02/25/2009 - Michael Tomko, GoDuke.com

DURHAM, N.C. – Freshman guard Elliot Williams logged just 36 minutes on the court in eight January games.

Before heading to New York to take on St. Johns in Madison Square Garden, Williams had only played 30 minutes in February and had not seen the court in the team’s previous two games against Boston College and North Carolina, both losses.

After suffering their first losing streak of the season head coach Mike Krzyzewski decided it was time for a change.

He needed a way to reinvigorate his team which had just suffered two tough losses as they prepared for their final stretch of games that included home contests with Wake Forest and Florida State and road challenges at Maryland, Virginia Tech and North Carolina to close out the year.

His solution, insert Williams into the starting lineup adding more size, length and athleticism to the starting five, which moved Jon Scheyer to the point guard position giving him the added edge of being guarded by smaller players.

Starting back with the first Wake Forest game, a heartbreaking 70-68 loss in Winston-Salem, Coach K started to notice the pressure on the ball handler was not where it was earlier in the season.

Krzyzewski wasn’t necessarily looking for more steals with his lineup change; he simply wanted to see the energy and determination that had been the cornerstone of the Blue Devils for the first three months of the season.

And after two consecutive starts from Williams, who averaged 31.5 minutes a game in wins over St. Johns and Wake Forest, that intensity on the defensive end appears to have returned.

“Elliot’s been working really hard,” Krzyzewski said. “[Assistant Coach] Nate [James] works with him after practice on offense and defense. He’s been really good in practice, and always had a good attitude.”

It has been his effort in practice throughout the season to become a steady and consistent contributor in Duke’s rotation that has led to the Memphis, Tenn. native’s emergence into the starting lineup.

In his back-to-back starts Williams has scored 11 points in both, shooting 5-of-6 (.830) against St. John’s and 5-of-8 (.620) against Wake Forest earning him ACC Rookie of the Week honors.

Williams’ hard work to earn consistent minutes has finally paid off and is coming during the most crucial stretch of the regular season as the Blue Devils fight for position in the final conference standings before heading into the ACC Tournament.

“The times I was on the bench just watching and cheering my team, telling me to keep my head up and just keep playing,” Williams said. “They have told me to just stay hungry”

“I had a lot to learn,” Williams added. “Watching guys like G [Henderson], how he moves without the ball, guys like Jon [Scheyer], how to play defense. I have always been pretty athletic, but there was a lot I had to learn on defense. Coach [Mike Krzyzewski] said he trusted me and when he played me in the St. Johns game, he liked the way I played so he kept rolling with me.”

Starting for just the second time in his career in Madison Square Garden and then following that up with starting a home game against Wake Forest as the Blue Devils looked to avenge their loss to the Demon Deacons from earlier in the season, Williams displayed the calm and coolness of a fifth-year senior.

 “He plays with a really good enthusiasm and confidence that you wouldn’t think would be there for a kid who hadn’t been playing,” Krzyzewski said. “He’s been a huge spark for us.”

Williams sparked the Blue Devils in the opening minutes against Wake Forest recording three steals in the opening 2:04 seconds of the game by pressuring the Wake Forest ball handlers as they tried to inbound and advance the ball beyond half court.

In the end he finished with four steals.

“If you watched the game tonight, you wouldn’t have guessed he was a freshman,” Scheyer said following Duke’s 101-91 win. “He was on one of the best guards in the country [Jeff Teague] to start the game and he steals the ball from him a couple of times, gets right in his face, and that’s the toughness we need.  It gives the rest of us energy.  He’s been huge for us the last two games.”

Williams, not surprisingly, prefers to start the game on the court rather than the bench because he is able to get into the rhythm of the game quicker.
“It is a lot easier because you get the kinks out a little bit when you start,” Williams said.

It was five or six practices ago that Williams ignited the white team with his ability to force steals and attack the basket leading Krzyzewski to flip him over to the starting unit.

And what is Williams trying to bring to the team when he is out on the floor?

“Athleticism, ball pressure, make strong drives when I get a chance to and make sure these guys [Henderson and Scheyer] are happy and scoring like they know they can,” Williams said.