Nate Taylor

nate.taylor@indystar.com

ORLANDO, Fla. –By NBA summer league standards, Glenn Robinson III is more than a veteran. He's an old-timer compared to the rookies playing their first professional games at the Amway Center.

Robinson, though, is not bothered by going through his third summer league tour, this time with the Indiana Pacers. He is eager to grow. He also intends for this to be his final summer league appearance by proving how far he has developed since he was a rookie two years ago with the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Through two games, Robinson has been the Pacers' most consistent player. He has demonstrated, rather easily at times, that he is the most talented player when he is on the court. In the Pacers’ sloppy and disjointed 80-70 loss Sunday to the Charlotte Hornets, Robinson led Indiana with 16 points and collected four rebounds. He also had 16 points and eight rebounds in Saturday’s game.

Beyond his athleticism, Robinson has displayed improved passing, defending and understanding of the Pacers’ offense.

“I’m going out there trying to play hard with a lot of energy and just keeping my rhythm,” he said. “I think that my IQ, and just knowing the game, has grown. I’m always watching film and trying to get better. I know my rookie year coming into to summer league it seemed like the pace was so much faster.”

Joe Young, Georges Niang lead Pacers in summer league opener

Now, Robinson appears to be ahead of his opponents.

Coach Nate McMillan demanded such. Last week, McMillan challenged Robinson to show that he deserved a spot in the Pacers’ rotation next season as a backup wing. That means more than scoring. In both games, Robinson made smart and timely decisions when passing to open teammates.

He connected a few times with rookie Georges Niang to help record three assists Sunday.

“He’s a smart player,” Robinson said of Niang. “I think we kind of think alike with those back cuts and we just connected well on that. I like playing with him and we he gets (the ball), he swings it.”

Robinson has a greater responsibility on the summer league squad. Assistant coach Popeye Jones has assigned Robinson to guard the opposition’s best perimeter player. Robinson’s first two matchups were against Orlando’s Devyn Marble and Charlotte’s Aaron Harrison — young players projected to be in the NBA when next season starts.

“He knew coming in here that he was going to always have the toughest wing matchup,” Jones said of Robinson. “So far, he’s doing OK. I thought yesterday he kind of got overextended on some closeouts and got blown by. (Assistant) Coach (Dan) Burke showed him some film from the game yesterday and I thought he did a better job today.”

Robinson has recorded more steals (five) than personal fouls (three) in the two games.

“I’ve always been a type of guy who can play both sides of the court, but I think that’s been a big key at what the coaches are looking at and expect out of me,” he said. “I think what’s even more important is that I’m being aggressive, staying aggressive, offensively and defensively, even though some of my shots haven’t been going in.”

Pacers' Joe Young, Glenn Robinson III try to carve out roles with strong summer

When Shayne Whittington met Robinson last year, he remembered how quiet his teammate was. Since then, the two have become friends, and spent much of the offseason training together at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Now, Whittington said Robinson is a vocal leader.

He does not expect Robinson to be back in Orlando for next year’s summer league.

“He’s going to be a heck of a player,” Whittington said. “He’s definitely coming into his own now. Today he was by far our best player, offensively and defensively.”

Young plays through pain

Joe Young spent most of the second half Sunday standing behind his teammates. The Pacers second-year point guard stretched his body and tried his best to stay loose.

A day after falling after a dunk, Young did not play at his normal speed. He hobbled at times, and finished with just six points and three assists in 22 minutes. After the game, Jones said Young played through a sore tailbone.

“We kind of left it up to him whether he could play or not,” Jones said. “I guess now thinking about it, we probably should have held him out, but Joe is a competitor and he wanted to play. You could see he didn’t have a lot of movement.”

Jones said it was unclear if Young would play Tuesday against the Detroit Pistons.

Call IndyStar reporter Nate Taylor at (317) 444-6484. Follow him on Twitter: @ByNateTaylor.

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