SAN ANTONIO — Justin Robinson couldn’t help but let his mind take him back home.
As a San Antonio native, Robinson desperately wanted Duke basketball to get him to the 2025 Final Four.
The Blue Devils did it. Robinson is back home.
“As soon as I heard about – maybe even last year – as soon as I heard that (the Final Four) was in San Antonio, I’ve been thinking about it,” Robinson said after Duke beat Alabama in the Elite Eight.
“It’s always been in the back of my mind. I couldn’t let it distract me, but there was definitely a little extra motivation for me. I’m feeling it now. I’m really happy. I’m proud.”
Duke’s director of player development, Robinson’s roots are in south-central Texas. His father, David, had a Hall of Fame career as an NBA player with the San Antonio Spurs. Many of “The Admiral’s” games were at the Alamodome, where the Blue Devils (35-3) face Houston on Saturday (8:49 p.m., CBS) in the national semifinals.
“It’s amazing. It’s incredible. I’m so excited,” Justin Robinson said.
Robinson spent his prep career at San Antonio Christian Academy, averaging 13.5 points, 10.2 rebounds and 4.6 blocks per game as a senior for a squad that finished with a 33-8 record.
He went from a walk-on in Durham to a captain and consistent contributor for the Blue Devils in the 2019-20 season, which was cut short because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In Robinson’s final game, he had a career-high 13 points, six rebounds, four blocks and three assists in a win against rival North Carolina at Cameron Indoor Stadium. After playing professionally in Montenegro and Israel, Robinson joined Jon Scheyer’s coaching staff in November 2023.
“Justin, to see his journey at Duke first and foremost, five years at Duke, we recruited him as a walk-on. He could barely walk and chew gum at the time he got to us,” Scheyer said during a press conference at the Final ...
