For the last year and a half, Shane Battier has steadily seen his reputation grow as one of the premier players in college basketball, when falling down or on his back.
With his team's chances for the No. 1 ranking in the country on the line last night against Maryland, Battier showed his game while standing upright isn't half bad either.
Battier drilled 10-of-13 from the floor last night, including all four from behind the three-point line, scoring a career-high 27 points to lead the Blue Devils to a surprisingly easy win against a Terrapins team eager to avenge the 18-point loss Duke had handed them exactly a month ago.
"I was definitely surprised," said Maryland guard Laron Profit of Battier's performance. "I didn't really expect him to step up and play that well. You have to give Duke credit-that's what the No. 1 team in the country's supposed to do. Their two main guys weren't going; somebody else stepped up. First half, it was Chris Carrawell and Battier, and second half, Shane Battier just picked it up once again."
While he has received much praise and fanfare for his work on the defensive end, Battier's offensive game has been just a rumor for much of his brief collegiate career.
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Although his offensive potential had never been questioned, he has flashed that potential so seldomly in his career that one almost had to wonder whether the phenom had lost his offensive game somewhere between Detroit and Durham.
Apparently, Battier relocated that offense last night, and were his teammates ever so grateful.
With his team up 21-16 midway through the first half, Battier found Trajan Langdon for an 18-footer, Langdon's first points of the night after missing his first three shots.
On the ensuing possession, Maryland's Obinna Ekezie picked up his dribble on the left wing and attempted to send it back out to the perimeter. A streaking Battier picked off the pass and raced coast-to-coast for a crowd-pleasing slam and foul.
Although the Terps answered quickly on an alley-oop from Steve Francis to Profit, Battier canned a running 18-footer on the ensuing possession. Will Avery promptly picked off Maryland's outlet pass and found Battier for his first three-pointer of the night to give Duke a 32-18 lead.
In 53 seconds, Battier had accounted for 11 consecutive points and stretched Duke's lead from five to 14.
"I watched a special on Shaolin monks last night on the Discovery Channel; I was pretty bored," Battier said. "They were talking about having the 'chi,' and having an absolute calmness in mind. I took that to heart."
Five minutes into the second half, Battier harnessed his 'chi' once again and put on a five-minute clinic. With his team holding a 17-point lead, Battier beautifully fed Nate James for an easy lay-in. Twenty-six seconds later, Battier splashed another three-pointer on a pass from Langdon.
On Duke's next possession, he received another pass on the perimeter, pump-faked his man in the air and moved in for a 14-footer to push Duke's lead to 24. In the next two minutes, Battier drained two more three-pointers, driving the final nail into the Maryland coffin and effectively dropping the curtains on the ACC regular-season race with a month left.
"Battier was out of his mind," coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "You just have to keep letting him shoot, and he kept hitting and driving. For about five minutes there, I don't think anybody can play better than that. I hate to say it at Duke, but he was in a zone. It's amazing what he did."
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