Justin Robinson: You Warm Up a Little Differently When You Know You're Playing

It’s been a long time coming, but Justin Robinson made the most of his playing time in recent games. The senior captain who came to Duke as a walk-on scored six points against Wake Forest and 10 against NC State, getting six rebounds against the Wolfpack and blocking three shots against the Deacs. He also knocked down a pair of three pointers in the win over NC State.

Duke went with a big starting lineup against State, including Javin DeLaurier, usually the first player off the bench. That meant that Robinson would be inheriting DeLaurier’s sixth-man spot.

“(Coach Krzyzewski) said, ‘Vernon (Carey) and Javin are starting. So be ready to go at five,’” Robinson said. “So I kind of knew I was going to get some minutes. You warm up a little differently when you know you’re coming out there.”

Duke had an emotional home win over the Wolfpack.

“It was fun,” Robinson said. “That was the big emphasis (Sunday)—the Virginia game (feedback). It was all positive. Let’s be confident. Let’s have fun playing. You saw it out there. We had a lot of fun tonight. Coach (Krzyzewski) was enjoying himself right there with us.”

The crowd also reacted to Robinson’s heroics after normally only cheering for him in the waning seconds of blowouts.

“It’s just fun,” he said. “The Crazies go a little extra crazy for me. I love it. I appreciate it.”

Robinson’s father, Basketball Hall of Famer David Robinson, was in his customary baseline seat at Cameron and was visibly thrilled with his son’s success in the game.

“It was great,” the younger Robinson said. “He’s always so supportive—and my mom. They’re always out there. My mom comes to literally every game—every home game. I saw them jumping around some. It was fun.”