Tyrese Haliburton's former coach: 'He’s an elite passer, and he’s a willing passer'

Iowa State assistant Daniyal Robinson watched Haliburton develop from a three-star recruit into one of the top point guards available in the 2020 NBA Draft.

With about a month to go until the NBA Draft, Valley Tales will publish a series of profiles on prospects who could be a fit for the Suns, featuring exclusive interviews with a college assistant coach or personal trainer. 

These are the people who discovered and recruited these players, who were around them every day, who observed their development into a potential lottery pick. Sure, these coaches/trainers want to support their guy, but they were also generally honest while evaluating where their player needed to improve to have a successful NBA career. 

A common theme with this prospect group is that multiple players were not highly recruited out of high school, but then blossomed at the next level. That’s certainly the case with Tyrese Haliburton. He was a three-star recruit and did not play point guard (or start immediately) as a freshman at Iowa State, but is now regarded by many as the second-best point guard available behind LaMelo Ball.  

“That he could go possibly before 10,” Iowa State assistant Daniyal Robinson said, “from where the kid started to where he is now, it’s an amazing story.” 

Robinson’s responses are edited for length and clarity. 

First impression

When we first saw him, it was at an event in July out in Vegas. One of our other assistants was our lead guy on (Haliburton) and, at the time, his wife was expecting, so he was off the road in July. He had actually watched film on (Haliburton) and kept tabs on him and said, “Hey, Coach Robinson, when you guys are out in Vegas, can you take a look at this kid?” We went and I watched him. The first time I saw him, he jumped off the page. He was rail thin, right? Probably about 6-5, 150, but he was just whipping the ball around the gym and having fun. Like, every pass was a home run. He was excited about every play. His teammates were feeding off his energy. I was like, “Wow.” The funny thing about it is I only had a day left in Vegas, and I had a handful of other kids I had to watch. Coach (Steve) Prohm was on a similarly tight schedule. So I was like, “Coach, you need to get over and see this kid.” 

I have to give you a little bit more background. (Haliburton’s) AAU coach coached a former Cyclone in Diante Garrett, who actually played for Phoenix years back, and Diante was from Milwaukee (Haliburton is also from Wisconsin). I coached Diante when I was at Iowa State before from 2008-10, and Diante was a sophomore and junior those years. (Haliburton) reminded me of him right away, so that was my reference point. And when Coach Prohm saw him, Tyrese made some 3s and he did the same thing. He was making high-level passes, high-level reads. His shot had a little hitch in it, but, man, he made a ton of them. Our ops guy was actually on the road, because the primary coach that was recruiting Tyrese was off the road, and he actually had the opportunity to coach Diante Garrett, as well. Coach Prohm had him watch Tyrese, and he thought the same thing. We were really, really excited after watching him in the course of a 72-hour period. He went from on the radar as a prospect, to, “He could be one of our top guys.” 

Strengths

He has great vision, and he can make all the passes. He can pass in tight windows. He can pass it up the court. He can pass it at the last second. He’s an elite passer, and he’s a willing passer. He gets excited about getting people shots. He can make open 3s at a high rate. He does have a rainbow shot, but he can make open 3s. Those are things that a fan can easily see. What a coach is gonna love about him is he’s all in as a team guy. A coach is gonna love that Tyrese is always talking. He’s got high basketball IQ. He’s an effective communicator. He didn’t just get here and he arrived. He had some struggles early. But what we found out was he was as competitive as anyone we had. He’s got a slight frame. He smiles a lot and all that stuff, but he will take your heart out. He is highly competitive. We had him on the second squad early on when he was with us his freshman year, and man, those teams would find ways to win different drills. He was highly competitive in our conditioning. Every little thing, Tyrese found a way to stick his nose in there and be competitive. Those are the things that, from a coach’s perspective, you love about him. 

Biggest improvement during Iowa State career

When he first got there, he was so weak. He helped himself early on when he kind of got in the weight room and started eating a little bit more. I think his freshman year he may have got up to 175 (pounds) or something. But him paying attention in the weight room and trying in the weight room and trying to eat, and I think that helped him. 

