21.0 ppg | 4.7 apg | 44.5 FGs
By By Jay Bilas
Special to ESPN.com
Jason Williams leads the ACC in scoring and is the
most prolific 3-point shooter in the nation. He is Duke's game-breaker. No player in
America seems to be able to bother Williams in his quest to pile up points.
Nobody, except perhaps, the most unlikely looking defender -- Maryland's Steve Blake.
Blake is long-armed, determined and moves his feet very well to stay in
front of the man he is guarding. His length allows him to play a half step
off his man, yet still recover to challenge a perimeter shot. He is
fearless, gambling and dogged, and he has always been a winner.
In Williams, however, Blake faces a unique challenge. Williams is the rare commodity who can shoot 3s like a specialist, yet punish a defender for trying to take away the three.
Williams' statistics are mind boggling. If you break down his game, and
from where he scores his points, the gameplan to defend him becomes clearer.
Williams scores an amazing 69 percent of his points off of made 3-point field
goals and free throws. Half of his points come from 3s (10.4), so if he is forced to put
the ball on the floor inside of the line, Blake can cut down Williams' primary scoring weapon, the 3-point shot.
That is no easy task, and would require Blake to change the way he approaches defense.
Blake would have to absolutely smother the perimeter shot, crowding Williams and inviting his powerful drives. Williams has explosive
strength, with the ability to turn the corner, stop on a dime, finish at the rim, or shoot off the dribble or off ballscreens with a defender in his
face.
This year's matchup will be different, because Williams has ceded the point guard duties to Chris Duhon, and is working more off the ball.
Since Juan Dixon is best roving and playing help-side defense for steals, so guarding Williams will likely fall to Blake again, with some help from Dixon
and Byron Mouton.
Whoever is guarding Williams at any given time, the defense on him will determine the outcome. Williams has shown incredible "bail out" ability,
taking Duke on his back when the ship appeared to be sinking. Without Williams going off in the second half against both Kentucky and Florida
State, Duke was looking at double-digit losses.
Williams' repeated efforts to bail Duke out of tough situations may garner him a call from Enron looking for help.
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7.5 ppg | 7.4 apg | 1.2 spg
By Andy Katz
ESPN.com
Steve Blake has been successful guarding Jason Williams.
Is that statement a myth or reality? Williams beat Blake three games to one last season, and in one of the games -- Duke's 10-point comeback at Maryland -- Williams essentially owned all of the Terps in the final minute. But there is something about Blake that allowed him to keep Williams' numbers down, at least somewhat modestly in those four games. Williams averaged 16.9 points a game, made only 39.4 percent of his shots and 32.7 percent of 3s against Blake last season.
"He's just been able to get Jason out of rhythm," Williams' backcourt mate Chris Duhon said. "Jason puts a lot of pressure on himself to score big points and Blake hasn't forced the issue as much against him."
"I don't know the answer," said Virginia assistant Tommy Herrion as to why Blake can contain Williams. "But it does seem like he has outplayed him when they've matched up."
So, it may be true.
But, figuring out why, or just where, Maryland's junior point guard has had success against Duke's junior point and player of the year favorite can become confusing.
Maybe it's because Blake didn't sweat handing out assists against Williams, dishing out 11 against the Blue Devils twice. But, the fact remains, Williams' numbers aren't that dramatically different when the two go head-to-head on the court. Still, the perception still is out there that Blake has Williams' number.
Blake does have the long arms and the decent lateral quickness to hang with Williams. But it's his toughness that seems to surface more so than any other game when he goes against Williams.
"I can't tell you one reason why, but just Steve is a tough kid and isn't going to back down from anybody," Maryland senior Juan Dixon said. "He doesn't let up and goes hard at both ends of the court."
But maybe the trick is that Blake doesn't do it alone. Georgia Tech coach Paul Hewitt said he's convinced the help comes from Dixon. Having Dixon on his wing allows Blake to gamble a bit more with Williams. Dixon seems to read the passing lanes better than anyone on the Terps and he always knows how to play help-side defense, rarely being in the out of position.
"It's very interesting that Blake has that success against Jason, because for us, Tony has had success against Blake," Hewitt said. "The bottom line is that Jason Williams gets players up mentally."
Maybe that's all it is. Blake has found the player he dreams of facing, the one guy who he thinks about, studies and tries to learn his game as well as his own. Whatever the reason, and even if it's not necessarily true, the belief is out there that Blake has Williams' number -- even if Williams has more wins. |
