Duke's track meet in Chapel Hill Sunday probably made a statement to the NCAA tournament selection committee that the folks in Durham deserve a No. 1 seed.
And the two stars of that game-Jason Williams and Shane Battier-may have given notice to player-of-the-year voters that both the Naismith and Wooden awards should return to the Gothic Wonderland after a year-long hiatus.
Most analysts see three candidates left, Battier being the narrow front-runner with Williams and the Tar Heels' sophomore Joseph Forte as the challengers. That makes the race tight both numerically and geographically, and the hype surrounding it has only increased as the season heads into mid-March.
ESPN already picked Battier for their award, and Sports Illustrated followed suit Tuesday, meaning the two sophomores seem to be losing ground. Sports Illustrated college basketball analyst Seth Davis still calls the race "tantalizingly close," but he also gave the edge to the senior.
"[Battier's] stats are better across the board," Davis said. "There isn't anything that the other two guys do that Shane doesn't do pretty well, but he does a number of things that they don't even do."
Players and coaches are generally reluctant to talk about the awards, and the week before the ACC tournament was no exception. In fact, the media was not even allowed to speak to Williams or Battier at Tuesday's practice. When asked for his thoughts, coach Mike Krzyzewski made clear that the awards were far from his focus.
"They just pick whoever," the coach said. "Shane's been as good as anyone in the conference this year."
It was Forte, though, who seemed to have the momentum several weeks ago, jumping into the spotlight during the Tar Heels' 18-game winning streak. But the
Ever since, Battier's leadership-not to mention his highlight-reel defensive plays and 45-percent mark from three-point range-seems to have pushed him above his Tobacco Road rival. He attributes his success to setting standards and maintaining a level of confidence that few around the country can match.
"[We] feel like [we're] the best players at [our] positions and that's the attitude that we approach every game with," Battier said of he and Williams. "We want to come on the court and dominate the opponent every time out. There's no off nights, and as a result, you have two guys who are having really great years."
Williams' stats-21.1 points and 6.4 assists per game-are impressive, as is his improvement over last year in terms of reducing turnovers and developing into a deadly perimeter threat. His only real knock has been a couple of rough ACC games; otherwise, his dominance over the first half of the season would have probably left him in the driver's seat.
But if skeptical voters still are unconvinced, they can simply look at last Sunday. Williams' 33-point, nine-assist afternoon against North Carolina was described by longtime commentator Brent Musberger as the best performance he had seen by a point guard in quite awhile, something teammate Battier agreed with.
"I can't say enough about Jason's maturation over the year," Battier said. "Last year, he was a bright-eyed freshman who really wasn't sure of himself, even though he was supremely skilled. He's added confidence and knowledge that make him, in my opinion, the premier point
Of course, Battier, Forte and Williams have other challengers who may have been hurt by playing in programs with less national attention. Davis said the ACC trio's tremendous public-relations campaign did not affect Sports Illustrated's decision, but he did not rule it out as a factor on other voters.
Michael Bradley of Villanova has averaged a double-double, while shooting an NCAA-best 70 percent from the field. Notre Dame's Troy Murphy was the preseason co-favorite along with Battier, but he may be out of contention despite averaging 22.6 points and 9.6 rebounds.
Then there is Troy Bell, Boston College's flashy point guard. Too bad for Eagles' fans, though, since Bell was controversially left off the 20-man ballot for the Wooden Award. Meanwhile, several players from big-name programs-such as Illinois' Cory Bradford and UCLA's Jason Kapono-are on the ballot, prompting online message boards filled with angry posts and a scolding from ESPN college basketball analyst Andy Katz.
Those who give the nod to Battier, such as commentator Dick Vitale, point to Battier's leadership and his emergence as the top representative for the sport off the court. But Davis, who believes only what players do between the lines should count for the awards, argues there is one factor that should easily separate the senior from Forte and Williams when the Wooden Award is presented next month at the Los Angeles Athletic Club.
"The obvious answer is [Battier's] defense," Davis said. "Really I don't consider Forte and Williams to be good defensive players. They're OK, but they're not really good. Shane [also] does a ton of things in a game that has nothing to do with stats. His leadership, he's a complete quarterback out there."
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