Duke/North Carolina

As you probably know by now, Duke was able to beat North Carolina 87-83 tonight in Chapel Hill. Sadly, I didn't get to watch a lot of it because I was studying for two tests I have Wednesday, but I did catch the last 5 minutes, which were rather interesting.

This was thanks in large part to J.J Redick, who had 35 points, and firmly established himself as the leading candidate for Player of the Year. He shot 12-22, and hit a couple of big 3-pointers late in the game to propel Duke to the victory.

However, I also saw some of the things that continue to lead me to believe that he won't be all that great in the NBA. For example, late in the game, when UNC came up and put more pressure on, he struggled handling the ball. When the score was 84-81, Redick was being pressured heavily in the backcourt because they didn't want to foul him. He tried a crosscourt pass to Greg Paulas, but there was a miscommunication and Redick threw it away. Next possession, with the score 84-83, Redick got the ball just past half-court, and tried to dribble through a trap, but lost the ball. Forunately for him, Duke was able to get it and hit some free throws, but again, Redick struggled with the pressure.

Which is a main part of my Redick thoughts. He's a great shooter, but I don't know if he can handle the ball well enough and I don't know if he's quick enough to be able to consistently create his own shot in the NBA. I see him as more of a Steve Kerr type, not that there's anything wrong with that.

The other thing that struck me in this game was how good UNC's young guys are. Freshman Tyler Hansborough is averaging nearly 18 points a game and might be the best freshman in the country. Junior Reyshawn Taylor averages 14 a game and is a very solid player. True freshman Bobby Frasor made some key plays down the stretch. They're not there yet, but with the young guys improving, and Roy Williams as their head coach, UNC could once again be dangerous come March.

Other basketball thoughts:

- Kentucky is in trouble after a 75-67 loss to Tennessee tonight. Tennesssee is very good this year, but this is not a game that Kentucky usually loses. This puts them at 15-8 overall, and 2-3 in the SEC, even with Randolph Morris back. Their saving grace might be the fact that the SEC is not that good this year.

- Stick a fork in Detroit's chances for 70 wins after a 99-98 loss to the now 15-32 Atlanta Hawks. The loss puts them at 39-8, which means that they'd have to go 31-4 to reach 70 wins, which seems unlikely, even for them.