say.

And that was an understatement. The game turned into a sumo wrestling match, with both teams just leaning on each other for the last 30 minutes. Kansas did win by 15. But the atmosphere was a dead zone. The crowd in the dome yawned and headed for home. The Jayhawks turned the ball over 18 times. There wasn’t much to see after those first 9 minutes. Even the “Rock Chalk” chant at the end sounded bored.

Then, it’s the tournament so only three words matter: Survive and advance. Those first 9 minutes were the whole ballgame, and they remind you just how important Robinson is to this Jayhawks team.

It’s easy to overlook him. He’s not a big NBA prospect like Darrell Arthur, and he can’t shoot the ball anything like Brandon Rush, and he can’t take over on both sides of the floor with his athletic ability and skill like Mario Chalmers, and he can’t just change the game like Sherron Collins.

And still … you get the sense that for the Jayhawks to do what they want to do, Robinson will be key. He’s the senior point guard. You know how much those guys matter in March. He’s the Jayhawks best on-the-ball defender — he was the guy most responsible for shutting down Villanova’s big scorer, Scottie Reynolds, on Friday. He’s the guy — especially with Collins hurting — who will be asked to control the tempo, and calm teammates down when things go bad, and fire everyone up when their energy level drops.

And I just get the sense that he’s the one who — Wright is right — will need to step out of character just when the Jayhawks need it most. This Jayhawks team is good. Really good. They can win so many different ways that you sometimes sense they spend the first few minutes of the game deciding which way to do it.

They have not been tested yet in the tournament. They were not tested Friday. Villanova tried to muddy up the game — and the Wildcats managed that, especially in the second half — but Kansas simply moves the ball around too well and gets too many easy shots to get beat by a team that can’t score. The Jayhawks may have coasted and sputtered, but they did shoot 53 percent on Friday, and they did outscore Villanova 19-2 on the fast break. Villanova on its best night should not beat Kansas.

Davidson could provide a challenge Sunday simply because the Wildcats must feel like a team of destiny, and they have the player of the tournament — one of the great players of any tournament — Stephen Curry. Still Kansas is bigger, stronger, faster. They’re called Cinderellas because, eventually, midnight strikes.

No matter what, though, there’s a ruthless game coming for Kansas. Maybe it will be against Davidson. Maybe it will be against Roy Williams and North Carolina. Maybe it will be against the UCLA team that dismantled them last year or all those incredible athletes at Memphis or a final showdown in the Texas trilogy.

It’s coming. And you can only guess what will happen when that game comes. Here’s my guess: In the big moment, with the game on the line, with the crowd going crazy, with Kansas needing something — it won’t come down to those big Kansas stars. It will come down to the New York point guard and whether or not he can step out of character, and make the play.