The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree in the Robinson family.
From the time he attempted a dunk immediately after grabbing the jump ball in his first varsity game with the Orange Panthers against East Chapel Hill, Mason Robinson has always been intent on making his mark and leaving an impact. After two years with the Panthers and two years with Greensboro Day School, Robinson has done exactly that.
Last week, Robinson committed to play for the Charlotte 49ers under new head coach Wes Miller. Robinson selected the 49ers over Western Carolina and Queen’s University.
Robinson was a regular rotation player fr or Orange in the 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 seasons. In his sophomore year, Robinson began sharing time as a starting center with Ryan Honeycutt as the Panthers won the Central Conference regular season and postseason tournament championships. Robinson saved his best for the last games in Hillsborough. On February 9, 2024, he had his first double-double with 14 points and 14 rebounds in a 93-39 rout of Southern Alamance. He recorded eight blocked shots in a 68-42 win over Cedar Ridge on February 2.
Against Person in the Central Conference Tournament semifinals, Robinson recorded ten points, eight rebounded and five blocked shots as the Panthers defeated the Rockets 65-59 in Roxboro. In the tournament championship game, Robinson had nine points and five rebounds as the Panthers won the tournament championship, 86-69 over Eastern Alamance.
Robinson had eight blocked shots in a 85-62 win over Currituck County in the opening round of the 3A State Playoffs. In his final game at Orange, Robinson had nine points, eight rebounds and seven blocked shots in a loss to Northern Nash in Nashville.
Robinson arrived at Orange as part of a star studded freshman class that included Coleman Cloer and point guard Kai Wade that instantly transformed the Panthers into a state playoff-caliber team. Orange went 17-10 in Robinson’s freshman season, falling to West Carteret in Morehead City in the opening round of the 3A State Playoffs. Robinson played in 25 games in his freshman year. He led the team in blocked shots and recorded seven in his in a 65-59 win over Walter Williams on January 24, 2023. Robinson recorded eight points and seven rebounds in a 76-38 rout of Eastern Alamance in Hillsborough on February 13, 2023. His first ten rebound game came against Cedar Ridge in a 57-47 victory at Red Wolf Gymnasium. Orange reached the state playoffs in 2023 for the first time since 2017, when they reached the 3A state quarterfinals after beating Triton in Hillsborough.
After his sophomore season, Robinson transferred to Greensboro Day School, where he won two North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association 3A State Championships in 2025 and 2026. Last winter, the Bengals went 36-2 and defeated Concord Academy 62-34 in the state title game.
Eventually, the three freshmen who transformed the Orange program all left before their senior seasons. Cloer went to Caldwell Academy. Wade finished his junior season and left to play in Kentucky for his senior year, though he still attended Orange’s graduation ceremony last June.
Even after leaving Orange, he made it a priority to attend as many Orange volleyball games as possible to fulfill a promise to various former classmates to watch their high school careers until the very end.
Robinson’s mother Adrienne Jordan, is a longtime assistant coach with the Orange women’s basketball team. Jordan, who played at Southern Durham, was with the 49ers from 1997-2002 when Charlotte was a member of Conference USA.
Robinson is the second member of Orange’s 2023-24 Central Conference championship team to join a Division I school. Cloer, who was the most valuable player of the 2024 Central Conference Tournament, is now a freshman at the University of Alabama under head coach Nate Oats. He originally committed to N.C. State but transferred after head coach Will Wade left Raleigh after one season.
