Final Week

Earlier in the season, amidst the expected rash of wins, Duke's continued lack of a single go-to athletic scorer bothered me quite a bit. There was much talk among sports analysts that this is a Final Four caliber team.

I begged to differ. I didn't think that being as balanced as they were would allow them to penetrate past the Sweet 16.

There were two conditions that needed to be met as I saw it: Gerald Henderson had to realize and become confident in the superstar that he could be. And Elliot Williams needed to start playing significant minutes.

Well, finally, both have happened. Gerald started turning it on January, and Elliot worked his tail off to get ready for when his chance finally came. And he's been contributing in a serious way ever since he got the starting nod against St. John's.

Not only does Williams have the potential to be an even more explosive athlete than Henderson, he is displaying tenacity on the defensive end that used to be displayed by all Duke players. Duke has been playing smart defense, but not intense defense. And Williams, thankfully, brings that intensity to the floor.

That's not to say that Williams does not have his drawbacks. He makes lots of freshman mistakes, but he is just a tick away from creating his shots at will, like Gerald has finally realized he can do.

So the pieces that were missing are in place, and the wins have been coming. Quality wins against Wake Forest and Maryland have allowed the Duke faithful to breathe a little easier as the end of the season approaches. Of their four straight victories (including at St. John's and tonight's victory at Virginia Tech), the win against Maryland was probably the most encouraging - the entire game (in Maryland) was close, and Duke found a way to win. The Wake Forest game was good in the end, but it, as well as the Virginia Tech game tonight, followed a nauseating pattern that has plagued Duke since their loss at home to North Carolina: get up big on turnovers and shot creation early, then squander that lead as the opposition makes adjustments to the pressure and begins to play smarter defense. In the most recent cases, Duke has held on to victory, but what is disturbing is Duke's reluctance to make adjustments to exploit new weaknesses and maintain their lead. Duke even benefited from a couple of seriously questionable calls in the final minute and and a half of tonight's game - and that's something we really don't want going into the final week of play.

All that being said, the pieces are in place, and Duke has won four in a row and remain a single game behind North Carolina in the ACC standings. Wins against Florida State and UNC in Chapel Hill will be difficult, but Duke has an intensity now that could push them over the top. We just need to see that intensity turn to strategic dissection of their opponents in the latter part of the contests. And, as a believer, I believe that we will.

Go Duke!