Kansas basketball: Ranking the 10 greatest big men in Jayhawks history

No. 9: Thomas Robinson (2009-2012)

Kansas basketball career stats: 105 games, 9.8 PPG, 7.3 RPG, 0.7 BPG, 52.5% FG

“T-Rob” started just three contests across his freshman and sophomore seasons, but he came into his own as a junior. That year, he averaged 17.7 points and 11.9 rebounds per game, recording an NCAA-leading 27 double-doubles. Robinson also was a Second Team Consensus All-American and won Big 12 Player of the Year.

In perhaps the most thrilling regular season contest in Kansas basketball history, the Jayhawks and Mizzou battled out the Border War for the final time before the Tigers departed to the SEC. Trailing by 3, Robinson connected on an and-one with 16 seconds remaining, sending the crowd into a frenzy. He then connected on the subsequent free throw. With the score tied 75 apiece, Mizzou guard Phil Pressey drove to the basket as the game clock dwindled away, only to be met at the rim by Robinson with an emphatic rejection. The Jayhawks went on to beat the Tigers in overtime, cementing Robinson’s block as one of the most memorable moments in Allen Fieldhouse ever.

He and Tyshawn Taylor were the dynamic duo that led Kansas to the 2012 national championship game. The Jayhawks came up just short of Kentucky and eventual No. 1 pick Anthony Davis, but Robinson’s heroics that year will go down in the record books.

His 463 rebounds were the second most ever grabbed by a KU player in a single season, and he was one of the best post-scorers in school history. Although his NBA career flopped, Robinson was one of the most dominant bigs to ever take the floor on a Bill Self-led Kansas squad.