Alan Williams
August 5, 2022
John Roberson
- Nationality: USA/BIH
- Date of Birth: 28/10/88
- Place of Birth: Kansas City, Kansas (USA)
- Position: GRD
- Height (CM): 180
- Weight (KG): 78
- Junior Assoc: None
- College: Texas Tech (2007–2011)
- NBL DEBUT: 3/10/19
- AGE AT DEBUT: 30
- LAST NBL GAME: 16/02/20
- AGE AT LAST GAME: 31
- NBL History: South East Melbourne 2020
- Championships: 0
- None
BIO: John Roberson was born in Kansas City, Kansas (USA).
NBL EXPERIENCE
John Roberson made his NBL debut with the South East Melbourne Phoenix at 30 years of age. He scored 31 points in his first game.
In 2019, Roberson joined the league’s newest franchise, the South East Melbourne Phoenix who had signed Simon Mitchell as their first head coach and shortly after added Boomers and fringe NBA talent Mitch Creek as their marquee player. South East Melbourne then built a core group playing group with Ben Madgen (via Europe), Kyle Adnam (via Melbourne) and Adam Gibson (via Adelaide) and imports Tai Wesley (via Melbourne) and Devondrick Walker (via state league) were later added to round out the squad.
South East Melbourne’s first game pitted them against cross-town rivals Melbourne. In the first game between the two franchises, tagged ‘The Throwdown’, the Phoenix were able to topple United by three points (91-88) after making 12 of 23 from downtown. The team’s high-octane perimeter shooting would set the tone for the rest of the season, with the team leading the league in points per game (95.4 ppg).
The win came at a cost, however, with Tai Wesley, after scoring eight rapid points, suffering a hamstring injury in the first five minutes of the game, which saw him out of action for the next ten weeks. Import Jaye Crockett (8.9 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.0 steals) was brought in as an injury replacement during his absence.
Following their Round 1 victory, the Phoenix would keep it rolling, knocking over the Bullets (113-93) and the Hawks (106-102) at home, tipping off their inaugural season with a handsome 3-0 record. Despite the Phoenix taking home victories against relatively good team’s, their first real challenge came in Round 4, where they would play their first away game against Perth. Although the Wildcats’ star duo of Bryce Cotton (16 points) and Terrico White (17 points) started poorly, Perth delivered South East Melbourne their first loss (79-110), ending their season-opening winning streak.
After their trouncing in Western Australia, victories would become a rarity. The Phoenix would go down to the likes of the 36ers, the Kings and twice to United, and after coming into the mid-way point of the season, the Phoenix was the definition of average at this point.
Sitting just outside the top four with a record of six wins and six losses. It was also around this time the Phoenix chose to move on from import Devondrick Walker (7.4 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 0.9 assists), who, after suffering a fracture in his left foot playing in a Perth pre-season game two years earlier, wasn’t able to deliver the production he was able to beforehand. Keith Benson (5.8 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 0.8 blocks) was signed as his replacement and thought he was a much bigger body, wasn’t able to add much more to the stat sheet.
While South East Melbourne were forced to rely on Creek (20.2 points, 7.3 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 1.2 steals) and star import John Roberson (20.2 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 5.5 assists), the next ten rounds would prove to be anything but smooth.
Across the next 16 matchups for South East Melbourne they would go on to accumulate a lacklustre 3 wins and 13 losses, while also finishing their campaign on a eight-game losing streak. With 20 rounds of basketball completed, the Phoenix (9-19) would finish second last.
Despite the lack of team success, Roberson was one of the NBL’s most venomous offensive weapons. The focal point of the team’s offence from shooting guard and the point when Kyle Adnam was on the bench. Robersen shot at a impressive 46 percent clip for the season with much of his scoring coming from beyond the arc. He averaged four three-pointers a game, leading the league in this category.
He also finished fourth among the NBL’s top scorers, third in assists, as well as broke the NBL’s record for overtime points in a game (15) and the single-season record for three-pointers.
John Roberson played one season in the NBL. He averaged 20.1 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 5.5 assists in 28 NBL games.
CAREER RANKINGS:
– 41st in assists per game.
