Going into the season, few people were foolish enough to question Jason Williams' or Chris Duhon's playing ability.
Some critics did wonder, however, if the two point guards would be able to work well together on the court.
The Blue Devils' talented play-makers put a lot of those questions to rest with their play Friday night in the team's 98-85 victory over Villanova.
"They are great ball players-both of them," forward Shane Battier said. "They are not idiots. They know how to mesh together and play off each other and make each other better."
Duhon, in particular, showed his versatility, by playing both shooting guard and point guard during the 28 minutes of action he saw.
Coming off of an eight-assist, zero-point performance in his Cameron debut against Princeton Tuesday, Duhon silenced his critics with torrid shooting Friday night.
For the game, Duhon lit up the Wildcats for 17 points by connecting on 6-of-8 shots from the field, including 4-of-6 three pointers.
On one of those threes, Duhon electrified the crowd with a 25-foot bank shot as time expired in the first half, extending Duke's lead from eight points to 11 going into intermission.
"Chris has been struggling with his shot in practice," coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "For him to call 'board courts' at the end of the half
Comfortable with his role as a shooter Friday, Duhon also had the opportunity to take over the point guard duties when Williams went out of the game on a few occasions in the second half.
"I have the same amount of confidence in myself at the two-guard or the point guard," Duhon said. "I know my team does as well."
Battier corroborated that statement.
"I feel a lot better this year when Jason goes out of the game as opposed to last year," Battier added. "When [Duhon] comes into the game, we don't go down a notch."
Williams was forced out of the game twice in the second half after taking a couple of hits from Villanova's big men on physical screens. On one of the picks, Williams was shaken up because he did not see it coming, and on the other he slightly twisted his ankle.
"They hit me a couple of times when I didn't expect it," Williams said. "For Chris to come in and do what he did-he has the ability to come in and keep the same kind of tempo in the game. When I'm not in there, it's his job [to take control of the team]."
Williams, for his part, showed a lot of emotion and grit by trying to play through the pain, particularly when he hurt his ankle. His determination seemed to fire up the crowd before Krzyzewski was able to get his starting point guard out of the game to make sure he was alright.
Both guards made plays that energized the crowd throughout the game. In the first half, for instance, Williams and Duhon had wide open fast-break opportunities that they finished off with emphatic dunks-not the sort of highlights you expect to see from a couple of point guards.
Later in the second half, on two out of three possessions, Williams found Duhon spotting up in the corner for a crowd-pleasing three-pointer. Combining for 30 points on 10-of-19 shooting, the two guards quelled any doubts about their ability to complement each other.
After the game, Krzyzewski seemed please with the performance of his two young play-makers.
"Their floor games were good and their defense was good," Krzyzewski said. "The two of them had 16 assists and five turnovers and they played against good guards."
Duhon made it clear that he expects to contribute to this team in his own unique way.
"I have a lot of confidence in what I do," Duhon said. "I know that my coach has a lot of confidence in what I do and my teammates do. I just go out and play with a lot of passion. I don't come out with the mentality that I don't want to make a mistake. I know a mistake is OK. I just go out and play hard and do the things that got me here."
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