Thomas Robinson Draft Redemption Card

Remember when you were a kid and the first thing you did was rush to the trading card aisle of the store, with the big prize usually being a fresh piece of gum in the pack? Maybe you’d get extra lucky and find a numbered card or a refactor worth a few dollars which you’d trade to a friend for a few rookies.

Long gone are those days.

Now it’s all about game used and autographed trading cards with the rest more or less essentially acting as pack filler.

We’ve seem the astronomical prices that some cards can go for, be it a 2010 Stephen Strasburg Bowman that sold for $17,500 bucks or a 2001 Topps Reserve of Albert Pujols that sold for just shy of $9,000 bucks. It’s been said to be a dying market, but, it’s hard to imagine that with those prices.

And that brings me to the topic of Thomas Robinson, who recently joined Anthony Davis, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Harrison Barnes, Andre Drummond, Austin Rivers, John Henson and Jared Sullinger as members of the Panini team. The signing allows Panini America exclusive rights to produce autographed trading cards featuring Thomas and currently 54 of the 60 2012 NBA Draft picks.

If you’re looking to get your hands on an exclusive Thomas Robinson autograph, you’ll be able to do so in the 2012-13 NBA HOOPS set which will be released August 15th.

Credit: ©Scott Rovak-US PRESSWIRE

Today we feature a guest post from Nathan Mize, a Kansas Jayhawk and Sacramento King fan who was so ecstatic that the Kings drafted Thomas Robinson, he asked if he could submit a piece to us. Never one to decline exuberance, we gave Nathan the opportunity and he knocked down this half court shot, giving us outside of Kansas a bit of perspective on T-Rob :

As the 2012 NBA Draft started on Thursday night, I settled down in my Jayhawk chair, looked down at my “Rock Chalk” shirt and took a deep breath. This was it. The young kid named Thomas Robinson, who I have been following since 2009, is about to become a multi-millionaire. Robinson, being a shadow of Marcus and Markieff Morris for the first two years of his college career, stunned everyone with a very impressive 2011-2012 campaign putting up remarkable numbers and leading KU to a Final Four. Something that most people thought was impossible for a “rebuilding year”.

I was born and raised in Kansas. A small town about 50 minutes outside of Lawrence where the Jayhawks play. I have seen some great talent past through Kansas in my years. The lights of Paul Pierce, Kirk Heinrich and even Mario Chalmers have given KU fans so much to remember in the years that they stepped on the court. None quite like Thomas Robinson. His story has reached all corners of the nation and has touched the hearts of millions of Americans. Thomas experienced something no 19 year old kid should ever go through. T-Rob lost both of his grandparents and then his very own Mother, just three weeks apart. It all became very real to fans inside of Allen Fieldhouse on that cold January day in 2011. Before the game had started, the PA announcer stated, “Please keep Thomas Robinson and his family in your prayers, he lost his Mom last night.” This shocked everyone inside of the Fieldhouse, including myself. The show must go on, however.

The Jayhawks were playing Texas this game. To make the plot thicker, KU was currently holding on to a 69 home win streak, the longest in the NCAA. Before you knew it, the game was over. The Jayhawks had lost because of many factors. Allen Fieldhouse was abnormally quiet, the players were emotionally drained, and Texas was shooting lights out. There was a silver lining to this terrible outcome for fans, and Thomas. The only thing T-Rob had to live for was his little sister Jayla. He promised she would be supported for her entire life. This created a saying that would become a tattoo on Robinson’s arm, countless shirts, and a new lifestyle. F.O.E. Family Over Everything. The Jayhawk family quickly supported this new saying and it quickly became very popular. In the toughest time in Thomas’ life, family supported him, and family is all he needed.

“With the 5th pick in the 2012 NBA Draft, the Sacramento Kings select Thomas Robinson, Kansas.” As T-Rob is no longer a Kansas Jayhawk, I know that he will be apart of a new and very welcoming family in Sacramento. Kings fans, whenever you think of Thomas Robinson, think of FOE. In the end, family is all you got. Go Kings.