Prior to last night's game against ACC-foe Virginia, sharp-shooting Duke freshman J.J. Redick said that he would have likely remained in his home state to play college basketball for the Cavaliers if he had not grown up a Blue Devil fan.
The possibility that Redick, who has lived up to his reputation as one of the best pure shooters to come out of high school in recent memory, might have donned the Virginia uniform was especially difficult for Cavalier head coach Pete Gillen to stomach after his 34-point performance in Duke's 104-93 victory Wednesday.
"We knew [Redick] was a great player," Gillen said. "We tried to recruit him but we couldn't get him. He certainly had a great game tonight. We knew he would play well, but we were hoping he wouldn't get thirty-something or whatever he got."
Redick was simply sensational against the Cavaliers, scoring 21 first-half points on his way to 9-of-13 shooting from the field, including 5-of-6 from behind the arc, and a perfect 11-of-11 from the free-throw line.
"There's a look that he has when I know he really wants the ball," Duke captain Chris Duhon said. "I knew that anytime he was open we needed to get the ball to him. He
While Redick's numbers are remarkable on their own, the way in which he broke Johnny Dawkins' single-game scoring record for Duke freshmen in the team's most difficult contest this year was the most impressive.
In the first half Redick fought off constant screens to get himself open for his trademark three-point jump shot. The Cavaliers contested nearly every opportunity that he had, yet Redick still managed to go a perfect four-of-four from downtown, drawing by far the loudest cheers from the Cameron Crazies.
The second stanza began in much the same way, with Redick knocking down another bomb just 15 seconds after play resumed. However, Virginia managed to tighten up its defense on the Duke freshman, allowing him just one more three-point shot for the remainder of the game.
At that point, Redick could have continued to fire ill-advised shots from long range, but he instead disproved any skeptics' claims that he is a one-dimensional player.
The Roanoke, Va. native adjusted his game to the Cavalier defense by driving to the basket and getting himself to the free-throw line, where he misses about as often as the Crazy Towel Guy fails to show up for a game.
Such maturity is rare in a freshman, and Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski realizes the special combination of talent and basketball I.Q. of his first-year phenom.
"The thing about J.J. is he has the maturity of a senior," Krzyzewski said. "He's got his feet under him, he understands the game and he's such an easy kid to play with. He's not just a good freshman; he's one of the outstanding players in the conference."
Redick may have had some extra motivation to perform well against Virginia, as two of his former summer league teammates and best friends-Elton Brown and Jason Clark-play for the Wahoos. Although both Brown excelled, scoring 19 points, the night clearly belonged to Redick.
"I was excited about this game simply because it was an ACC game, but it made it a little bit more special that I was going against my home state and two of my best friends in the world," Redick said. "I was just feeling it tonight. In the first half, I felt like every time I touched the ball, if I got a look at it, it was going in. I knocked down a few in a row and when I got hot, that's when my confidence just skyrocketed."
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