NCAA Final Four Preview: Duke Blue Devils
The Duke Blue Devils are led by their two All-American Frshmen, J.J. Reddick and Sheldom Williams. J.J. Redick is an interesting player. He is hated everywhere he goes and seems to draw attention to himsefl. He is arrogant and confident in his playing style and talks trash to his opponent. However he is one of if not the best jump shooter in the league. He has an eagerness to shoot the ball anywhere on the court including deep three point terroritory, the size of the NBA line and farther. Reddick is a pure jump shooter and shoots close to 50% from the field and his 3 Point fielg goal percentage is also very high and he leads the league in 3 Point Field Goals made. He recently shattered a Duke school record for 3 pointers made. This year as a senoir Reddick has incorporated a drive and dish aspect to his game where he drives to the hole after giving his defender a ball fake. His passing has gotten much better and when he is double teamed he is able to find the open man for a layup. His full arsenal of moves have made him the second leading scorer in the nation, right behind Adam Morrison of Gonzaga who is leading Reddick in scoring by last than 1 full point per game. When the game is on the line Reddick has shown a readiness to take and hit the big shot in clutch time. However in his last couple of games he has shown fatigue fro ma long season and his numbers have started to decline as the season is coming to a close.
The second leading player is Sheldon Williams who plays center for them. Williams is a dominatin defensive players. He is averaging close to 10 blocks per game and has more than 10 rebounds per game. He is a force to be reckoned with inside the paint and he is a defensive stopper. He has come close to having over 10 blocks in some games. He also provides senior leadership on this team and does the little things that matter to help his team win.
Duke is led by of course Coach K who is one of the best coaches in college basketball. He has been with Duke for around a decade and he is an excellent coach in drawing up plays, getting the most out of every player. He also helps his players improve their offensive game as every year Duke is near the top of the league in scoring with between 80-90 points per game.
Their third leading scorer is Forward Josh Roberts who is a rookie and he is quietly becoming a very good player. Roberts could’ve gone to the NBA straight through high school but he decided to play for Duke instead. Roberts is 6’10 and he is averaging about 8 points per game with about 5 rebounds a game. Coach K is very pleased at Robert’s progress as he seems to get better every game. He too is a vital part of this team and much of Duke’s success will depend on how good he becomes.
At the other guard position is Sean Dockery. Dockery plays great defense and he takes very high percentage shots. He averages about 8 points per game. In some games he does get into foul trouble becomes of his tenacious defense. In high school he was an All American and he is an important part of this starting lineup. Dockery is also a senior and provides great leadership on this team.
Finally there is Lee Melchioni who is a fan favorite. He hustles and dives to get the ball. He grabs rebounds and does the little things that every role player should do to make his team better. In the stats column he may not put up outstandings numbers but he is there on the court when the game is on the line.
Will Duke make it to the Final 4? I really don’t think that they will. The tournament is all about momentum and Duke really does not have that. They lost back to back games including at Florida State and Reddick has shown signs of fatigue. They have one of the best caoches in the league but there bench is very thin and at times they rely too much of Reddick’s scoring. This team will go deep into the tournament, posibly Elite 8 but they will fall jut short of it.
