A Pair of Classy Devils

It was no surprise that J.J. Redick scored 30 points in yesterday’s 92-71 victory over Miami and became Duke’s new all-time leader scorer. It was also no surprise how he did it–once again losing a defender off a screen by teammate Lee Melchioni and popping one of his patented treys just a few feet in front of assistant coach Johnny Dawkins whose record he broke.

But it may come as a surprise, given J.J.’s reputation for on-court intensity and bravado and the general culture of “in-your-face” celebrations in today’s sporting world, what occurred after the game was over. In a post-game interview at center court following a short ceremony honoring J.J.’s acccomplishment, Redick thanked assistant coach Dawkins who was the mainstay of the great 1985-86 team and is often credited for helping turn around an ailing Duke program and setting it on the path to 3 national titles over the next 15 years.

“Without him I probably wouldn’t be here,” Redick remarked, and went on to add that Johnny Dawkins is “still the greatest player in Duke history.” For his part, Dawkins handled with great aplomb the inevitable question of whether he would still be the points leader had the three point arc been around “back in the day.” Dawkins smiled and said that “nothing should detract from the accomplishments of this young man, who is the greatest shooter I’ve ever seen.”

And with those remarks, Duke Haters around the country once again pounded the floor and let loose a collective wail of grief. Faced with such excellence both on and off the court by a pair of classy Devils, they were as powerless as a trio of slackjawed defenders looking on in horrified fascination as J.J. dials up yet another long-distance trey.

4 Comments

  1. David U

    Gotta hand it to them…….they are class from top to bottom! And it’s EVERY year. Eat your heart out Bobby Knight.

    DU

  2. mike the eyeguy

    DU–

    The funny thing is, I’ve always liked the teacher (Knight) even though he certainly lost it at times at IU (he seems to have calmed a little at Texas Tech). I think I admired his honesty and “you get what you see” approach which in some ways is refreshing considering all the posturing and hypocrisy that goes on these days.

    Still the pupil (Coach K) will, I believe, have a more enduring legacy when all is said and done. He already has three titles like Knight and will most likely get some more before he retires. He has a lot of fire and passion too, but for the most part contains it fairly well (he has been known to peel the plaster off the locker room, but what coach hasn’t?). His personal generosity and charity work is legendary although he does little himself to call attention to it. He is, in short, the epitome of class and grace and a true winner in every sense of the word.

  4. mike the eyeguy

    Greg,
    Thanks for stopping by and for the links. I had to laugh–I bet the sportwriters in Durham have plenty to talk about without resorting to picking nits off of other teams!

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