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Williams takes the lead at Duke

The sophomore point guard has become arguably the best player on the nation's best team.

By BRIAN LANDMAN

© St. Petersburg Times, published March 30, 2001

PHILADELPHIA -- From the moment point guard Jason Williams arrived in Durham, folks at Duke saw a player who might prove to be the storied program's brightest star.

"I remember the first time Jason came on his recruiting trip and we played pickup ball," senior All-America forward Shane Battier said with a broadening smile. "He did some things and I was like, "Wow. This kid's going to be good someday.' "

But no one, including Battier, dared to imagine that someday would come so soon.

Like now.

Although Battier likely will be the national player of the year, it's Williams, a 6-foot-2, 196-pound sophomore All-American with dizzying quickness, dazzling court awareness and bedeviling range, who has emerged as arguably the top player on the nation's top team and Final Four favorite.

"I think I have the ability to make things happen," said Williams, 19. "It's a role I've wanted to take on at Duke. It's a pressure I like to take on my shoulders."

Forget a set offense. Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski prefers to let Williams force a frenetic pace, and Williams and the rest of the Blue Devils have thrived with that style.

"I think he's their main option," said Maryland point guard Steve Blake, who will draw the defensive assignment on Williams for a fourth time this season. "He's a great player and a great scorer."

Williams leads Duke in scoring (21.7 points), assists (6.2) and three-point percentage (.446) and is second in steals (2.0).

In the NCAA Tournament, he's been even better.

Williams is averaging 28.8 points on 50.6 percent shooting, 43.5 percent from beyond the arc. He's even hitting his free throws again. After going 1-of-15 from the line down the stretch of the regular season and during the ACC tournament, he has made 15 of his last 19. That's to go with 5.8 assists and 2.2 steals. He was a slam-dunk choice as the East Region's most outstanding player.

"There's times I'm like a fan," said Duke freshman guard Chris Duhon, who took a couple of feeds from a driving Williams and hit critical three-pointers in the region finale against Southern California. "I'm just amazed at what this guy can do."

So too are the Terrapins. With less than a minute left in regulation on Jan. 27 and their team comfortably ahead 80-70, the Maryland fans were contemplating a mad dash onto the court.

Williams then made things happen.

He stunningly scored eight straight points in a 14-second span to help force overtime. He finished with a team-high 25 as the Blue Devils went on to win 98-96 at Cole Field House.

"You have to make him take tough shots and hope he misses them," Blake said.

That doesn't happen often and if it does, he remains unflappable. That kind of confidence is well founded. He won the Morgan Wootten Award as the nation's top prep player and, when William Avery left early for the NBA draft, he stepped into a starting job. Williams was named a freshman All-American by Basketball Times.

"Last year, I thought he was the best freshman in the country because he had the most pressure on him and he was playing point guard for a team that ended up No. 1 in the regular season," Krzyzewski said.

"At times in games, he would have a bad half or certain periods of the game, we couldn't sub for him; we didn't have anybody, and all of a sudden he'd just play through it and then he'd be magnificent. He's done that this year, too, where he's come up with some truly remarkable times in a ballgame after not playing very well. His ability to get onto the next thing at a high level is great."

In the Sweet 16 matchup against UCLA, Williams and Duke were uncharacteristically struggling with their touch. Undaunted, Williams kept shooting and scored 19 straight points on his way to matching a career-high 34.

"Stuff may be going your way or it may not, but it's your ability to stick with it and keep fighting through it that makes you the player you are," said Williams, who is adamant about returning for his junior season. (He said he can improve defensively, become more of a vocal leader and continue to learn from Krzyzewski.)

"Besides all the physical talent he has, and he has a ton, I just like the fearlessness he plays with," former All-America Duke point guard Bobby Hurley said recently. "I've watched a number of games this year where they've been in a tight spot and he doesn't hesitate to take big shots, and he wants to take big shots. That's what separates a good player from a great player, a guy who's willing to take those shots."

Williams often makes those shots.

"I knew that Jason had the potential to be a tremendous basketball player," Krzyzewski said. "He's an outstanding player right now, but he's going to get better because he loves the game and he loves to learn more about the game. He's going to keep growing."

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