Does Glenn Robinson have a NBA future? With the 76ers?

With Glenn Robinson III and Tim Hardaway Jr., the national runner-up 2013 Michigan Wolverines were a lot like NASCAR racing teams and Ivy League admissions criteria- it’s all about legacy. Thus far, only the latter, and the not the former has established himself in the professional ranks. Tim Hardaway Jr. was drafted in the late first round by the New York Knicks in 2013, and he’s averaged double figure scoring during his young career.

The Knicks and the Orlando Magic played the ugliest game of the 2014-15 season on Saturday night with the two teams combining for 15 points in the second quarter. Yes, really. It was that UGLY, as St. John’s beat Central Florida 80-79, whoops I mean the Knicks beat the Magic. Hardaway, who averages 11.3 PPG this season, hit the game winner and scored 7 points in the final minute.

What about Hardaway’s former UM teammate Glenn Robinson III? There’s lots of pro potential; plenty of upside there.

He’s on an equally horrid team, the Philadelphia 76ers, so he’ll have plenty of opportunities to get minutes and can carve out his place in the league.

Philly is a very proud franchise with a exceedingly rich history but the 2010s have seen them devolve into a really bad joke. The last two-three years have been the most painful as the franchise has show zero legitimate direction, and instead plenty of tanking. Evan Turner not living up to the hype was a huge setback.

With each trade, it seems like Philadelphia is only moving the goal posts further on their rebuild. The Michael Carter-Williams trade especially left a lot of NBA pundits scratching their heads.

Although they do have one legitimate piece to build around in Nerlens Noel.

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“We’ve gone through 32 players, I’ve had 14 undrafted players, I’ve had nine point guards and somehow, someway that locker room stays together,” said Sixers Coach Brett Brown of his two year regime in Philadelphia.

“Like all of our young guys we’re really curious, and his college days allow us to be really curious, in a great way,” said Brown of Robinson.

“We have a bunch of Glenn Robinsons that we hope to move forward, some might make it, some won’t, it’s just the lay of the land. We have a particular fondness for him. We thought about him before when we was with Minnesota. We followed Minnesota’s actions on what they planned to do with him, when he was released, we jumped in quick.

“We’re excited to see where the summer brings him.”

Brown is being somewhat of a straight shooter there; he’s saying less meaningless coachspeak than your typical basketball coach.

Thus far, Robinson doesn’t have much of a body of NBA work to truly assess. He does have loads of potential though. His numbers have been anything but promising though. Through his first 32 games, he averaged just 1.4 PPG, 0.9 RPG in 5.6 MPG. His shooting percentages aren’t good either: 313% FG, .250% 3-pt, .650% FT.

Looking at the Glenn Robinson scouting report:

Glenn Robinson III strengths: athleticism, explosiveness at the rim, three point range, his mid-range jumper and rebounding.

Glenn Robinson III weaknesses: strength/physicality, taking defenders off the bounce in isolation situations, ball handling and defensive ability.

“He has physical gifts, We’re always challenging him to play with a higher motor. He’s a good person, high character and we want that competitive drive to sort of mirror his skill package, and I think that can be worked out over the summer,” Brown added.

Paul M. Banks owns, operates and writes The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with Fox Sports Digital. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, currently contributes to the Chicago Tribune RedEye edition. He also appears regularly on numerous sports talk radio stations all across the country.

Follow him on Twitter (@paulmbanks) and Instagram (@paulmbanks)

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