For a Couple of Devils, They’re Almost Angelic

It’s what you don’t see or hear from the Duke Blue Devils that impresses the most.

Whether point guard Jason Williams was scoring 19 consecutive points, as he did against UCLA in the East Regional semifinal, or missing seven consecutive shots, as he did against USC in the regional final, his teammates did not roll their eyes or grumble during timeouts.

While reporters were lined up to hear every last thought from ultra-quotable forward Shane Battier, no Duke players griped that Battier hogged all of the attention.

Great chemistry is what has the Blue Devils in the Final Four, more valuable than the offense that averaged 91 points in the regular season or the defense that has held opponents to 39% shooting in the NCAA tournament.

It starts at the top, with the top two players on the team--who just happen to be the best in the country.

Battier is a senior who will conclude one of the great careers in Duke history this weekend. He will finish among the school’s top 10 in points, rebounds, three-pointers, blocked shots and steals.

Williams is a sophomore who already has more points at this stage of his career than any other Duke player.

Battier has already won five national-player-of-the-year trophies, with the Wooden Award likely to follow. Williams is considered the better professional prospect.

To listen to them, the only competition is over who can lavish the most praise on the other.

Here’s Williams on Battier: “Being a point guard, it’s . . . a dream to play with a guy like Shane, who always has your back defensively whether you get beat or not.

“Offensively, he’s just the greatest weapon you can have. You penetrate and drive and they come to you, he’s always there, either for a jump shot or a big-time basket. He really provides a lot of matchup problems for the other team. he’s just an all-around complete player.”

Battier on Williams: “My favorite thing about Jason is he can do it all. You’re talking about a guy that can handle it, shoot it, pressure on the ball. Great assists. You’re talking about a complete player in Jason Williams.”

Peace, harmony, tranquillity. Three thousand miles from Kobe and Shaq, and worlds apart.

“There could have been amazing problems throughout the year because both players have been mentioned as national-player-of-the-year, conference-player-of-the-year candidates,” Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “It used to be in college basketball where there was more of a pecking order; Grant Hill didn’t start most of his sophomore year.

“I give a lot of credit to Shane in this regard. He’s so secure in who he is and he wants our team to win, he’s created an environment that’s so good for Jason, where Jason never goes into the locker room or he’s on the court or in the huddle where he says, ‘This guy’s jealous. He doesn’t want me to do well.’ It’s just the opposite.”

Of course, if Williams gets that love he has to give it back.

“It really doesn’t matter to me who wins the national player of the year,” Williams said. “Shane’s been running away with the votes. I love that. I love the fact that it’s his last year and that he’s going out on top. I’m just all about winning basketball games. The ego really doesn’t matter. I think both of us have the ability to do it day in and day out. I look at Shane and see a great leader and I think he looks at me and sees the same thing.”

Usually, leadership falls into the hands of the point guard or the vocal senior. Sometimes they’re one and the same. The Blue Devils have one of each.

So the leadership “kind of gets shared,” Williams said. “Defensively, Shane definitely takes the role of being a defensive leader, where he always has your back. Offensively, I think the ball’s in my hands predominantly. When it comes to setting the team up and getting us into a solid game that we know we’re capable of playing, that’s up to me.”

Some people say this only works because money isn’t involved. That hasn’t kept egos from stepping to the forefront. The most famous example is the 1993-94 North Carolina team. The Tar Heels brought back almost their entire roster from their championship run of 1993, and added Rasheed Wallace and Jerry Stackhouse. But the rift between those freshmen and the veteran players swallowed up the team. It bowed out in the second round of the tournament.

Krzyzewski goes to great lengths to avoid those types of ego clashes.

“It starts in the recruiting process,” Krzyzewski said. “We try to get players that want to be a part of something that is bigger than themselves. We recruit players who respect authority and are already part of a family. There’s a father, a mother, a big brother. The family doesn’t revolve around them, and this team isn’t going to revolve around them. Basically that’s a characteristic I look for in every recruit.”

So it’s all good in Dukedom. Except there’s one unresolved question. We’ve heard from Williams, but who is Battier’s pick for player of the year?

“I think you have to go with Jason, [North Carolina’s] Joe Forte or . . . ,” Battier said. Then he broke into a grin. “Or myself.”

That’s as close as you’ll get to internal competition on the Blue Devils. That’s why they’re so close to a championship.

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J.A. Adande can be reached at his e-mail address: ja.adande@latimes.com.