WRAL Sports Fan

Duke

Freshman Elliot Williams giving Duke veteran minutes

By Jake Lloyd

Mar 20, 2009

On one defensive possession in Thursday’s 86-62 win over Binghamton, Elliot Williams got down in his defensive stance and yelled, “Lock up!”

It wasn’t a surprising thing for a player to say, except for who was saying it — a freshman who was starting just his 10th career game.

But as the last month of the season has demonstrated, Williams doesn’t act like a freshman on the court. He plays with the confidence and assurance of an upperclassman who’s tasted great success.

“He’s not afraid to guard the top players or to take shots, make moves,” said assistance coach Nate James, who has worked one-on-one with Williams throughout the season.

After being inserted into the starting lineup Feb. 19 against St. John’s, Williams scored in double figures in four of five games and was Duke’s best perimeter defender.

But then came last weekend’s ACC Tournament, and the freshman hit a swoon. His minutes decreased dramatically in Duke’s semifinal and championship-game victories, and James said that was a result of Williams trying to do too much.

“He really pressed on the offensive end,” James said.

The Duke first-year assistant said that Williams let his double-digit scoring games get to his head, and he stopped simply playing off of Gerald Henderson, Jon Scheyer and Kyle Singler — which is what worked best for him in the first place.

And in the Blue Devils’ win over Maryland last weekend, Williams appeared indecisive when the Terrapins gave him a defensive look he had never seen: They left him alone on the perimeter.

“That was the first time in his career that he’s faced someone that he thought wasn’t giving him respect as a basketball player,” James said. “And when it happens, it knocks you back a little bit.”

After missing a pair of 3-pointers, Williams stopped shooting them and then he found himself on the bench. It was a lesson he learned from heading into the NCAA Tournament.

“That was the first time I’ve ever been played like that, so I kind of took it as a challenge (to) just shoot the ball,” Williams said. “But I learned that I can’t let that faze me, just keep playing basketball.

“I’ve been working on my shot a lot since the ACC Tournament, and I’ll be ready if another team plays me like that.”

Binghamton certainly didn’t play off of Williams with its constant pressure defense, but he got back to playing his game.

He helped guard the Bearcats’ bevy of speedy guards and made smart, quick plays when he got the ball in Duke's half-court offense.

“Elliot made a few really big-time decisions,” coach Mike Krzyzewski said after the game. “Good decisions in how he moved the ball, instead of taking the quick shot.

“It led to three buckets for us.”

Williams shot 5-for-9 for 11 points and added four rebounds and four assists in 25 solid minutes.

It was more the type of game he played down the stretch of the regular season, when Duke won five in a row after inserting him into the starting lineup and moving Jon Scheyer to point guard.

“Mainly, he’s just making a decision quickly (now),” Scheyer said. “Whether it’s a shot or a pass. He was just thrown off guard a little bit (at the ACC Tournament).

“He’s done a great job adjusting to it.”

Williams’ attitude has never been questioned by teammates or coaches. Despite coming to Duke as a McDonald’s All-American, he rarely played during the first three months of the season.

But those months are when he got a lot of work in with James, who helped him make the transition from being a high school star to a role player as a freshman at the next level.

In high school, Williams constantly had the ball in his hands and could use several dribbles to create offensive opportunities for himself. James taught Williams that he couldn’t do that at Duke.

“I tell him all the time, if you take more than three dribbles, the defense is going to lock in on you,” James said. “So if you watch him play now, he rarely takes more than those two, three dribbles and he doesn’t need to because he’s so explosive.”

Williams had most of the defensive skills prior to the season, and what James called “the best defensive stance out of anybody on the team.” But James had to teach him certain adjustments to make. For instance, he couldn’t jam an extremely quick player because he’d get burned.

The most difficult part of the learning process, however, was waiting to get his opportunity — and then, once it came, adjusting to not being a focal point of Duke’s offense. It was something, James said, that Williams took in stride.

“When those games came up and he didn’t come in, he didn’t get discouraged,” James said. “It just fueled him and made him work even harder the next day. I will always respect that about him.”

Now, Williams has rediscovered his role. He’s playing off of Duke’s best three players and helping to defend the opposing team’s best guards.

On Saturday against eighth-seeded Texas (23-11), Williams will almost definitely be one of the Blue Devils faced with the challenge of defending Longhorns sharpshooter A.J. Abrams.

It is a task that he embraces, excited for another opportunity to help the second-seeded Blue Devils win any way he can.

“I’m very pumped,” Williams said. “Because, you know, I’m a freshman in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

“I’ve just got to do whatever I can to energize these guys, (and) I’m just having fun out there.”