A game/moment/story that captures Haliburton

He was a roommate with Marial Shayock. Marial Shayock was our hardest worker, he was our leading scorer that year, he was our best player. (Haliburton) was struggling in the defensive drills. He couldn’t keep anybody in front of him. He was getting bullied. He couldn’t get open. After a couple weeks, I noticed he was working out with Shayock. He would get extra shots with Shayock. In the conditioning, they were one and two. Then, the next thing you know, you saw (Haliburton) thriving. I asked Tyrese one day — and I remember this vividly — I said, “Tyrese, man, what’s been the difference? Why are you always with Marial?” And he said, “My dad told me to find out who the best player is, who the hardest worker is, and do what he does.” That sounds simple, but he did that, and it really helped him. 

(Haliburton) was coming off the bench until our starting two-guard got hurt. Now, you gotta understand this kid (Lindell) Wigginton was (on the Big 12 All-Newcomer) team the year before. He averaged 17 (points per game) as a freshman and was really talented. Wigginton got hurt, and we put Tyrese in the lineup and, psh, we took off.  We felt we had a good team, but we didn’t know how (Haliburton) was gonna impact winning. What happened was the ball just moved so much that guys that were scorers didn’t have to worry about hunting their shot, because (Nick) Weiler-Babb and Tyrese Haliburton were gonna get those guys shots. Even when Wigginton came back, it worked out great for us, because (Haliburton) and Wigginton played together. Wigg didn’t have to worry about hunting shots. Tyrese was a willing passer and he took what the defense gave him. That’s how he impacted our team his freshman year. 

Underrated skill

I don’t think people realize how competitive he is, just because of his demeanor and how he goes about it. He’s always smiling. Oftentimes, when you think of a competitor, you think of a guy with a mean mug that’s out there and that’s tough. But he’s gonna smile, and then he’s gonna turn around and he’s gonna try to beat you by 50 if he could.

Next developmental step

Defending the pick and roll and defending on the ball. He has great anticipation skills. He knows the scouting report, so he gambles on defense a lot. He won’t be able to do that in the NBA, because everyone will make you pay. He reaches. He tries to hit home-run plays defensively. And then the physicality, I think, is something that he’ll have to overcome. But when you think about physicality with a guy like Tyrese that has always been skinny, he’s always been physically challenged, he’s been able to overcome every level he’s been at. I would think he could do the same in the NBA. He finds a way to get it done.

Ideal team fit

If there’s a such thing as “slipping” to 10 and him going 10 (to the Suns), that’s a perfect setup for him. You have a team with established scorers, You have an inside presence. You have other guys that can get shots, and he can just do his thing. He would be able to play to his strengths. 

Personality

He gets in constant debates on who the top 5 players in the NBA are. He gets into debates on the political side. But it’s all fun and games. He had all these nicknames. We called him “Cap,” because played on the USA Team, so we called him “Captain America.” Then we called him “Little Obama,” because he was debating everything and he had a way with words. He was smooth with it. He’s always in constant debate on something, and if you met his dad, you would know where he got it from. His dad hasn’t had a bad day in his life. 

That’s why you pull for a guy like Tyrese, because his parents are hard-working people. He’s got a blended family. His mom’s white. His dad’s Black. He’s got two other half-brothers that are white, then he’s got a brother who’s a year or so younger than him that his mom and dad had together. They‘re a close family. They love each other. They love people. They loved Iowa State. His parents would drive six hours to Ames for games. Even after he got hurt and was out for the end of his sophomore season, they drove and came to every game. His mom would drive to Kansas State. They drove to Kansas. They made their way down to Texas. They don’t come from much, so it was a tremendous sacrifice for them, but, also, I think that helped him, because you could tell he made them proud. His dad wore a Tyrese Haliburton jersey everywhere. They weren’t like, “Man, look at my son. Look what he’s doing.” They were always about the team and how we did and that type of stuff. You know how, some parents, you’re like, “Oh, shoot, here they come,” and you want to go the other way? You never got that from Brenda and John.