Senior Noah Robotham assumes leadership role for UNLV

Noah Robotham is the senior point guard at UNLV, the Bishop Gorman graduate who returned to Las Vegas to lead his favorite college basketball team, the player who turned down a scholarship in order to help recruiting.

And, aside from coach Marvin Menzies, Robotham is the team spokesman, the one who routinely breaks down plays and discusses opponent tendencies in media interviews, recalling the tiniest details from a scouting report or game experience.

There he was again after last Saturday’s 60-59 loss to San Diego State at the podium dissecting the final play that resulted in a missed 3-pointer by Nick Blair.

“I’ll walk you guys through the play,” Robotham said to the media, and that’s exactly what he did in explaining the miscommunication with fellow guard Amauri Hardy. Robotham concluded by accepting responsibility for the play not being run successfully.

“It’s one thing a day or two later for a high school or college player to reflect and watch film and say, ‘Oh, yeah, I should’ve done this’ or ‘I should’ve done that,’” said Gorman coach Grant Rice, who coached Robotham. “For someone in the heat of the moment to lose by one point to a rival and to take responsibility like that whether it was your fault or not, that’s a special kid. That shows his maturity.”

Now Robotham will play his final home game for UNLV when the Rebels (15-13, 9-7 Mountain West) play Boise State (11-17, 6-9) at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at the Thomas & Mack Center. The Rebels will honor Robotham and Kris Clyburn in the senior night ceremony before tipoff.

“When I think back on my basketball career and what I’ve accomplished thus far, I’m really proud of the person I’ve become and the player I’ve become,” Robotham said. “Growing up here being a UNLV fan, seeing it all kind of come to fruition is a really neat feeling. I think any kid from Las Vegas who has aspirations for the opportunity to play for their hometown school at a prestigious university like UNLV is something to be really proud of, and it’s something I don’t overlook.”

Thinking man’s player

Robotham has had an analytical basketball mind from the times as a youngster when he watched games with his dad, Robert. He also would eavesdrop on conversations between his dad and older brother, Czar, who played college ball in Canada.

“Growing up, basketball was always on the TV,” Robotham said. “I like to know the ins and outs. I wasn’t always the tallest. I wasn’t the fastest. I didn’t always shoot the best. I always didn’t make the best decisions. But I always tried to be close to the game and learn it.”

To that end, he even learned in elementary school the role a healthy diet plays in succeeding in athletics.

“He doesn’t even know what McDonald’s tastes like,” Robert Robotham said. “He hasn’t drank a soda since he was maybe 7 years old. He likes doughnuts maybe, but he doesn’t eat candy and all that stuff. Even to this day, he couldn’t tell you what a beer tastes like or what a cigarette feels like.”

It wasn’t just smarts, though. Robotham also was unafraid.

As a freshman at Gorman, he was running point in practice as dozens of college scouts watched Gaels prized recruit Shabazz Muhammad, the nation’s top-rated junior.

“We had juniors and seniors who would back down to anything Shabazz did,” Rice said.

Not Robotham, even giving up half a foot in height. Robotham insisted that plays be run through the point guard, and that he would set up Muhammad to score.

“Shut up, freshman,” Muhammad shot back. “You don’t tell me what to do.”

Robotham came right back, saying, “Give me the (bleeping) ball.”

“Since that day, Shabazz and him played together for two years, and they roomed on the road together,” Robert Robotham said. “That’s how close they were. (Robotham) stood up to the mighty Shabazz. That really impressed Shabazz. Him and Shabazz worked out together every night after that, and they became really good friends.”

Muhammad later played at UCLA and spent five seasons in the NBA, but Robotham grew up with an encyclopedic knowledge of UNLV’s championship history and wanted to suit up for the Rebels. He wasn’t a five-star recruit, and the Rebels, at the time under former coach Dave Rice, Grant’s brother, focused on signing highly rated players.

Returning home

Robotham looked elsewhere and became a three-year starter at Akron, averaging with 9.4 points and 3.3 assists while making 38.5 percent of his 3-point shots. When coach Keith Dambrot left for Duquesne, Robotham returned home and walked on at UNLV.

After sitting out a year under NCAA transfer rules, Robotham could have received a scholarship for this season, but told Menzies to keep it for recruiting.

Menzies said he wished he had Robotham for more than a season. His point guard has averaged 9.3 points and 4.8 assists while making 34.6 percent of his 3-point attempts, with those numbers improving in Mountain West play to 10.8 points, 5.9 assists and 41.5 percent from 3.

After this season, Robotham will try to play professionally, and after that he would like to remain involved in athletics in some form. His dream is to be an NBA general manager.

“He can be whatever the heck he wants to be,” Menzies said. “He’s got that ‘it’ thing. He was really raised the right way and built the right way.”

Contact Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com. Follow @markanderson65 on Twitter.