Fresno State’s Orlando Robinson (center) stands between by San Jose State’s Ibrahima Diallo (left) and Tibet Gorener (right) following a free throw attempt during the first round of the Mountain West tournament inside the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas on March 9, 2022 (Max Bechtoldt/The Spear)
By Matt Weiner (@mattweiner20) — Beat Reporter
On any given night, Orlando Robinson can be an unstoppable force
San Jose State had one job for their first round matchup against Fresno State in the Mountain West Tournament: shut down center Orlando Robinson.
Like many things in life it’s simple in theory, yet difficult in execution.
Robinson is an All Mountain West First team who shows no emotion to the point where you wonder if snatching souls on the hardwood is a chore for him. Think Bill Bellichick at the DMV renewing his license level of boredom.
From the opening tip-off on Wednesday, San Jose State made it a mission to shut down Robinson throwing double teams his way any time he was near the paint and making him go 1 for 5 from beyond the arc.
From the perspective of shutting Robinson down it didn’t work as he scored 31 points, while it did hold the Bulldogs to under 70 points even with an extra five minutes of play.
When Shon Robinson, Trey Anderson or Ibrahima Diallo collapsed on Robinson it freed up other Bulldogs like Anthony Holland, Jordan Campbell and Junior Ballard to fire away from deep and miss at an alarming rate all night, ending at 4 of 23.
Some of these misses were great looks in the corner that were drawn up to expose the double teams put on Robinson.
Other misses were shots that were settled for. Like choosing to roll through McDonalds to grab a burger on the way home instead of going to a sit down restaurant.
The Bulldogs got off to a 1-10 start and stumbled their way through the rest of the evening playing into the Spartans’ hands perfectly.
While no Bulldog played second fiddle in regulation, Isaiah Hill came out firing for the Bulldogs in overtime scoring five points. Robinson had four fouls and needed to play more conservatively to stay on the floor. Hill’s effort on offense during overtime helped keep the Bulldogs neck and neck so all they needed was one final bucket to end it all.
Offensively, the Spartans were able to work around Robinson’s unholy talent to put themselves in a position to win, but defensively is a whole other story.
When it comes to defense, Robinson maintains the no nonsense attitude of a boy scout leader who takes his job way too seriously. The Spartans had multiple drives to the rim that looked promising until the boogie man (Robinson) appeared and made them loop around to the top of the key as if they were driving through a cul de sac.
SJSU head coach Tim Miles had high praise for Robinson following the loss saying that “he should run to the draft,” and he’s the “best prospect” faced all season.
Orlando Robinson. The boogie man’s worst nightmare.
Steal that if you want Rothstein.