In Robotham, Rebels have point guard in waiting
A point guard is supposed to be an extension of his coach on the floor, and in the case of Noah Robotham, that extends off the court as well.
Robotham transferred to UNLV this offseason after three years at Akron, and he’s sitting out this season as a redshirt before playing his final campaign in 201819. But how he ended up at UNLV is a testament to his link with the coaching staff. And his meticulous thought process.
A Bishop Gorman High graduate, Robotham returned to Las Vegas after announcing his transfer from Akron in March. While he was looking for a new school, UNLV head coach Marvin Menzies was looking for an experienced point guard to provide some backcourt insurance in 2018, as current starter Jordan Johnson is set to graduate this year.
So what did Robotham and Menzies do? They asked around. Menzies talked to his local Las Vegas hoops contacts in search of a floor general, and the suggestion that kept coming back was Robotham.
“He was very highly recommended by the locals,” Menzies says. “People whose basketball opinions I respect. (They said) he’s a winner.”
So assistant coach Rob Jeter, who had previously recruited Robotham out of high school during his time as head coach at Milwaukee, reached out. Would Robotham be interested in sitting out a year — other schools wanted him as a potential grad transfer, to play in 2017-18 — and joining the hometown team?
Robotham is not rash. Growing up in Las Vegas, he had always been a big fan of the program, but the previous administration hadn’t been interested and did not recruit him out of high school. So he approached it from a dispassionate point of view. Before he made a decision, he wanted all the information.
So he did some investigating of his own.
His mother is from New Mexico and follows basketball, and they have other family in Las Cruces, N.M., so Robotham