Redick, Williams shoot for title

Sean Dockery and Lee Melchionni will talk about just about anything.

Ask Dockery about his transition from growing up in the South Side of Chicago to attending Duke and he'll discuss it. Ask Melchionni about his impersonations of his teammates and he'll break into his routine.

But there is one subject the team captains will not touch.

Which of the Blue Devils' two preseason All-Americans is the favorite for National Player of the Year, Shelden Williams or J.J. Redick?

"Shelden and J.J., both of those guys deserve it," Dockery said of the team's other two captains. "If they read this or something, they'll probably beat me up if I pick one of them."

Melchionni would not touch the subject, either.

"I love both of those guys," he echoed. "I say we'll go with co-National Players of the Year.... I don't want to upset anybody in the locker room."

Dockery and Melchionni can be excused for their inability to choose; they are talking about their three-year teammates and fellow captains. But even the national media could not reach a consensus-some publications picked Redick for preseason National Player of the Year, while others selected Williams.

"We have two of the best players in the country," Krzyzewski said. "[The other players] are going to get some open looks.... For our team, we have to teach kids how to complement those two kids."

The head coach added that NBA scouts projected both Redick and Williams as potential first-round draft picks after their junior seasons, but that Redick never seriously considered leaving. Williams did consider skipping his senior year, but he ultimately decided to stay in school.

Redick said the power forward called him to let him know of his decision even before he called Krzyzewski.

"He called me, and I was like 'I hope this is good news,'" Redick said. "And right away he was like, 'Hey J, I'm coming back' and immediately I got chills. I was like, 'Alright man, let's do this thing, and we're going to win the National Championship next year.'

"He was like, 'Alright man, well listen, I've got to call the coaches. I've got to let them know I'm coming back, too."

It was fitting that Duke's National Championship dreams would take root in a phone call between Redick and Williams, a call that delivered what Melchionni called "the final piece of the puzzle." In addition to their national acclaim, Redick and Williams make up the team's emotional center, along with Melchionni and Dockery.

Redick, a second-year captain, has embraced his role as a team leader and mentor to the Blue Devils' five scholarship freshmen, and teammates said Williams is also an effective leader. Dockery said the two set an example for both old and young teammates with their intensity on the court.

"You look at stuff they do and you can learn from it, and then maybe one day you'll be great," Dockery said. "When they're playing against each other, they hate each other, I'll tell you that, because both of them want to win so much."

Redick and Williams stressed that the season's focus would not be on their personal honors, and instead would be on the team's National Championship hopes. But the records, milestones and honors the two are chasing are significant.

Redick is 751 points shy of Dawkins' scoring record. Should the Blue Devils advance to the Final Four, Redick would need to average about 20 points per game to pass the 20-year old mark. He is also just 24 three-point baskets behind Trajan Langdon for the all-time Duke record in that category.

Williams ranks eighth on Duke's all-time rebounding charts, 364 boards behind Mike Gminski. With another season of averaging double-digit rebounds, Williams could surpass Gminski's mark. He is 60 blocked shots and 25 double-doubles short of Gminski's other records.

"Those two seniors, just individually, they have a chance to do crazy things," Krzyzewski said. "J.J. could end up being the all-time three-point shooter in college basketball, or free throws, or the all-time scorer here at Duke.... And Shelden, as far as Duke records, with rebounds and blocked shots. So that's kind of nice to see because they've been such good team guys.

"Not that that's their goals, they'd never talk about that at all."

It may be sophomore guard DeMarcus Nelson who truly nailed down how Redick and Williams feel about their potential for national honors.

When asked who he thought should be named National Player of the Year, the team's only active sophomore replied, "Duke is team of the year."

If Redick and Williams get their way, that will be the only answer that matters.