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Shelden Williams

exodus

By exodus
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exodus Newbie

exodus

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I was watching them lose to G-town yesterday. Individually they have a lot of less than average defenders, which will probably prevent them from winning a title. But their team D is good because of Williams.

On pick and rolls he ALWAYS shows aggressively when his man sets the pick, as opposed to the Hawks who never do (coaching issue). He is quick enough to bother the guards and then get back to his man. He always helps when someone else gets beat and he was actually pressing his man several feet behind the 3pt line when he was matched up with a forward.

Here is an article about him becoming the all time block leader at Duke:

Williams passes Gminski with 348 blocks, a Duke record

Luciana Chavez, Staff Writer

After Duke beat N.C. State on Wednesday, Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski sidled up to forward Shelden Williams in the locker room to tell him he had a new name for Williams.

"We're going to start calling you Williamski," he said.

Krzyzewski, proud of his Polish heritage, was giving respect to the man Williams had just passed to become Duke's career blocked shots leader -- All-America Mike Gminski, another proud Pole.

Williams, who will lead the Devils against Georgetown at the MCI Center today at 1:30 p.m., blocked four shots against N.C. State for a total of 63 this season and 348 for his career. Gminski had 345 from 1976-80.

"Tell him I'm heartbroken, shattered, and that I'm never going to get over it," quipped Gminski, now a college basketball analyst for Fox Sports Net South.

"No, 26 years was long enough."

Gminski recognized early on that Williams, out of Forest Park, Okla., had the body and natural instincts to be a great shot-blocker. The fact that Williams can block with either hand made the 6-foot-9 senior even more dangerous, Gminski said.

But Williams' defensive game has evolved in his four years at Duke.

He is avoiding foul trouble, which hindered him most famously against Connecticut in the 2004 Final Four. Williams has only been in real foul trouble twice, in wins at Indiana on Nov. 30 and against N.C. State on Wednesday.

He is carrying more responsibility as a team captain and is also being asked to venture out of the middle to help harass guards on the perimeter.

"I think he's doing a better job this year than any year because he is doing a lot more," Duke senior Sean Dockery said.

Duke's defense relies on Devils helping teammates and then recovering to defend their own man. On Wednesday, Williams had to jump out on State's guards in the backcourt and helped double-up on guards who were trying to post up Duke's guards inside.

Williams said he is "more active" this season and better understands his role in the system.

"It's part of my maturing process," he said.

But with more responsibility has come more exposure as Williams has been left alone inside, and there have been times when rival big men have abused Williams, the 2005 National Defensive Player of the Year.

Cedric Simmons scored 28 inside against a Duke defense that decided it would not be beaten by State's 3-point shooting.

With Duke taking a similar approach at Indiana, Hoosier Marco Killingsworth scored 34 on repeated one-on-one matchups with Williams. And Virginia Tech's Coleman Collins scored 25 inside in Duke's last-second victory over the Hokies.

That's the trade-off Duke and Williams have to make, and Williams, as a captain, has not shied away from pointing out when Duke's guards have allowed too much dribble penetration.

Gminski said Williams' greatest progress has come in communicating with his teammates. And NBA scout Keith Drum said all of the things Williams is doing now will also count in June at the NBA Draft.

"He's one of the few in college basketball that is physically ready to play in the NBA because of his strength and physical maturity," Drum said. "I also think he has more offense than people who just see the games realize."

Don't discount the way Williams attacks his job. Williams is dead serious on the court. But he had some fun on Wednesday after hearing that teammate Lee Melchionni had said Williams has eagerly counted his Duke blocks since day one.

Not true. Williams said he had to stop counting. Why? What he counted and what was in the box score never matched.

Then he cracked a smile.

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ggp Newbie

ggp

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Exodus,

I just finished a post about drafting a Center. I like Williams (even if he is from Duke). The guy plays D with strength and smarts. Having him and Smoove block the paint would force offenses to have to shoot over our 6-8 players.

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KB21 Grand Master

KB21

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At this point, Shelden appears to be very good with his help defense, but he's average as a man on man defender. Marco Killingsworth ate his lunch one on one, and then Maryland's big man had a career game against him.

