GREENVILLE, S.C.
In the transfer portal era of college basketball, it’s never a given that players will spend multiple seasons with the programs they sign with out of high school.
After TCU men’s basketball finished 16-16 last season and missed the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2021, many around Fort Worth wondered if TCU would be able to retain prominent freshman forwards David Punch and Micah Robinson.
Robinson and Punch, along with freshman center Malick Diallo and guard Jace Posey, made the decision to return to TCU, and their choice was rewarded, as the Horned Frogs won nine of their final 11 games to get back to the NCAA Tournament this season.
The No. 9 seed Horned Frogs (22-11) will face No. 8 seed Ohio State (21-12) at 11:15 a.m. Thursday in Greenville, South Carolina, on CBS.
Punch said it means the world to be in the tournament after he trusted his gut that TCU had what it took to reach March Madness.
“It feels great, I had a feeling we were going to be in this position,” Punch said. “Thinking about it last year, I’m glad I stayed. This just shows how my work paid off, how the work of the team has paid off.”
TCU forward David Punch (15) returns to the bench during the second half against New Orleans on Nov. 3 at Schollmaier Arena. Bob Booth Special to the Star-Telegram
Punch was a vital reason TCU made its late surge to go from the bubble to the NCAA Tournament. He was productive as a freshman, but was mostly a defender, scoring most of his points on putbacks and alley-oops.
This year, Punch developed into TCU’s leader in points (14.3 per game), rebounds (6.7) and blocks (2.0). As a freshman, he averaged 6.5 points, 4.4 rebounds and 0.9 blocks. The leap in his production is one example of how it can beneficial to stay at a place longer, even if there’s adversity.
“You want to have growth. You want to see guys get better. That’s what guys do in our program,” coach Jamie Dixon said at the Big 12 Tournament. “And that’s why you coach. That’s why you put teams together and you want to see guys improve individually and collectively, and he certainly has.”
Micah Robinson breaks into starting lineup
Another player who has improved tremendously since his freshman season is Robinson. He started this season on the bench, but was inserted into the starting lineup Feb. 10 against Iowa State.
TCU forward Micah Robinson (left) battles Baylor guard Isaac Williams IV in front of the Bears’ bench during the first half Jan. 3 at Schollmaier Arena. Bob Booth Special to the Star-Telegram
The Horned Frogs have gone 8-2 since Robinson became a starter. Punch said his relationships with Robinson and the rest of his teammates were some of the reasons he believed TCU could bounce back.
“I feel like everybody came right back with the right mindset,” Punch said. “I see [Micah] every day. It’s a bond that I haven’t had before. Usually you get time away from your teammates, but here I’m like, nah, they’re brothers to me. I love these dudes.”
Robinson previously told the Star-Telegram in October he never thought about leaving TCU, and his decision also was rewarded with a tournament berth and his place in the starting lineup.
“It definitely means a lot,” Robinson said. “I feel like that’s [a goal] we set that we wanted to get done coming back. Last year having to watch the tournament definitely hurt. So it just means a lot we were all able to come back and we reached that goal of making it to March.”
A versatile defender, Robinson has also provided an impact with his athleticism and improved scoring ability. He averaged 5.3 points, 1.8 rebounds and 0.4 steals last year, but is now averaging 10.5 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.2 steals.
Robinson’s return was huge not just for this season, but also the future ability of the program to land blue chip prospects like him. Robinson is the third-highest-ranked recruit to sign with TCU since 2000, per 247Sports. His success could signal to other four-stars that they can be developed at TCU.
Robinson said most of his growth this season was related to his basketball I.Q.
“I definitely feel like I made a lot of growth from last year. Mainly, I feel the biggest area I’ve grown in is the mental side of the game,” Robinson said. “I feel like I’ve kind of changed the way I approach games, and I feel like that’s been one of the leading factors in some of my success this year.”
Jamie Dixon expecting even more from Micah Robinson
It can be hard sometimes to trust in the process when there’s always the allure of a potential bigger role elsewhere with the portal, but Robinson also previously said he’s had his most success sticking with a system.
After taking a leap as a sophomore, Robinson is capable of even more, Dixon said.
“He does everything right,” Dixon said. “I joked with him yesterday that he does everything right, so we want to be a little bit more vocal and be that leader. He’s getting there, and he does it by his actions. Defensively, he’s terrific. He guards on the perimeter, he guards inside and guards oftentimes the leading scorer.
“… Micah’s a well-rounded guy that does a lot of things for us.”
As important as having Robinson and Punch back for another season has been, Dixon also wanted to make sure other returners like Diallo, Posey and guards Ashton Simmons and RJ Jones also received credit for TCU’s turnaround.
Diallo was supposed to be the starting center, but tore his ACL in the season opener against New Orleans. Posey has played in 26 games, but only averages 11.7 minutes, while Simmons and Jones have combined to appear in just 12 games this season.
Their contributions aren’t as huge as Punch and Robinson, but their return gave Dixon a foundation to build around and helped instill the culture to new transfers like guards Brock Harding and Jayden Pierre.
“I know their numbers don’t stand out, but it’s really a big part of [what] we were able to put together,” Dixon said. “They were excited to be back. They’ve been a big part of our improvement because our practices have been so competitive. So I think all six guys returning was really valuable.
“They have been huge for us in just camaraderie, continuity, practice, attitude and kids that fit our university, our program.”
TCU needed to return its core from last year to have a chance of competing this season, and the growth of Punch and Robinson is a prime example of why the grass isn’t always greener on the other side.
