Top 50 Hokie Spotlight: Justin Robinson

Photo Via WTKR

As one of the best players in school history and a catalyst for the best 3 year run in program history, Justin Robinson is a Top 50 Hokie of all time.

Robinson arrived at Virginia Tech as one of the first and ultimately most important recruits of the Buzz Williams era. The Manassas, VA native came to Virginia Tech from the Saint James School in Hagerstown, MD. While at Saint James, Robinson was selected as the Maryland Gatorade Player of the Year following his senior season. He also earned two varsity letters as a center fielder on the baseball team.

J Rob was thrown into the fire day one at VT, playing in all 35 games while starting 19 his freshman year. Robinson started every game in both his sophomore and junior seasons and was on track to continue that trend his senior year before a foot injury forced him to miss 12 games leading up to the 2019 NCAA Tournament, resulting in an iconic comeback announcement.

It was no coincidence that as Justin improved, so did the team. During Robinson’s tenure, Virginia Tech experienced its most successful 4-year run in program history, including an NIT appearance in his first year, followed by three straight NCAA tournament bids. Prior to his arrival Virginia Tech finished 15^th in the ACC. In each of his first three years in Blacksburg, the Hokies finished 7^th in the conference, culminating in a 5^th place finish and Sweet 16 appearance his senior year.

I reached out to Justin before writing this article to see if there was anything specific about his time in Blacksburg he was particularly proud of. And of course, in typical point guard fashion, he wanted to make sure that the team accomplishments were highlighted above all else. This should not be a surprise considering how selfless Justin was on the court.

Robinson finished his Hokie career as the school’s all-time leader in assists with 562, despite missing 12 games his senior year. He also holds the record for assists during ACC play, with 97 during the 2017-2018 campaign, as well as the school record for assists in a game with 13 against Central Connecticut State the same year. In addition to all of the assist records, Justin finished 23^rd in Virginia Tech history with 1383 points scored. Arguably his best game came during his senior year, when he scored 35 points on a school-record 9 three-pointers against Syracuse. He broke the career assist record in this game as well.

After concluding one of the all-around best careers in the history of Virginia Tech basketball, Justin signed a draft night contract with his hometown Washington Wizards. As a rookie during the 2019-2020 season, he appeared in nine games with the Wizards, averaging 1.4 ppg. He spent the rest of the season split between two different G-League teams. In 33 games in the G-League, Robinson averaged 14.2 points, 5.5 assists, and 3.6 rebounds.

(PS. It’s time to retire #5 in Cassell Coliseum)