Via Kansas Athletics
LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas men’s basketball will retire two jerseys during upcoming home games starting with Thomas Robinson Dec. 9 when the Jayhawks take on Missouri. KU will also retire Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer Bill “Skinny” Johnson on Jan. 22 when Kansas hosts Cincinnati.
Robinson was named Consensus All-America First Team in 2012, having led Kansas to the Final Four and the NCAA title game. In 2012, the Washington, D.C., forward was the ESPN.com National Player of the Year, the Big 12 Player of the Year and All-Big 12 First Team. Robinson was the Most Outstanding Player of the 2012 NCAA Tournament Midwest Region and named to the 2012 Final Four All-Tournament Team.
In 2011-12, Robinson set the Kansas single-season double-doubles record with 27, achieving the feat in 69.2 percent (27-of-39) of games played his junior year. His 463 rebounds in 2011-12 are second most in school history for a single season, trailing only KU legend Wilt Chamberlain’s 510 in 1956-57. Additionally, Robinson’s 692 points in 2011-12 are ninth on the KU single-season list. Career-wise at KU, Robinson ranks 56th in career scoring with 1,026 points, and 15th in all-time rebounds at 763.
In his three seasons at KU, Robinson won three Big 12 regular-season titles, two Big 12 Tournaments, advanced to two NCAA Tournament Elite Eights and one Final Four. Additionally, KU went 50-1 in Allen Fieldhouse during his career, posting undefeated records in the venue in 2009-10 (18-0) and 2011-12 (16-0).
The Sacramento Kings chose Robinson as the No. 5 overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft and he played five seasons in the NBA. In 2017-18, he competed for BC Khimki, a top-level professional team in Moscow, Russia, and has continued his pro career, currently with the NLEX Road Warriors in the Philippines.
Robinson’s jersey will be the second No. 0 to be retired at Kansas. Drew Gooden, who played at KU from 1999-2002, had his No. 0 jersey retired on Jan. 18, 2003.
The dominant collegiate center of his time, Johnson, who wore No. 33 while at Kansas, achieved All-American status in 1933 as he led the Jayhawks to three-consecutive Big Six Conference title under head coach Phog Allen. From Oklahoma City, Johnson, who stood 6-foot-4, was considered a giant in an era when the center jump after each basket was a part of the game, a rule that was later eliminated in 1937.
After graduation, Johnson continued to be a force in basketball. He played for Southern Kansas Stage Lines in the AAU, earning All-America honors. He led his team to the Missouri Valley AAU Conference title and third place in the National AAU Tournament in 1934. He was one of the few men to ever receive All-American honors in high school, college and AAU basketball. Johnson received the Jim Thorpe Award, given annually to an all-time sports great from Oklahoma, and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1977. He was inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006. Johnson died in February 1980.
Johnson will be represented by his son Bill Johnson Jr. and other family members for the Jan. 22 ceremony.
