NEW YORK - Jason Williams' eyes still looked like he belonged at a funeral instead of a basketball game, but his words couldn't have sounded any more different.
A night earlier, after struggling in his college debut, an 80-79 loss to Stanford, Williams had picked apart his performance worse than any coach could.
"I can't have these stupid little ups and downs like that," he had said Thursday. "I played like a little freshman.... I've got to wake up and smell the coffee.... All this bull saying we're young-it's true, but I know we can compete with anybody in the country."
But Friday night, after Duke fell to defending national champion Connecticut and Williams posted nearly identical statistics, his appraisal of the game had changed. No longer was he ripping his play. No longer were his words focused on himself.
And that couldn't sound any better to the Blue Devils.
Mike Krzyzewski, who knows a thing or two about coaching top point guards, has observed more than once that his on-court leader can't let his personal struggles affect how he runs the team. The Blue Devils can't afford the only true guard among their top nine players worrying about poor performances.
In his first two games, Williams did little to convince Duke fans not to fret over a freshman starting at point guard. He showed that no matter how strong and athletic and poised and mature the 18-year-old, bad decisions and missed shots will sometimes come.
But after the Stanford game, Williams reacted to his play like a freshman. And for the Blue Devils to succeed this year, he can't fall apart over the inevitable tough night.
"One thing Coach K told me [following Thursday's loss] was that there are a lot of games in a basketball season," Williams said, "and not to get caught up in one or two."
That's what Williams did after struggling against Stanford; 24 hours later, however, his concern had shifted from himself to the team.
"[Thursday] night I played horrible," he said, "but if we had pulled it out, I would've been a happy guy.
"It's not about personal goals."
Friday night, Williams went 3-for-15 from the floor before a pair of garbage-time three-pointers. He had the same number of turnovers as in his debut (six) and just one more assist (four to three).
But Williams-and Krzyzewski-were encouraged by the freshman's performance.
"I thought he made much better decisions [Friday]," Krzyzewski said. "We had more touches as a team.... I thought he had a really good game coming off a tough game for him [Thursday] night."
Williams missed his first five field goal attempts against the Huskies, then made two sloppy passes on consecutive possessions late in the first half. The first went for a turnover; the second was tipped out of bounds by the Huskies.
But Williams didn't crack. On the ensuing inbounds, he drained an NBA-range three-pointer to give Duke a four-point lead, its largest of the game.
The freshman continued to have the hot hand after halftime, nailing a trey and a long jumper on two straight possessions. Williams followed that up with two flashy passes to Shane Battier, though the junior couldn't convert either time. Overall, the guard's passes were more under control than they had been Thursday.
Even more impressively, Williams guarded Khalid El-Amin for much of the night and held the All-American to 2-of-9 shooting and four assists to three turnovers.
"That's a heck of a game to play El-Amin most of the game," Krzyzewski said.
Against the Huskies, Williams once again proved he can beat college defenders off the dribble. In his first two games, the freshman has consistently shown his ability to penetrate into the lane.
"I found out I could play with these guys I've seen on TV," he said. "I just need to go out and play basketball and not think too much."
Now Williams needs to do a better job once he gets in the paint. The rest of the Blue Devils also have to start converting once he gets them the ball inside.
Duke can only improve as Williams grows more comfortable playing with his teammates and they grow more comfortable playing with him. Krzyzewski has no doubt Williams will have many games to smile about in the future.
"There's a lot of pressure on that kid," the coach said, "but he's handled it well and he's going to continue to get better."
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