ASU Basketball: Caelon Robinson Leaving ASU
By Mike Slifer
: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
This weekend, reserve point guard Caelon Robinson made clear his intention to leave Arizona State to play basketball elsewhere.
Inside the ASU program, this move may not be a surprise. But to outsiders, it’s a bit of a head scratcher. Robinson got solid minutes coming off of the bench. In fact, his playing time and contributions increased in the final month of the season. This gave everyone (including Devils in Detail) the impression that Robinson was the heir apparent at point guard when Jahii Carson bolted for the NBA this summer.
At the very least, going into next year, Caelon Robinson would have been the front-runner for cracking the starting lineup as a point guard. Apparently, that isn’t enough. No one has commented officially, and more than likely no one probably will. But there’s really only one reason why players transfer in this manner; they aren’t happy with their playing time situation.
So, it seems that Robinson has read the writing on the wall and has decided to leave. Most likely, the recruiting efforts of Coach Sendek and his staff have probably given Robinson the idea that he might be a backup again some day. It’s much like the QB of an NFL team that finds out they just spent their #1 pick on a college quarterback. It’s unsettling.
ASU has had a lot of defections over the last 4 seasons. Some might say ASU has had too many. But every player that has transferred out of Tempe for greener pastures has never really resurfaced as a legitimate player. The lone exception might be Trent Lockett who transferred to Marquette to be closer to his sick mother.
Regardless, transfers are a part of the landscape in college basketball. It’s even affecting schools like Duke, Florida and Kansas nowadays. Players want to play and they will go wherever they can to do so.
In reality, the loss of Robinson hurts, but it’s not a huge blow to the Sun Devils. They have a lot of rebuilding to do and Robinson’s departure, while it doesn’t help, is probably low on the list of concerns. Devils in Detail and all fans should just wish him well and move on.