Of course, Marco is on my list of underrated prospects, so it doesn't surprise me that he ate Shelden's lunch.

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exodus Newbie

exodus

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Do you even watch any games?

I guess your ignorance shouldn't be a surprise. Look at Dukes roster. It is filled with guys who are poor 1 on 1 defenders. Shelden's job is to help when one of those guys gets beat, which leaves his man open. Just because his man scores after he leaves doesn't mean they ate his lunch.

When he is guarding guys one on one they hardly ever get to the basket for layups. They have to take contested shots from 5+ feet out. Sometimes they will get hot and make them but the idea of playing defense is to force the player to take tough shots, which Williams does.

Next time you watch Williams play watch how many layups guys score on him.

The way to beat Duke is to break down one of the other players and when Shelden comes to help just pass off to someone else.

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KB21 Grand Master

KB21

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Oh, I watched the Indiana/Duke game from start to finish. Marco Killingsworth didn't score 34 points because Shelden was too buys rotating to defend the other players. Marco scored on Shelden straight up in the post. Indiana feeds him the ball in the post because he's the best low post scorer in college basketball.

I also remember Lawrence Roberts getting Shelden to 5 fouls when Mississippi State played Duke in the NCAA tournament last year. Lawrence had 17 points and 11 rebounds against Shelden in that game. Of course, the officials would never call the 6th foul on Shelden.

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Duff_Man Newbie

Duff_Man

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Quote:

Whichever way it is, Shelden Williams was one foul away from fouling out in that game, and the refs let him get away with murder after collecting that last foul.

I do agree with this statement. They refused to foul him out in the case of OT.

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Lascar78 Newbie

Lascar78

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I don't think Rondo is overhyped, I think people know exactly what they have in him. Extreme speed, incredible hops, great defense, great rebounding, good passing, poor shooting. I think most here want him because of how well he seems to fit our team, not because they think he is a true great college PG. He would do wonders to make us a fastbreak team and help seal our perimeter D.

You're right about Gay though. I suppose Gay and Williams are tied

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exodus Newbie

exodus

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So how come Rondo doesn't take it to the basket? All he does is swing it around the perimeter.

What did he have last game, 9 pts and 3 assists?

I have watched 3 Kentucky games and haven't seen him drive successfully one time.

However I have seen him get routinely pushed around trying to guard the opposing pgs of unranked teams.

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AHF Grand Master

AHF

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Quote:

So how come Rondo doesn't take it to the basket? All he does is swing it around the perimeter.

Two reasons: (1) his outside shot is bad enough that defenders sag off of him which makes it harder to drive; (2) UK's offense has been so bad this year and has had so little movement that teams just collapse on him when he drives and he has been told not to force it.

Quote:

I have watched 3 Kentucky games and haven't seen him drive successfully one time.

lol You haven't watched much UK basketball if you haven't seen him drive successfully one time.

Quote:

However I have seen him get routinely pushed around trying to guard the opposing pgs of unranked teams.

Oh, never mind you must have seen a lot of his games. Or maybe not.

Rondo has actually underacheived defensively this year in part because he doesn't have the defensive support he had last year with Chuck Hayes and Kelenna Azubuike. He hasn't been able to pick as many passes off in the lanes, although he still has a great touch stealing the ball. Despite what I would consider overrated D from him this season, he has not gotten routinely pushed around by any stretch of the imagination.

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exodus Newbie

exodus

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Like i said I have only watched 3 Kentucky games, not all of them. But from what I have seen i wouldn't regard him as a top 10 pick or the best pg in college ball.

Maybe he just played like crap when I watched, but I just don't see him as anything special.

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AHF Grand Master

AHF

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Like i said I have only watched 3 Kentucky games, not all of them. But from what I have seen i wouldn't regard him as a top 10 pick or the best pg in college ball.

Maybe he just played like crap when I watched, but I just don't see him as anything special.

Given that every analyst views him as a top PG and a probable top 10 pick, take it from me that you haven't seen very much of him.

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