Kansas great Thomas Robinson greets the Allen Fieldhouse crowd during a halftime ceremony in which his jersey was retired on Saturday, Dec. 9, 2023 at Allen Fieldhouse. Photo by Nick Krug

Legendary Kansas forward Thomas Robinson’s upcoming basketball camp in Lawrence may last just five days, but he hopes its effects will be much further-reaching.

He said he sees it as “the start of a foundation that we want to build with training and building kids,” and in promotional materials has referred to it as “the inaugural year of my annual basketball camp.”

“I think our main goal is to look at this three, five years from now and have some kids that have progress,” he said, adding that he expects growth from his charges not only on the court but as people.

Robinson will join forces with a group of trainers, all ex-pros and including fellow former Jayhawk Mario Little, for a camp for 7- to 16-year-olds at The Good Game gym on Clinton Parkway.

The Ground Up Basketball Camp begins Monday and continues through Aug. 9, with a form for registration available at https://www.grounduptraininginc.co/. Robinson said the camp is currently providing an opportunity to pay for admission for one camper and get a second kid’s admission free; it also offers free attendance to students with at least a 3.0 GPA who are currently playing on an active team (scholastic, AAU, etc.).

This isn’t the first time Robinson has hosted a youth camp, but he said his past experiences have impressed upon him the importance of teaching kids in a detailed fashion that also provides knowledge outside basketball. To that end, the camp promises to instill principles in “money management,” “mental health awareness,” “overcoming adversity” and “leadership development,” per its website.

“We actually have to train our mind just as much as we train our body,” Robinson told the Journal-World. “That part, like I said, it’s not talked about enough, until you actually see somebody having a mental issue and then it’s a subject … (It’s about) teaching kids early that mental is going to be a task for them to get through and learn how to control their emotions.”

Robinson will be making his return to Lawrence after he wasn’t able to join the Mass Street TBT team this year in Wichita (sponsored by The Good Game, as it happens) because his current club in Puerto Rico’s professional basketball league was going through the playoffs. In fact, those playoffs are still ongoing, after the Gigantes de Carolina won a seven-game series that coincided with TBT.

Robinson has become quite fond of Puerto Rico; he said it’s his fourth summer in the territory, and that he appreciates being closer to home.

“I love it, actually,” he said. “Puerto Rico’s going to be a memorable spot for me when it comes to my career.”

He was still able to follow the ill-fated TBT run from across the ocean. Mass Street bowed out after a third-round loss to Team Colorado in which it lost a lead in the Elam Ending and missed several potential game-winning 3-point attempts. Robinson put it succinctly: “That third game was tough.”

“Unfortunately we couldn’t make it, but I loved that team they had this year, especially with Frank, Dedric, those guys,” Robinson said, adding that last year’s team could have been better if it had those players, or this year’s team if it had him and Little.

This latest visit to Lawrence for Robinson could hold some special meaning, after he had his jersey retired in December. He said he has a plan in mind for when he next visits Allen Fieldhouse.

“That’s the first thing I’m going to do: go look at my jersey,” he said.