Seven months after announcing that freshman Justin Robinson would receive a full scholarship, Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski confirmed that Robinson will be redshirting this year.
After his team defeated Buffalo 82-59 to move to 8-1 on the year, Krzyzewski was asked in the press conference if Robinson was going to redshirt, and he responded that he would.
"Yes, he is [going to redshirt]," Krzyzewski said. "He’s done a really good job but we’re not going to use him unless there’s some type of an emergency. He wants that. It wasn’t like we had to tie him up or do Naval tactics on him."
Robinson is listed as a 6-foot-5, 185-pound power forward, but has yet to see game action this season. The Blue Devils have 11 scholarship players on the roster, and Robinson—the son of NBA Hall of Famer and Navy standout David Robinson—is the only one who has not logged any minutes on the floor. Walk-on Nick Pagliuca has entered at the end of several games already this season, including Saturday's win.
Despite the decision to redshirt Robinson, Krzyzewski said he does not view this as a step back in Robinson's career and lauded his contributions that do not show up in the boxscore.
"He’s been valuable for us and I think will end up being a really good player here," Krzyzewski said. "But the year will help him. It will help him tremendously."
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