It's tough to overlook a player when he's leading the ACC in rebounding and is third in scoring.
It's difficult not to notice the ACC's most prolific shot-blocker in more than a decade, especially when he's only 6-foot-9.
It's hard to ignore a senior that passed up NBA riches for a chance to make one final run at a National Championship.
But playing alongside J.J. Redick, the face of college basketball this season, that is the reality for Shelden Williams.
The media has scrutinized Redick's every shot, chronicled his numerous record pursuits and tracked his race with Gonzaga's Adam Morrison for the national scoring title and Player of the Year.
Through it all, Williams has existed in Redick's shadow, putting up All-American numbers and doing whatever it takes for Duke to win, all without the constant fanfare his teammate has garnered.
"He's handled it like a man, and he's been very mature about it," Redick said. "We talked the other day, and he looked at me and said, 'Man, I just want one of those up there,' and glanced up at the rafters at the championship banners. I think that we're in the same boat in that regard. Neither one of us are that worried about who gets what kind of attention. Both of us are here for the same thing."
Soft-spoken by nature, Williams said the lack of attention has never concerned him. And his roommate, fellow senior Lee Melchionni, added that Williams' personality is better suited for a supporting role out of the limelight anyhow.
"During my time here, I've never really been in the spotlight as much as J.J. has been," Williams said. "It's never been a problem for me with doing whatever my team needs me to do to win a ball game."
His play on the court has proven that his presence is just as important as Redick's to the success of the Blue Devils.
It is no suprise that Duke's first loss of the season coincided with Williams' worst performance. Against Georgetown Jan. 21, Williams scored just four points and was, for the most part, a non-factor on the offensive end.
Yet against Georgia Tech Feb. 22 when Redick was struggling to a 5-for-21 shooting night, Williams carried the Blue Devils to a victory. He scored the team's first 11 points of the second half to tie the game and shot 11-for-17 from the field on his way to 26 points.
"He is the best inside player in the country," Maryland head coach Gary Williams said. "Generally, nobody stops him."
But despite Williams' offensive repertoire-which he has expanded this season to include an improved 15-foot jumper and more finesse around the basket-it's the defense that elevates him to All-American status.
Still, a player's offensive impact can be easily measured, although his defensive contributions are more difficult to quantify. The media doesn't glamorize blocks and steals the way it does dunks and threes.
"A lot of people can't really relate to playing defense but everybody can relate to shooting a basketball," Williams said. "Of course, it's going to be more glorified for a shooter to be well known and recognized than a defensive player. That's just how it goes."
Head coach Mike Krzyzewski said he has not seen a player that possesses Williams' shot-blocking ability in his 26 years of coaching in the ACC. And Krzyzewski has repeatedly said Williams is just as important to Duke's defense as Redick is to the offense.
Williams is leading the Blue Devils in steals and has increased his block averages from a year ago. For his efforts, the senior collected the ACC Defensive Player of the Year award for the second consecutive year, and he could repeat as National Defensive Player of the Year.
"He's a beautiful shot-blocker," Krzyzewski said. "He's one of the best ever to play in college basketball, and he's not this 7-foot center or not this leaping athlete. He has this tremendous sense of timing and he can block with both hands. And he personifies verticality, your space."
Rather than stealing the headlines when he broke Duke's career blocks record, however, Williams' accomplishment was a mere footnote. His chase of Mike Gminski's rebounding mark has been a secondary story line with Williams currently 52 boards away from the record.
Instead, head coach Mike Krzyzewski said his star forward has recently received publicity for all the wrong reason-for his propensity to block shots without being called for what some in the media have perceived to be blatant fouls.
"The only thing in the last month that's been celebrated about Shelden is him committing fouls," Krzyzewski said.
Williams' 17-point, 16-rebound performance against Florida State Feb. 4 was overshadowed by a controversial double technical involving Williams and the Seminoles' Alexander Johnson. Although the ACC later suspended the officiating crew for assessing Johnson with an unwarranted technical, the game set off a firestorm of criticism after Duke attempted 32 more free throws than Florida State did in the overtime win at Cameron.
For the past month a debate has raged over possible preferential treatment from referees, and Krzyzewski said Williams has become the poster child for the movement.
"It's unfortunate that it happened for us," Williams said. "To be displayed in that manner has been kind of hurtful for our basketball team, but it's something that we have to fight through."
For Williams, whether he's drawing the media's eye for fouls or playing a secondary role to Redick, his focus on the team's ultimate goal has been unwavering and he knows that winning a National Championship will bring plenty of press to vault him into his NBA career.
"It's the tendency when you have two stars on the team, but I don't think anybody's gotten upset," Melchionni said of Williams being overshadowed. "J.J. certainly deserves every accolade he gets, and Shelden deserves every accolade he gets. I think that's the type of team dynamic you need to have to win."
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