Winter is coming for Jerome Robinson. Growing up in Raleigh, the former Broughton High standout didn’t have to worry as much about the cold winter months. Robinson is entering his second winter as a Boston College player, however, which is an entirely different experience. “It definitely was,” Robinson said of his first winter 700 miles north of Raleigh. “I didn’t have the shoes for it. I actually still need to order those.”Robinson was raised at the epicenter of ACC basketball. His mother rooted for Duke, while his father was a former player who had been recruited by NC State coming out of high school. Naturally, Robinson adopted the Tar Heels as his favorite team.Robinson played on the same team as NC State coach Mark Gottfried’s sons. However, while he had several scholarship offers from schools like Old Dominion, App State and Richmond, his only ACC offer came from the frozen north Boston College. It didn’t take long for Robinson to make up his mind, committing after his official visit at the start of his senior year. Since then, Robinson has done what he could to make the local schools regret overlooking him. He won MVP of the Broughton Holiday Classic tournament, leading his team to the title and beating out the likes of Brandon Ingram and Thon Maker for the team and individual honors. “The Holiday Tournament is awesome,” Robinson said. “It’s three days of really good basketball and really good players. It’s packed every game. I mean, it’s sold out. I think Broughton holds like 3,000 people, which is big for a high school. So that’s definitely a big memory.”While the performance at the Holiday Tournament may have been the high point for Robinson in high school, he still looks back fondly at the entire experience. “Some of my fond memories I would say is just a good Friday night game playing against our rival like Millbrook or something,” he said. “It’s super packed.” Robinson played games against both Duke and NC State during his freshman season, and he seemed to step up his game against both. Against teams from his home state, Robinson shot .476 and averaged 14 points, 6.5 rebounds and 4 assists, compared to .424 shooting, 11.5 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3 assists against everyone else. While Boston College had a rough season last year, going winless in ACC play, Robinson is ready to turn that around this year as the Eagles rebuild. “This year is a lot of fast pace,” he said. “We’re going to be pushing up on a lot of people. We’re going to be pushing it at people on offense, and it’s going to be fun to watch. It’s going to be really high-paced.”It will be an uphill climb for Robinson and the Eagles, but once his winter shoes arrive, there will be no stopping him. “That’s definitely one of the biggest adjustments,” he said, “feet of snow instead of inches.”
