Duke’s Javin DeLaurier had 25 DNP’s last season. Krzyzewski says he won’t have any more.

Javin DeLaurier is not quite a household name.

When you think of Duke’s roster, you think of senior guard Grayson Allen, freshman star Marvin Bagley III, and the other talented starting freshmen. They can put up points in a hurry.

For DeLaurier, scoring isn’t necessarily his forte. He doesn’t exactly fill up the stat sheet. And when he’s interviewed, he’s usually singing the praises of his teammates.

But the sophomore is as an important piece to Duke’s success as anyone else on the team. He’s the guy you have to watch play to notice the difference he makes.

Just ask Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, who, after the Blue Devils’ 92-63 win over Furman, praised DeLaurier. He called DeLaurier a “motor.” And a good one at that.

“At 6-9, he is a superb athlete who is becoming a really good basketball player,” Krzyzewski said. “He doesn’t let some of the things he can’t do now get in the way of his motor and his defense and rebounding. He picks us up all the time.”

Every once in a while DeLaurier will do something crazy, Krzyzewski added, “but he has been a big plus.”

There weren’t many that expected DeLaurier to have the impact he’s had for Duke so far. A four-star, top 100 prospect coming out of Saint Anne’s-Belfield in Shipman, Va., DeLaurier played in only 12 games for Duke last season, averaging 7.1 minutes per game.

But this year, DeLaurier, who is listed as 6-10, 231 pounds, has at times dominated for Duke on defense and has shown the athleticism that most players dream of. His bio on Duke’s website, says he’s the most “naturally athletic player on Duke’s roster,” and he is an “electric finisher at the rim.”

Against Michigan State last week, which was ranked No. 2 in the country at the time, DeLaurier had the highest “plus-minus” score on the team. When DeLaurier was in the game Duke outscored Michigan State by 18 points. That game, DeLaurier was forced to play more minutes than usual after Bagley went out with an eye injury. It seemed every time he entered the game, Duke went on a run.

Duke’s final field goal of the Michigan State game came with 50 seconds left on an emphatic dunk from DeLaurier. He finished with 4 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 blocks and 3 steals.

“Just coming in and trying to make plays,” DeLaurier said after last week’s game. “That’s something Coach stresses. It’s easy to get nervous. But Coach gave us a lot of confidence before the game. He said just come in and don’t worry about making mistakes.”

On Monday, he played for 17 minutes and blocked 4 shots with 2 steals. When he was in the game, Duke outscored Furman by 20 points. One of his biggest highlights was a chase-down block in the second half, that sent the Cameron Crazies into a frenzy.

It’s not unreasonable to expect DeLaurier’s minutes will continue and he’ll be part of the Blue Devils’ primary rotation. He adds to Duke’s already tall team.

After playing in only 12 games last season, he’s proven he can handle the pressure of big games. This week, Duke plays in the Phil Knight Invitational (PK 80), where it will likely face some of the top teams in the country. The Blue Devils (5-0) face Portland State (4-0) on Thursday at 4:30 p.m., and with a win play either Butler or Texas on Friday.

The championship game will feature either Ohio State, Florida, Stanford or Gonzaga.

Duke will need DeLaurier for those games.

“I love when a kid at some time in his career has DNPs (did not plays) and stays with it, and they become better,” Krzyzewski said of DeLaurier. “This kid has done that, and he won’t have any DNPs anymore.

“He is a really important part of our team.”

This story was originally published November 22, 2017 at 3:10 PM with the headline "Duke’s Javin DeLaurier had 25 DNP’s last season. Krzyzewski says he won’t have any more.."