"An unbelievable talent... one of those Grant Hill type of guys... has a chance to be a special defensive player... one of those people you might see on a Wheaties box someday."
Some pretty fair praise from coaches and teammates for a couple of players who had not played a minute of college basketball. Then again, players the caliber of William Avery and Shane Battier don't come along very often.
Then again, another player a few years back received similar praise during his four-year stay-Grant Hill. As soon as fans heard an athletic forward with tremendous all-around ability was coming to Duke, they stamped Battier with the 'Next Grant Hill' label.
"It makes me feel good as a player-person," Battier said of the comparison. "Grant Hill, first and foremost, is an outstanding person, regardless of what he does on the basketball court. Not to mention, behind Michael [Jordan], he's the best basketball player on the planet."
Not surprisingly, the fans are not alone in seeing similarities between Hill and Battier. Sophomore forward Nate James, for one, agrees.
"He's one of those Grant Hill-type of guys, a coach's dream," sophomore Nate James said. "He's one of those people you might see on a Wheaties box someday."
Battier might already measure up to Hill defensively, having established himself as Duke's defensive guru. One man, in particular, doesn't think the notion of Battier replicating Hill's feat of winning National Defensive Player of the Year someday is out of the question.
"Battier is beyond his years defensively," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "He has the chance to be a special defensive player."
The Michigan native gave fans a tempting glimpse of his defensive prowess and tenacity during the annual Blue-White scrimmage. After cutting his right eyelid and sitting
Such efforts epitomize the mental toughness and capability that distinguishes Battier from the other freshmen. He stands out as committed to the mental game, both on and off the court. Regardless of what particular role he is playing, Battier is eager to help out the team.
"If the team needs to guard a two-guard, I'll guard a two-guard," Battier said. "If the team needs me to defend a center, I'll defend a center. The strength of my game lies in my versatility, my ability to do many things. I'm silly-putty."
Avery, perhaps more than anyone else on the team, has been molded in silly-putty fashion. Gifted with lightning-quick reflexes and a knack for putting the ball in the basket from anywhere on the floor, Avery possesses the natural game of a shooting guard. However, somewhere along the way, Avery has been transformed into a point guard with tremendous scoring ability.
"[Avery] could shoot the ball, he could handle, very explosive, very quick, very sound player, he could do everything," guard Trajan Langdon said. "He'll be huge in helping the team out depth-wise. Obviously, the key thing with any freshman who steps in is maturity, the more games you play, the more practice hours you get in, the better you'll get. [Maturity] is the only thing he lacks now. He's a great talent."
In the annual Blue-White scrimmage and the two exhibition games against the Upstate All-Stars and Australia, Avery opened eyes with his knack to score off the dribble and drew heavy praise from incumbent point guard Steve Wojciechowski for his defensive tenacity.
"There's not a bigger fan of Will Avery than myself," Wojciechowski said. "He's going to be huge for this team. I'm not going to play against a better defender all year. I know that from experience."
Coming out of Oak Hill Academy in Virginia, Avery was the lowest-rated player and the last to commit among Duke's freshman quartet. Although he has neither Battier's charisma, nor Brand's strength, nor Burgess' size, Avery has drawn rave reviews for his aggressiveness and court vision.
Most observers agree that Avery could start for most of the top 25 teams in the nation, but supplanting Wojciechowski this year will not be an easy task. His play against Wojciechowski, however, will be instrumental in turning raw talent into production.
"I think I can learn a lot from [Wojciechowski] because he has been in the program for four years, and he's run the team all four years," Avery said. "He can teach me a lot about the offense, what the coaches expect out of me, and what they want me to do. He's going to be a big part of my success at Duke."
Avery may be cast into the role of the defensive stopper off the bench early in the season. A role Avery relishes, but still needs to adapt to-something both he and Krzyzewski realize.
"William has the natural ability to really pressure, he's just learning how to do that," Krzyzewski said. "In our individual work, he doesn't have the proper balance. He has not been in the stance for long periods of time, but he's a willing worker."
Perhaps no better phrase than "willing worker" can be used to describe both Avery and Battier. And if they are as talented as their teammates think they are, Duke fans may be witnessing the beginning of two very special careers.
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