Devin Robinson is alright with losing — for now.
The freshman swingman has steadily improved this season after a career debut in which he went 2-of-10 from the field in UF’s 79-70 exhibition win against Barry on Nov. 6.
"I came in with a big head. I felt like we were going to go undefeated, we were going to go to the national championship, we were going to win it all," Robinson said.
"I felt like it would be easy coming in, going to win every game. Definitely not the way it worked out. I’m kind of glad it happened the way it happened so we could improve and humble ourselves and come back with a better attitude and come out ready to work."
Robinson walked into a team fresh off of a Final Four appearance and a school-record winning streak.
But as coach Billy Donovan has said, once the quartet of seniors left the team, the warts showed and complimentary players were unable to step up to the plate.
That has left the Gators toeing the line of .500, losers of five of their last six and eight of their last eleven.
While the old stipulation of finishing .500 or better in order to make the NIT no longer exists, no team has made the NIT with a sub-.500 record since the rule was nixed in 2006.
Robinson will be counted on much more again Tuesday night when the Gators (13-14, 6-8 Southeastern Conference) face the Missouri Tigers (7-20, 1-13 SEC).
The Tigers, who have lost 13 straight, own one of the nation’s longest losing streaks, but the Gators will again be without leading scorers Michael Frazier II and Dorian Finney-Smith from a high ankle sprain for the former and an indefinite suspension for the latter.
"With Dorian being out, I feel like I need to rebound a lot more, crash the glass," Robinson said.
"He collects a lot of rebounds for our team, and I feel like I need to step up and be more physical down low as well, have a bigger presence and stretch the floor, get out on the wing. I wouldn’t say I have to score more, but I would say I have to be more aggressive and play with more energy."
Robinson does seem to be getting it, understanding finally what Donovan has been trying to show his team all along, that it takes a higher commitment to winning than what Florida has shown to date to be successful.
Donovan said it was "disappointing" to invest the time and effort in getting a team mentally ready to play only to have the group not take his teachings to heart.
The development of a winning mentality may be all the Gators can salvage from a season that doesn’t have anywhere near the amount of glory last season’s did.
"I’m glad it didn’t come easy," Robinson said. "It’s better to have challenges earlier and figure it out later. I’m not glad we had a bad season, but I’m kind of glad we tried to figure things out."
Follow Richard Johnson on Twitter @RagjUF
Devin Robinson dunks during Florida's 62-61 loss to Ole Miss on Thursday in the O'Connell Center.
