Several of Duke’s top basketball players spent August chasing gold.
Seniors Shelden Williams and Monique Currie each achieved their goal leading the USA’s Men’s and Women’s World University Games Teams to the top prize in their respective tournaments. Senior J.J. Redick also competed for the USA as a member of the U21 team, but the red, white and blue finished fifth, losing to Canada in the quarterfinals.
The men’s university team defeated Ukraine 85-70 in the gold-medal game Aug. 21 in Izmir, Turkey. The team finished with a perfect 8-0 record, winning their games by an average of 29.9 points.
“I had the chance to play against several guys who are stars at their colleges,” Williams said. “We all came in and gelled together. There were no egos on the team and we all had the same thing in mind—we were going to do what we could to win the gold and fortunately it happened to work out well for us.”
Williams, one of 50 preseason Wooden Award Candidates, finished tops on the men’s university team with averages of 14.9 points and 9.3 rebounds per contest.
The team, comprised of 12 of the nation’s best collegiate players, provided Williams the opportunity to practice against elite competition over the summer.
“It gave me a chance to play against some competition that I might play against next year,” Williams said. “Also I can see how hard I need to work, especially preparing for the preseason.”
The experience also afforded him the chance to travel and see some sights in Turkey.
“It’s a different kind of feel than the states over there,” Williams said. “It’s a nice place but it makes you appreciate where you come from a lot more. We had the chance to go to a beach out there and then we got a chance to go to Ephesus, which is one of the churches that is talked about in the bible.”
Williams said in addition to the preparation the tournament will give him heading into his preseason workouts, he will cherish the experience of having seen Ephesus.
Currie and the women’s university team experienced similar success to the men, going 7-0 and defeating Serbia & Montenegro 79-53 in the gold-medal game. Currie averaged 6.3 points and 3.9 rebounds per game for the team, while in Turkey.
The U21 team which included Redick, the Blue Devils’ second preseason Wooden candidate, finished their tournament held Aug. 5-14 in Cordoba and Mar del Plata, Argentina with a 7-1 record. Despite the disappointing 93-90 overtime loss it suffered to Canada in the quarterfinals, the USA squad handed eventual champion Lithuania its only loss during preliminary round action.
Women’s basketball head coach Gail Goestenkors and freshman Abby Waner also claimed gold medals of their own earlier in the summer. The U19 Women’s Team beat Serbia & Montenegro 97-76 July 24th to win the FIBA Women’s U19 World Championship and complete a perfect 8-0 record.
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