1. The 'Thomas Robinson' stuff is a little weird, it's not like he walked on campus as a lottery pick. He averaged 2 points and 7 minutes a game as a freshman, 7 points and 14 minutes as a sophomore, until he blossomed this year (not coincidental that the Morris Bros and Cole Aldrich are now in the NBA). He always had a NBA-ready body, but as a KU fan, watching him catch the ball his first 1.5 years was both exciting and scary-as-hell. You either got a crazy powerful dunk or a pass off a cheerleader's face. His growth as a player has been astronomical. He deserves credit for maturing and being coachable.
2. I don't understand why coaches wouldn't talk about their past success with players. I mean, in the past 4 years, Bill Self (with a massive assist from big-man coach Danny Manning) has put Darrel Arthur, Brandon Rush, Darnell Jackson, Sasha Kaun*, Cole Aldrich, and the Morris brothers in the NBA as front line players. Oh yea, they won a national championship too. Thomas Robinson and Jeff Withey will surely join them in the next two years. Does Bill Self actively say that? I don't know, I kinda doubt it, but I'm sure recruits hear it somewhere. I wouldn't begrudge Duke coaches for talking up Kyrie Irving, for example.
* Kaun was drafted by the Cavs, but decided to play in Russia.