Sure he may lack melanin...

But the boy is niiice.

Duke rides Redick to ACC tournament title
BY KEN TYSIAC
Charlotte Observer

GREENSBORO, N.C. - In a brilliantly played ACC tournament final Sunday, J.J. Redick dribbled to his right off a high screen and into open space.

Before Boston College's Craig Smith could get a hand in his face, Redick rose for a 3-pointer that put Duke ahead for good with 77 seconds remaining in a 78-76 victory at the Greensboro Coliseum.

"You can't have Redick shooting the shots he did," lamented Boston College forward Jared Dudley. "You've got to get the ball out of his hands."

That didn't happen. Redick scored 26 points and claimed his second straight ACC tournament most valuable player award as Duke won its seventh title in the past eight seasons.

Redick, the senior guard who already had won back-to-back ACC regular-season MVP awards, received an emotional pep talk from Duke assistant coach Chris Collins after being removed from the game with 17 minutes, 11 seconds left in the first half.

Collins told Redick he wasn't talking to his teammates on the floor and didn't have a good look on his face.

"He's like my brother, so we can be honest with each other at any moment," Redick said. "He fired me up. He got me going."

Redick came off the bench to make three 3-pointers in 1:25 and gave top-seeded Duke a 57-47 lead with 11:49 remaining. No.3-seed Boston College, which already had come back from a 10-point first-half deficit to lead by four, rallied again behind senior guard Louis Hinnant.

Hinnant scored 19 of his 20 points in the second half, making four 3-pointers and a breathtaking, driving dunk. The Eagles led 65-61 after a Sean Williams alley-oop dunk, but Redick tied it with a 3-pointer with 1:53 to play and made the go-ahead shot 36 seconds later.

Smith and Hinnant missed shots in the lane in the final minute, and Hinnant's 60-foot desperation hit the backboard to the right of the rim at the buzzer. Redick made five of his seven 3-pointers in the second half and led Duke (30-3) with four assists.

"I've told him a lot, `If you miss and we lose, then we'll walk, arm in arm, off the court together. But don't pass up things,'" said Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski.

After Hinnant's last shot missed, Duke senior guard Sean Dockery picked Boston College guard Tyrese Rice off the floor, consoling him and Smith. Dockery told Rice, a freshman, that he is a great player with a great future.

"They just played well," Dockery said. "I don't think they should be on the floor. They should be happy and keeping their heads up."

Dudley said the Eagles (26-7) came to the ACC tournament to win it, and they were crushed after their second two-point loss to Duke this season. Seconds after the game ended, Boston College athletics director Gene DeFilippo mumbled a hollow "thanks" to Duke fans who congratulated him on how his team played.

While Smith sat in a chair outside the locker room, somebody told him Boston College might meet Duke again in the NCAA tournament.

"You never know," Smith said.