Devils Illustrated - Senior sendoff: Shelden Williams

April 6, 2006

Randall Thomason
Devils Illustrated Staff

Shelden Williams came to Duke as the third ranked power forward of the class of 2002, trailing only Sean May and Chris Bosh.

The rankings gurus couldn't have picked a better top three, but Williams is the only one who stayed in school for a full four years, passing up the chance to turn pro after his junior season.

The decision to remain in Durham turned out to be a very profitable one for the Landlord.

He earned numerous first team All-America honors, racked a second consecutive national defensive player of the year award, set a pair of monumental Duke records, and paired with fellow senior J.J. Redick to form the best senior duo college basketball has seen in a long time.

The individual records and accolades that Williams garnered at Duke are ultimately not what most fans will remember him for. Rather, they will remember Williams for the way he played the game.

Always carrying himself with professionalism, Williams was never much of a talker. His game did all the talking that was necessary.

Williams was a bear in the paint. He developed into the game's most feared shot blocker. Elevating off either foot, blocking with either hand, at any angle. Williams defied logic with how he could cleanly redirect attempts at the basket.

Williams developed his offensive skills each and every year as well. His scoring averages went from 8.2 as a freshman, to 12.6 as a sophomore, and to 15.5 last year before closing his career by averaging 18.8 as a senior.

The rebounding numbers tell a similar story. Williams averaged in double figures on the boards as a junior and senior, following freshman and sophomore seasons with 5.9 and 8.5 rebounds per game.

Williams' excellence on the boards moved him past Duke legend Mike Gminski on the school's all time rebounding list. Williams went by the G-Man on the career blocked shots list as well.

Several individual great games come to mind after reflecting on Williams' career with the Blue Devils.

As a freshman, Williams recorded his first double-double against Fairfield. He went on to post another five double-doubles that season, including one monster effort of 12 points and 17 rebounds against Florida State.

12 more double-doubles came for Williams as a sophomore, followed by another 20 as a junior. He had 25 points and 17 rebounds against Virginia Tech and 23 points and 16 rebounds at Maryland.

The dominance only continued to rise this season. Williams had his career high 30 points against Memphis in the NIT Season Tipoff, a night where he nearly single handedly carried the Devils to victory.

The game that live forever from this season though will be his incredible triple-double against Maryland. 19 points, 11 rebounds, 10 blocks. It was just the third time in school history that a player had recorded a triple-double, and came against one of the stronger programs in the ACC.

As much ink as that triple-double performance has gotten, it's often overlooked that he nearly repeated the feat in the road game against the Terrapins at College Park.

Williams racked up 26 points, 13 rebounds, and 7 blocks at Maryland in another Duke victory.

The numbers that Williams put up in his career are incredible. His value to the team was always more evident when he was off the floor though.

Every Duke fan recalls watching helplessly as Williams fouled out in the 2004 Final Four against UConn, leaving the lane wide open for the Huskies to dominate as they mounted a comeback to defeat the Devils.

Williams often fought solo battles down low. More often than not, he emerged the winner. Even in the final game of his career against LSU, as the Tigers' front line prevented nearly every Blue Devil from being productive, Williams tried to put the team on his back.

He tallied 23 points and 13 rebounds, but in the end that heroic effort wasn't enough to prolong his career.

As disappointing as the ending was, no Duke fan will ever forget the great performances from Shelden Williams. With the Landlord finally headed for the NBA, the Devils must find another way to evict opponents from the paint.

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