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Robinson enjoying life with Gazelles
Robinson has become good support for Asinde on offense.
What you need to know:
Robinson is a 5-feet-10-inch guard, who recently played for Herner TC in Germany. She graduated from Illinois State University in 2023 and was drafted by the Dallas Wings in the third round.
In the absence of star player Jannon Otto, the Uganda Gazelles needed another high-profile recruit to take on the challenge of fighting for a ticket to the Fiba Women’s Afrobasket.
Otto, who was Uganda’s best player during the 2023 Fiba Zone V Afrobasket Qualifiers in Kampala and in the finals held in Kigali, Rwanda, suffered an injury that will keep her out of action this year.
The small forward scored 128 points and was the top scorer during the Afrobasket, which is testament to the calibre of player Uganda are playing without in the ongoing qualifiers staged in Cairo, Egypt.
The latest addition to the Gazelles set up is Paige Robinson, a combo guard with the ability to facilitate offense and also score in various ways.
Robinson is a 5-feet-10-inch guard, who recently played for Herner TC in Germany. She graduated from Illinois State University in 2023 and was drafted by the Dallas Wings in the third round.
And having been part of the Gazelles camp that was held in Germany last year, the guard convinced the coaching staff to select her to replace Otto for this outing.
“One of the first things I noticed (about Gazelles) is how welcoming they were,” Robinson said in an interview after Uganda’s 83-69 win over South Sudan Wednesday night.
“They welcomed me with open arms and are super sweet to me, they make me feel comfortable,” she added.
Three games into the qualifiers, Robinson had already established herself as one of Uganda’s best options on offense, averaging 17 points, having recorded 15 points in the opener against Kenya, 24 in the loss to Egypt and 14 in Wednesday’s victory.
Only team captain Jane Asinde, averaging 23 points by the third game, had better scoring numbers on the team.
Whereas most players who come from the US to play in Africa have issues with the amount of contact allowed on the floor, Robinson has had no issues at all.
“I would say that compared to my Germany league, it’s just as physical. I don’t think there is a huge difference,” Robinson revealed.
“I’m really enjoying the tournament and enjoying being on this team and I'm excited to see how far we make it, hopefully we make it to Afrobasket.”
Robinson is a certified shooter. PHOTO/COURTESY
Robinson is a naturalized player and Uganda has to choose between her and Otto at any one point. Fiba considers a player naturalized if they have a passport from the country they want to represent but were born in another country.
Uganda has, in the past, naturalized different players in a bid to compete with the best on the continent.
The men’s senior team, Silverbacks, has Ishmail Wainright and Brandon Davies as the two naturalized players.
Wainright, formerly with the Phoenix Suns and Portland Trail Blazers, is now playing for Hapoel Tel Aviv in Israel while Davies plies his trade in Serbia with Partizan Belgrade.
