Well, last night's game had everything you could want. You have to take your hat off to the Tar Heels. They were clearly undermatched and could easily have folded when Duke took a 17 point lead in the second half, but they fought back hard and took a 5 point lead with about 4 minutes to go. Then it was Duke's turn to make a comeback and, naturally, JJ Redick put the team on this back. He hit two tough three pointers with a man in his face and all of his free throws to finish with a now-routine 35 points on over 50% shooting.
Anyone still not convinced that we are watching one of the great careers of the last 20 years in college basketball is kidding themselves. This guy is going to finish his career as the #1 scorer not just in Duke history but in ACC history, and when you think about the players who have come out of the ACC (Tim Duncan, Ralph Sampson, Grant Hill, Christian Laettner, James Worthy, Sam Perkins, Michael Jordan, Vince Carter, Len Bias - I could go on for about 50 more names), that's pretty astonishing. In the next couple of games, he's going to pass Curtis Staples to become the all-time leading 3 point shooter in NCAA history. And last night he proved once again why he is likely to become one of the few players to win two consecutive national player of the year awards.
Update: Pat Forde has a great column about the game at ESPN.com.
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Agreed, Reddick is unbelievable. It's worth watching that team just to see him, he's unreal. That last 3 he hit to ice the game, if his defender were any closer to him they'd be sharing underwear and he still drained it.
Reddick's amazing, but even Jordan needed the guys around him to play well for the Bulls to win. The same is true with Duke, and the key supporting player to me appears to be Shelden Williams. When he struggles, even if Reddick is playing huge the team seems to find itself down. Having to honor the threat of a big man in the middle opens up a lot of possibilities for the guards, even if the threat is a small one. And the lack of rebounding really hurt Duke during the big UNC run.
If I were to play Duke in the tournament, I'd be real tempted to focus on shutting out Williams and acknowledging that JJ's going to get his points no matter what.
Jeff-
I agree with you. Shelden has been very inconsistent this year. At times, he's looked like an all-american. He put up a triple double in one game and very nearly in another. At other times, he's really been dominated and last night he was outplayed by a freshman (a damn good freshman, but still). McRoberts had a good game and that certainly helped. The frustrating thing about this Duke team, as a fan, is that they don't seem to be able to hold on to a lead. Two of the last three games they've had nearly 20 point leads in the second half and then had to pull out a narrow win at the end of the game.
Reddick really is amazing. He's going to have a great career in the NBA. Last night's game was very exciting. I'm glad I was able to catch it.
The next game [for me] to look forward to is this Saturday's game of Duke v Maryland. If this had happened a month ago I would say Maryland had a chance. But since they had to suspend they star player for being a moron, I think they'll get beaten pretty badly.
Reddick is a great player. He hits big shots when it matters. I'm going to disagree a bit with Chris B though: Reddick will only be an average pro. Duke runs plays, usually involving multiple screens and picks, specifically for Reddick. NBA teams will not do this. Also, Reddick is a very average shooter when forced to his left or forced to put the ball on the floor for more than one or two dribbles. Reddick will be on the small size of the shooting guard size distribution and he doesn't have the talent or game to play the point guard. He will be a solid pro who can come off the bench and keep the defense honest with his shooting. The good news for Reddick is that the upcoming NBA draft will be short on talent so he has a good chance of being a late lottery pick.
I think how Redick (one 'd' only) does in the NBA really depends on who drafts him. The system will determine how productive he is. The closest comparison to him in the NBA right now is Rip Hamilton and the Pistons use him perfectly by using multiple screens for him to curl off from. Reggie Miller was a similar player, though a bit taller. The best case scenario is that he turns out to be that kind of player. The middle case scenario is that he ends up being a Jeff Hornacek kind of player, a solid starter in a good system type of team who benefits from playing with guys who command a lot more attention. The worst case scenario is that he ends up a Steve Kerr kind of guy, not a full time starter but a guy who hits big shots when the defense is drawn to others.
The biggest thing he has going for him is his work ethic. You look at how he has improved every year in college, returning every season with 2 or 3 new elements to his game that he didn't have before, and you know how hard he has worked to make himself more difficult to guard. I see no reason why that won't continue. He seems to be very driven and in a league where everyone is talented, that's what separates the players.
Ed said:
Ooops, sorry JJ. He plays such good defense he really deserves two 'd's in his name ::blush::