The sophomores accomplished their primary goal of reaching the NCAA Tournament. Now, can they lead TCU to its first tournament win since 2023?
Game schedule dates, times, locations March 10 Atlanta 124, Mavericks 112 March 12 Mavericks 120, Memphis 112 March 13 Cleveland 138, Mavericks 105 March 15 Mavericks 130, Cleveland 120 March 16 New Orleans 129, Mavericks 111 March 18 vs. Atlanta, 7:30 p.m., KFAA, MavsTV March 21 vs. L.A. Clippers, 7:30 p.m., KFAA, MavsTV March 23 vs. Golden State, 8:30 p.m., Peacock, NBC Sports Network March 25 at Denver, 9 p.m., KFAA, MavsTV March 27 at Portland, 9 p.m., KFAA, MavsTV Feb. 28 TCU 77, Kansas State 68 March 3 TCU 73, Texas Tech 65 March 7 TCU 73, Cincinnati 63 Big 12 Tournament (at Kansas City, Mo.) March 11 No. 6 TCU 95, No. 14 Oklahoma State 88 (second round) March 12 No. 3 Kansas 78, No. 6 TCU 73 (quarterfinals) NCAA Tournament March 19 vs. No. 9 Ohio State (at Greenville, S.C.), 11:15 a.m., CBS Feb. 25 TCU 83, Cincinnati 70 March 1 TCU 65, Baylor 53 Big 12 Tournament (at Kansas City, Mo.) March 6 No. 1 TCU 63, No. 9 BYU 46 (quarterfinals) March 7 No. 1 TCU 74, No. 12 Kansas State 62 (semifinals) March 8 No. 2 West Virginia 62, No. 1 TCU 53 (championship) NCAA Tournament March 20 vs. No. 14 UC San Diego (at Schollmaier Arena in Fort Worth), 11 a.m., ESPN March 26 at Philadelphia, 3:15 p.m., RSN March 28 at Philadelphia, 3:05 p.m., RSN March 29 at Philadelphia, 12:35 p.m., RSN March 30 at Baltimore, 5:35 p.m., RSN March 31 at Baltimore, 5:35 p.m., RSN April 1 at Baltimore, 11:35 a.m., RSN March 10 TCU 9, Kansas 4 March 13 TCU 5, Arizona State 4 March 14 Arizona State 15, TCU 8 March 15 Arizona State 4, TCU 0 March 17 TCU 16, New Mexico State 6 (7 innings) March 20 vs. Central Florida, 6 p.m., ESPN+ March 21 vs. Central Florida, 5 p.m., ESPN+ March 22 vs. Central Florida, 1 p.m., ESPN+ March 24 at Dallas Baptist, 6 p.m., ESPN+ March 27 vs. Texas Tech, 6 p.m., ESPN+ March 28 vs. Texas Tech, 2 p.m., ESPN+ March 29 vs. Texas Tech, 1 p.m., ESPN+ March 8 Stars 4, Chicago 3 (OT) March 10 Stars 2, Vegas 1 March 12 Stars 7, Edmonton 2 March 14 Stars 3, Detroit 2 (OT) March 16 Utah 6, Stars 3 March 18 at Colorado, 8:30 p.m., TNT, HBO Max March 21 at Minnesota, 3 p.m., Victory+ March 22 vs. Vegas, 6 p.m., NHL Network, Victory+ March 24 vs. New Jersey, 7 p.m., KDFI 27, Victory+ March 26 at N.Y. Islanders, 6 p.m., Victory+ 2026 season Aug. 29 vs. North Carolina (at Dublin), TBA Sept. 12 vs. Grambling State, TBA Sept. 19 vs. Arkansas State, TBA Sept. 26 at Central Florida, TBA Oct. 3 vs. BYU, TBA Oct. 17 at Baylor, TBA Oct. 24 vs. West Virginia, TBA Oct. 31 vs. Kansas, TBA Nov. 7 at Arizona, TBA Nov. 14 vs. Kansas State, TBA Nov. 21 vs. Utah, TBA Nov. 28 at Texas Tech, TBA 2026 season TBA vs. TBA (at Rio de Janeiro), TBA 2026 opponents (dates and times TBA; one home game will be in Rio) vs. N.Y Giants vs. Philadelphia vs. Washington vs. Arizona vs. San Francisco vs. Tampa Bay vs. Jacksonville vs. Tennessee vs. Baltimore at N.Y Giants at Philadelphia at Washington at L.A. Rams at Seattle at Green Bay at Houston at Indianapolis Feb. 21 FC Dallas 3, Toronto 2 Feb. 28 FC Dallas 0, Nashville 0 March 7 LAFC 1, FC Dallas 0 March 14 FC Dallas 3, San Diego 3 March 21 vs. Houston, 7:30 p.m., Apple TV April 4 at D.C. United, 6:30 p.m., Apple TV April 11 vs. St. Louis, 7:30 p.m., Apple TV April 18 vs. LA Galaxy, 7:30 p.m., Apple TV April 22 vs. Minnesota, 7:30 p.m., Apple TV March 20-21 POWRi Racing March 28 Mopar Heaven April 11 NASCAR Racing Experience April 18 Team Texas-David Starr’s Racing School April 18 Bubble Run April 23-25 Pate Swap Meet April 25 FuelFest April 30-May 2 High Limit Racing Stockyard Stampede May 1 NASCAR Truck Series: SpeedyCash.com 250 May 2 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series: Andy’s Frozen Custard 340 May 3 NASCAR Cup Series: Wurth 400
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