NBL TOTAL STATISTICS
| SEASON | AGE | TEAM | TEAM RECORD | GP | MINS | PTS | REB | AST | OR | DR | STL | BLK | TO | PF | FGM | FGA | FG% | 3PM | 3PA | 3P% | FTM | FTA | FT% | TS% | EFG% | HS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-20 | 31 | South East Melbourne | 9-19 (8) | 28 | 841.3 | 565 | 63 | 156 | 8 | 55 | 23 | 1 | 65 | 71 | 190 | 411 | 46% | 112 | 257 | 44% | 73 | 79 | 92% | 63% | 60% | 32 | Totals | 28 | 841 | 565 | 63 | 156 | 8 | 55 | 23 | 1 | 65 | 71 | 190 | 411 | 46.2% | 112 | 257 | 43.6% | 73 | 79 | 92.4% | 63% | 60% | 32 |
NBL PER GAME STATISTICS
| SEASON | AGE | TEAM | TEAM RECORD | GP | MINS | PTS | REB | AST | OR | DR | STL | BLK | TO | PF | FGM | FGA | FG% | 3PM | 3PA | 3P% | FTM | FTA | FT% | TS% | EFG% | HS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-20 | 31 | South East Melbourne | 9-19 (8) | 28 | 30.0 | 20.2 | 2.3 | 5.6 | 0.3 | 2.0 | 0.8 | 0.0 | 2.3 | 2.5 | 6.8 | 14.7 | 46% | 4.0 | 9.2 | 44% | 2.6 | 2.8 | 92% | 63% | 60% | 32 | Total | 28 | 30.0 | 20.2 | 2.3 | 5.6 | 0.3 | 2.0 | 0.8 | 0.0 | 2.3 | 2.5 | 6.8 | 14.7 | 46.2% | 0.0 | 0.0 | 43.6% | 4.0 | 9.2 | 92.4% | 63% | 60% | 32 |
CAREER HIGHS
| POINTS | REBOUNDS | ASSISTS | STEALS | BLOCKS | TURNOVERS | TRIPLE DOUBLES | 32 | 5 | 10 | 6 | 1 | 6 | 0 |
|---|
INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE
In June 2015, Roberson signed with Élan Chalon. After his first season, Roberson extended his contract until 2017.
On March 8, 2017, Roberson set a new FIBA Europe Cup scoring record with 39 points in a 87–85 loss against Cibona.
Roberson also set the league record for most three-point field goals in a game, with 10 three-point field goals.
With Chalon he won the French League 2016/17 season championship.On June 27, 2017, Roberson signed a two-year contract with the French team ASVEL.Originally from Plano, Texas.
Spent the 2018/19 season with Russian club Enisey, where he averaged 14.5 points, 5.5 assists and shot 55% FG, 43% 3PT FG and 95% FT.
Has played throughout Europe since 2011 with stops in Slovenia, Switzerland, Hungary, Sweden and France, where he won a championship with ASVEL in 2017.
COLLEGE
John Roberson attended Texas Tech University from 2007–08 through 2010–11, finishing as one of the most productive guards in program history with 1,772 career points (seventh all-time at Texas Tech) and a school-record 636 career assists, making him the Red Raiders’ all-time assist leader.
Roberson played four seasons in Lubbock and produced year-over-year as a primary ball-handler and high-volume perimeter scorer, averaging 12.3 points per game as a freshman in 2007–08, 13.9 as a sophomore in 2008–09, 14.5 as a junior in 2009–10, and 14.1 as a senior in 2010–11, while logging heavy minutes each year and operating as Texas Tech’s lead creator for long stretches of his career.
As a freshman in 2007–08, Roberson played in all 31 games with 25 starts, led the team with 101 assists, scored 20+ points seven times, and had a season-best 28 points against Northwestern State on 9-of-12 shooting while also earning Big 12 Rookie of the Week honours in back-to-back weeks after a 28-point performance and a separate 21-point outing.
In 2008–09, Roberson started every game and became one of the Big 12’s most active distributors, leading Texas Tech with 13.9 points per game while setting the school’s then single-season assists standard with 212 assists, a total that remains one of the top single-season marks in program history, and he posted a major all-around highlight at Texas A&M with 20 points and 13 assists, which sits among Texas Tech’s top single-game assist performances.
That sophomore season also included several statistical benchmarks that stuck in the record book, including a team-leading 13.9 scoring average, a Big 12-leading assist rate noted by the program, 71 made three-pointers (one of the best single-season totals in school history at the time), and a career-high 33-point game at UTEP, placing him among the limited group of Red Raiders to score 30+ in a game.
As a junior in 2009–10, Roberson started every game again and produced 14.5 points per game with 190 assists, became the first Texas Tech player to reach 500 career assists (as tracked by the program), joined the school’s 1,000-point club during the season, recorded a double-double with 12 points and 10 assists in a win at TCU, and finished the year with All-Big 12 Honorable Mention recognition.
One of Roberson’s most notable single-game stretches came early in that junior season when he scored 25 points against Washington, went a career-best 13-for-13 at the free-throw line in that overtime win, and added seven assists and two steals, a performance that was also recognised with a Big 12 weekly honour.
In his 2010–11 senior season, Roberson continued to operate as Texas Tech’s lead guard while averaging 14.1 points per game and shooting 40.8 percent from three-point range, and he delivered a major conference performance in January 2011 with 25 points and seven made three-pointers against Nebraska.
Across his Texas Tech career from 2007–2011, Roberson’s production showed up across multiple record categories, including his school-record 636 assists and his 1,772 points ranking seventh all-time at Texas Tech, with his long-term consistency reflected in the fact he started virtually every game of his four-year run.
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