This is the ninth in a series of Duke's All-Decade teams, as named by various Chronicle writers, past and present. At the end of the series, you will be able to vote for your own All-Decade team, and your votes will determine The Sports Blog’s final choice. Stay tuned over the next two weeks for more All-Decade choices.
Boasting seven National Defensive players of the Year during the Mike Krzyzewski era—three in the past decade alone—Duke’s calling card has long been its floor-slapping, charge-taking defense. It would be remiss to complete such a slate of all-decade teams without honoring those whose contributions often fly under the radar statistically but are largely responsible for the Blue Devils’ current ten-year run, earning the highest winning percentage in their history.
Here's the decade's All-Defensive Team:
Shane Battier, 1997-2001
Even though Battier effectively split his defensive heroics between the 90’s and the 00’s, earning his third consecutive NABC Defensive Player of the Year honor in 2001 gets him a spot on this team. Also, he recently was honored with a spot on both the ACC 50th Anniversary and SI.com all-decade teams. At 6-foot-8, he could guard just as well on the perimeter as in the paint, emphasized by the 285 rebounds, 88 blocks and 82 steals he recorded in his senior year alone.Chris Duhon, 2000-2004
While Duhon endured a bevy of harsh criticism throughout his career, he was undoubtedly Duke’s best pure perimeter defender of the early part of the decade. He averaged over two steals per game in three of his four seasons (only 1.9 in the fourth) and left as Duke's all-time steals leader with 300. Duhon was a freshman during the Blue Devils’ most recent national title run in 2000-2001, and led the team at the end of the regular season with five-steal performances in two games against Maryland and one versus North Carolina.
Dahntay Jones, 2001-2003While Jones' play on offense may have garnered more recogntion during his two seasons with the Blue Devils, ask Wake Forest's Josh Howard or UNC's Rashad McCants if they remember his defense. In 2003, Dahntay held Howard to 13 and 10 points in their head-to-head matchups, considerably below his 19.5 PPG average. McCants was similarly frustrated when he came to Cameron, held to just two points. Lately, after plenty of bouncing around in the NBA, Jones has begun to earn significant minutes as a shutdown defender.
Shelden Williams, 2002-2006 (Captain)
Williams is the captain of this squad, a title he deserves after netting back-to-back NABC Defensive Player of the Year accolades in 2005 and 2006. He is Duke’s career rebounding leader with 1,262, and also posted 422 blocks during his career (also a Blue Devil record). During his senior season, he broke the Duke single season blocks record, posting 137, or almost 4 per game, while leading the Blue Devils to the Sweet Sixteen.
DeMarcus Nelson, 2004-2008While Duke underwhelmed during the 2006-07 and 2007-08 seasons, one of the few bright spots was Nelson, a hustle defender who was called on to shut down each opponent's top scorer. He won ACC Defensive Player of the Year honors in his final season with the Blue Devils, a campaign highlighted by forcing eight turnovers from Stephen Curry and holding Wayne Ellington to 3-of-14 shooting in a top-5 Tobacco Road matchup at the Dean Dome.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.