Stanley "Sticks" Robinson Will Be Hungrier Than Ever Next Year

Stanley "Sticks" Robinson was averaging 10.4 points and 6.5 rebounds last year. He was then given two options by coach Jim Calhoun: leave Connecticut and return to Alabama OR get a job, miss the first semester of this season, and get his life in order.

This superstar will be a senior next season and will be very hungry to return to the Final four, with hopes of advancing farther than this year. Stanley have been through a lot throughout his career and I truly believe that his experiences, compared with his goals, will help this UConn Huskie go from good player to mega-star.

Stanley Robinson always had tremendous athletic ability. Raised in Birmingham, Alabama, Sticks grew up with his mom as his hero. She had worked in many factories and Robinson always had an admiration for her hard work and determination. She was a hard-nosed single mother and grew very fond of Calhoun's "old-fashioned" style of play.

Robinson knew UConn was the place for him and signed with the Huskies as a 5 star  over big time schools like Alabama, Florida, and Kentucky. His first few years were full of rim-rattling dunks, sky-high rebounds, and most of all inconsistent play.

At times Sticks was  perceived as not interested in the game and had a bad habit of taking off too many defensive possessions. At the end of last year, after having a hot streak for the last couple of games, Calhoun called Robinson into his office.

He was furious with Stanley for every so often cutting classes and being late to team practices. Calhoun told him he was too talented to be that immature, and along with such random problems as missing his home state and sometimes refusing to talk to reporters forced the coach to give Stanley two options on how to grow up: return to Alabama and see his two children, his mom, and probably throw out any dream of being an NBA star.

Or Stanley could find a job that would last him the entire fall semester and one in which he would develop some character. Either way, he was suspended and stripped of his scholarship. When asking his mother for some advice, Stanley said the woman that bore him said just three words: "SO DO IT."

He did it alright, working at Prime Materials Incorporated getting paid 17$ dollars an hour. It was the most challenging thing he had ever done in his life; Stanley would put enough music on his iPod for the eight-hours-a-day hell.

On most days Sticks, who nicknamed himself for his skinny legs, could be found sorting out different types of metal into piles and then loading them on a truck. He was as dedicated as ever, however; three days a week he woke up at 4 am to work out at a gym.

He ran three miles every day after his 7-3:30 work day and then went to Gampel to work out after the team had already practiced. He is my all-time favorite Husky already. Sticks just might be the greatest dunker I have seen; he has already won a couple of dunk contests down in the South.

Now his focus is solely on one thing: winning.

Stanley will be joined next year by fellow senior leader Jerome Dyson, who was putting up All Big East numbers when he went down with a knee injury. Senior Gavin Edwards is back, as is diaper dandy Kemba Walker ready to make up for his subpar (at best) Final Four showing.

Ater Majok is an Australian giant that will be eligible to play after the fall semester; I have had the great opportunity to watch this kid play and he will be special. McDonalds All American center Alex Oriakhi, his high-school teammate and athletic wing Jamal Coombs-McDaniels, and guards Darius Smith and Jamaal Trice headline a solid incoming class for Jim Calhoun.

I continue to hold my breath. I am nervous. Jimmy C may be leaving. I can not blame him. Between Wiggins and Dyson being caught with pot, Nate Miles coming to UConn, Nate Miles breaking a restraining order, the recruiting scandal of Miles, the laptop theft by Price and Marcus Williams, and now the great Stanley Robinson debacle, Jimmy has seen arguably more arrests and problems with his team than any other coach in the world (that's right Marvin Lewis).

Hopefully Stanley will have a great senior year, become a high draft pick, and live life in the pros. I will be the first one to smile after all this guy has been through.

Sticks is...different. After losing to San Diego last year in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, Robinson reportedly hid in the bathroom crying his eyes out, not wanting to field questions from reporters. He has been known as socially—awkward, most notably when he dresses quickly and files out of the locker room after playing a good game.

Sticks is...different. After scoring a career-high 32 points in a game last year, he walked up to the podium in the middle of his coach's post-game press conference and gave him a Christmas gift, beaming with pride.

The room applauded the gesture and everyone was laughing. At a pickup game over the summer, Sticks approached Husky writer Mike Anthony and asked him all about the paper business and how Mike was doing.

Anthony talked about writing a huge story on Stanley; Sticks was elated. When the interview day came, Sticks told Mike to wait one moment; he just had to change. Anthony waited forever and it turned out Stanley ran out of the locker room. He never apologized or brought up the event to Anderson again.

Did I mention Sticks was inconsistent?