Growing Pains: Robinson and Green Started Slow But Finished Fast
Neither Thomas Robinson (Kansas) nor Draymond Green (Michigan State) generated national headlines in their first two seasons before blossoming into NCAA unanimous first-team All-Americans.
Robinson, who was anything but one of the country's most dominant players when he scored 2.5 ppg as a freshman in 2009-10, improved as much as anyone during his college career and probably would have become consensus national player of the year except for the emergence of Kentucky freshman phenom Anthony Davis. If not for Davis, Robinson would have posted the lowest average for any national player of the year's first season at the major-college level since the initial award by UPI in 1955.
Admiration for Green's significant impact following a scoring average of 3.3 ppg as a freshman in 2008-09 won't end anytime soon, either. Green is a classic example of why fans shouldn't put too much stock in freshman statistics. Green flourished as a versatile performer although his field-goal shooting dropped nine percent his final two seasons from his first two campaigns.
Robinson, Green, Kris Joseph (3.4 ppg with Syracuse in 2008-09) and NCAA second-teamer Tyler Zeller (3.1 ppg with North Carolina in 2008-09) aren't the only All-Americans who endured growing pains. Robinson, forgoing his senior season after declaring for the NBA draft, joined the following alphabetical list of players who averaged fewer than three points per game as a freshman before eventually earning All-American acclaim:
| Eventual All-American | Pos. | School | Freshman Scoring Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cole Aldrich | C | Kansas | 2.8 ppg in 2007-08 |
| Lorenzo Charles | F | North Carolina State | 2.2 ppg in 1981-82 |
| Keith Edmonson | G | Purdue | 1.3 ppg in 1978-79 |
| Aaron Gray | C | Pittsburgh | 1.7 ppg in 2003-04 |
| Tom Gugliotta | F | North Carolina State | 2.7 ppg in 1988-89 |
| Roy Hamilton | G | UCLA | 1.2 ppg in 1975-76 |
| Jeff Jonas | G | Utah | 2.8 ppg in 1973-74 |
| Ted Kitchel | F | Indiana | 1.7 ppg in 1979-80 |
| Bob Kurland | C | Oklahoma A&M | 2.5 ppg in 1942-43 |
| Tom LaGarde | C | North Carolina | 2.2 ppg in 1973-74 |
| Kenyon Martin | C | Cincinnati | 2.8 ppg in 1996-97 |
| John Pilch | G | Wyoming | 2.4 ppg in 1946-47 |
| Thomas Robinson | F | Kansas | 2.5 ppg in 2009-10 |
| Steve Scheffler | C | Purdue | 1.5 ppg in 1986-87 |
| Earl Tatum | G-F | Marquette | 1.5 ppg in 1972-73 |
| Kurt Thomas | F-C | Texas Christian | 0.8 ppg in 1990-91 |
| Al Thornton | F | Florida State | 2.8 ppg in 2003-04 |
| B.J. Tyler* | G | DePaul | 2.9 ppg in 1989-90 |
*Tyler became an All-American at Texas after transferring to his home state
NOTE: Oregon's Wally Borrevik (1.8 ppg in 1940-41), Wisconsin's Gene Englund (2.3 ppg in 1938-39), California's Darrall Imhoff (0.9 ppg in 1957-58), Kansas' Dean Kelley (0.8 in 1950-51), Purdue's Bob Kessler (2.3 ppg in 1933-34), Notre Dame's Leo Klier (2.7 in 1942-43), Oklahoma A&M's Gale McArthur (2.96 ppg in 1948-49), Notre Dame's Bob Rensberger (1.5 ppg in 1940-41) and Stanford's George Yardley (2.9 ppg in 1947-48) averaged fewer than three points per game as sophomores when freshmen weren't eligible to play varsity basketball before becoming All-Americans.