CHARLOTTE, N.C. — James Robinson and Jerami Grant hung out but didn’t get to work out together this summer. The two didn’t coordinate their workouts so Robinson didn’t get to see how Grant —  a former Syracuse forward who averaged 12.1 points per game last season — is recovering from an ankle injury that will keep him sidelined for the start of his NBA career with the Philadelphia 76ers.

But Robinson and Grant discussed Grant’s path to professional basketball over the summer and Robinson said his former high school teammate is just itching to get onto the court.

“I pretty much talk to Jerami every day. He’s doing well, should be back in a week or so,” said Robinson, a junior guard at Pittsburgh, at Atlantic Coast Conference media day on Wednesday. “He’s frustrated because he knows he wants to be out there, but he knows he can’t rush it back.”

Robinson wasn’t Grant’s only former DeMatha Catholic (Maryland) High School teammate at media day, as his brother Jerian Grant represented Notre Dame and senior guard Quinn Cook was there with Duke. Jerian echoed Robinson’s projection of a “week or two” for Jerami’s return and said that wanting to prove he was worthy of a first-round pick is adding to the frustration of not being on the court.

“He felt like he was a first-round talent, so he’s just out there to prove that he was,” Jerian said.

After foregoing his final two years of eligibility with the Orange, Grant fell to Philadelphia at the 39th pick in the second round. The 76ers open their season in Indiana on Wednesday at 7 p.m. and Grant is on the roster with former SU teammate and reigning NBA Rookie of the Year Michael Carter-Williams.

But he won’t be playing just yet and according to multiple reports he’s considering spending time in the NBA’s Developmental League to get back to full strength.

Grant missed time as a sophomore with SU last season with a back injury and couldn’t play in the 2013 FIBA Under-19 World Championship for the Team USA Under-19 team due to mononucleosis.

Because they’ve seen him claw back before, Jerian, Robinson and Cook all said they wouldn’t be surprised if Grant was back ahead of schedule and working himself into the rotation in Philadelphia.

“He’s just working to get out there and it might set him back a little bit,” said Cook, who’s been playing with Grant since the two were 7 years old. “But at the same time, he’s living his dream right now.”

Published on October 29, 2014 at 11:22 am

Contact Jesse: jcdoug01@syr.edu | @dougherty_jesse