Park Hill South sophomore guard Lamel Robinson justifies Division I interest

The chaos swirled around Park Hill South sophomore Lamel Robinson, the smallest man on the court. The ball alternated between his hand and the lacquer finish for 75 feet, his pace reaching its pinnacle as he breezed through three defenders to curl a finger roll into the basket.

In his eight-point opening quarter, that three-second sequence perhaps best demonstrated Robinson’s emerging status as one of the top sophomores in Kansas City.

It sparked his team to a win, too.

Park Hill South never trailed in a 46-31 victory against Blue Valley North, part of the eight-game lineup in the Best of the Midwest Showcase at MidAmerica Nazarene.

Robinson, a 5-10 guard who recently picked up his first Division I offer from Kansas State, led the way with 15 points.

“Being a smaller guard, you gotta play with that chip on your shoulder,” Robinson said. “So I’ve always played like that. I’m smaller, so I gotta do something bigger to stand out.”

Indeed, Robinson won’t wow anyone walking through the line as the starters are announced. But after his under-the-radar stature as a freshman, the word is out.

Robinson is starting to draw the focus of opposing defenses, as he did Saturday against Blue Valley North. He has generated the offer from Kansas State, and Wichita State, Oklahoma State and Oklahoma have started to show interest.

Robinson possesses a smooth jumper, but the real strength in his game lies in his ability to get to the rim.

“He’s become more patient on offense this year. It’s not always go, go go,” Park Hill South coach Dan Parra said after his team improved to 10-3. “He’s become much more of a facilitator, and that’s opened things up for him.

“He knows he’s got a lot of growing left to do, but obviously he’s so talented getting into the lane that he can build off that.”

Best from the rest

▪ In a matchup of two teams that picked up key conference wins a day earlier, Blue Valley Northwest outlasted Lee’s Summit North 79-68 on Saturday.

After Lee’s Summit North tied the game midway through the fourth quarter, Huskies senior Darien Jackson responded with five points over the ensuing 15 seconds. Blue Valley Northwest, 5-1, never relinquished the lead.

“Our coaches told us before the fourth quarter to just attack the basket, so that’s what I was trying to do,” Jackson said.

Jackson scored 18 points. Lee’s Summit North guard Javaunte Hawkins led all scorers with 25.

▪ Topeka Hayden guard Zach Harvey had 24 points and seven rebounds in a 62-51 win over Liberty North. Harvey has offers from Kansas and Kansas State, among others.

▪ Junior guard Damien Daniels scored 28 points for Hogan Prep in its 61-56 win over Basehor-Linwood.

This story was originally published January 7, 2017 at 9:22 PM with the headline "Park Hill South sophomore guard Lamel Robinson justifies Division I interest."