Who should take the final shot?

The Case for Duhon

To the best of my recollection, there are two players on Duke's roster who have made baskets that could be classified as last-minute and game-winning.

 

A much skinnier version of Nick Horvath banked in a three-pointer with 14 seconds to go in overtime to defeat DePaul way back in 2000, and Chris Duhon vanquished North Carolina with a reverse lay-up in February of this year.

 

And with apologies to the now obviously weight room-dedicated Horvath and the rest of the team's big guns this season--J.J. Redick, Daniel Ewing and Shelden Williams--I want Duhon with the ball when everything comes down to just this one shot.

 

Duke basketball history looks favorably on this mantra.

 

Who did Coach K rely on down one with 2.1 seconds left in 1992 against Kentucky? His senior leader, Christian Laettner. And in 1999 who got the ball with 20 seconds left in the championship? Trajon Langdon, senior captain.

 

Duhon is the most experienced player on the team, having transformed from role player to leader. He suffered through a mostly miserable junior season. And most importantly, this is his last chance. He doesn't have a next year like Ewing or Redick.

 

2) Sure, J.J. Redick can shoot straighter than the most famous gun fighter or politician you can recall. But where was he in the ACC tournament this weekend, with the conference championship at stake?

And what about his ability to create for himself in a one-on-one situation? Not great.

 

3) Yes, Daniel Ewing is arguably Duke's best scorer. Does anyone remember what he did in 2002 before Jason Williams almost saved Duke from elimination?

 

I have a vague memory of Ewing, a freshman at the time, launching an off-balance shot with 10 seconds left that missed badly. It was a panicked freshmen tendency, of course, which hasn't surfaced again, but it is worrisome nevertheless.

 

Ewing also missed the game-tying three-pointer against Maryland Sunday, but considering the way he responds to a challenge--he scored 26 points the game after he was left off the all-ACC team last week--I'd consider that miss a positive.

 

And, Krzyzewski has been a big fan of seniors taking the final shot.

"I want Trajan Langdon to take that shot," said Krzyzewski after Langdon was called for traveling and Duke lost the title. "I will walk down any road with Trajan Langdon."

 

In 2004, give me whatever major highway runs through San Antonio and Chris Duhon.

 

Unless, of course, Nick Horvath is open.

 

The Case for Ewing

There are 10 seconds left, and Duke's down by one in the Elite Eight. Who should take the last shot for the Blue Devils? With six McDonald's All-Americans on his squad, Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski is blessed with a number of options in deciding the potential hero to launch the Blue Devils into the Final Four. But one player's credentials exceed the rest, and that individual's name is Daniel Ewing.

While Ewing is only the third most prolific scorer on the team, he remains the best scorer.

J.J. Redick, the team's leading point producer, has looked unstoppable at times this season with his picture-perfect jump shot but has also been undependable in too many games. At Wake Forest this year, Redick went 0-for-5 from the field. In Tallahassee, the shooting guard only shot 1-for-9. In the ACC tournament, he netted 23 percent of his shots in the first two rounds. He simply is too inconsistent to be expected to knock down a big shot in a big situation.

But what if Redick is having one of those nights where it seems he is putting in baskets like he is throwing a beach ball into an ocean? While Redick is hard to chase around the perimeter for 40 minutes, stopping a 6-foot-4 sharp-shooter on one possession is a much easier task than preventing a quick player who also has an extremely effective jump shot from scoring.

Duke's second-leading scorer, Luol Deng, has the potential to be the best Blue Devil since Grant Hill, but the Sudan native's flashes of brilliance have not occurred in the clutch situations. While Deng consistently outplays veteran players, he still commits many "freshman" mistakes. He also has abilities seen in few players in history, but he makes the same type of errors seen from average players. Deng looks timid on the court far too often, admitting himself that he needs "to be more aggressive" on several occasions this season. If Deng stays in Durham, there is no doubt he will be the go-to-guy in pressing moments in 2005, but the Blair Academy graduate is still a year away from obtaining this status.

This leaves us with Ewing. Unlike Redick, Ewing has a repertoire of moves to the hoop, which he does with ease with his exceptional quickness. Chris Duhon, the team's MVP, is better at ball penetration, but the senior only shoots 32 percent from three-point range. Ewing, meanwhile, leads Duke by shooting 41 percent from behind the arc, thus making him the most multi-dimensional scorer. Take away Ewing's jump shot, and he'll drive to the hoop. Take away his drive, and he's the most likely Blue Devil to nail an outside shot. If Duke needs a bucket in the clutch, Ewing is the one to take the shot.