PHILADELPHIA - After surpassing Dickie Hemric to become the ACC's all-time leading scorer, J.J. Redick didn't even crack a smile.
Weeks of stifling scrutiny surrounding his chase of prominent Duke, ACC and NCAA offensive records seemed to have worn down the senior, as Redick's performance during the last two games has indicated that the constant pressure may have been getting to him.
The Blue Devils' normally unstoppable scorer barely mustered the nine points he needed to capture the mark Saturday against Temple, notching the historic point on a free throw with 1:28 left in the second half. Redick shot just 3-for-10 from the field and finished with 11 points in the contest, his lowest offensive output of the season.
The senior had similar struggles against Georgia Tech Wednesday, but finished with 22 points. Redick converted a paltry 5-of-21 field goal attempts in that contest. In the last two games combined, he has buried just 2-of-12 three-pointers while missing several wide-open opportunities-shots that have typically been automatic for the sharpshooter all season.
"I'm happy that J.J.'s record is finally done, it's been a lot of pressure on him," head coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "He has pressure on him all the time anyway, but the last couple weeks with breaking the national three-point record, the Duke record, the ACC record-he's a kid who's such a team player that I can tell this past week even against Georgia Tech he didn't have a lot of fun."
A subdued Redick commented after the victory over Temple that he is happy to be done with the record pursuit so he can fully focus on the team the rest of the season.
"I'm just glad it's over with," Redick said. "When the season's over, I'll be able to look back at the records I've set and have a sense of satisfaction and a sense of pride, but right now I'm just moving onto the next step."
He added that Hemric's mark, which stood for 51 years, never really entered his mind until the public became fixated on it during his pursuit of Johnny Dawkins' Duke scoring record.
"I think the most special one was breaking Coach Dawkins' record because of what he means to me and to say I'm the all-time leading scorer in Duke history-that's saying something there," Redick said. "[Hemric's record], I never really set out to do it or concentrate on it, and it just kind of came about with the season I was having."
Redick's teammates also downplayed the importance of the record in the context of the ongoing season. Fellow seniors Lee Melchionni and Sean Dockery said they are happy to be part of Redick's milestones, but they know their teammate gains more satisfaction from winning games than capturing personal accolades.
Redick said normally after any player receives a postgame television interview, his teammates greet him with applause as he enters the locker room. He added that in the event that a player accomplishes something truly special, his teammates also throw water on him.
"I didn't get any water today," Redick said jokingly. "I was kind of disappointed."
It is Redick's brilliance over the course of this season, however, that has caused his accomplishments to become almost passé. In a span of just four games, Redick has set the Duke and ACC scoring records, as well as the NCAA mark for most career three-pointers.
After passing Hemric, there remain few, if any, comparable career superlatives on the horizon for Redick.
"We were getting tired of it man," senior Lee Melchionni said jokingly of why he and his teammates did not shower Redick with water after the game. "We thought we were wasting water."
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