Blue Devil #4

STUPID, STUPID move on his part. Somebody drew a parallel to Shav Randolph---that's exactly who I thought of when I heard McRoberts was turning pro. Now is way too early. He has a lot of improving to do before he's ready for the next level. He lacks mental toughness---bigtime. Think about how often you would see him cussing to himself, screaming in his towel, looking like a little boy crying while coach Wojo was trying to settle him down. He's soft...way too soft. Someone mentioned he scored 22 in his last game...do you realize this was his career high. Yes, he's athletic and can pass the ball but man, he has some work to do on his overall game. I'm still in disbelief over such an idiotic decision...Wow!!

Man do I miss watching him play at DUKE this time of year...I'm still trying to get over the fact that he's no longer playing at DUKE. It might take a couple more seasons for me to be able to move on.... Blue Devil #4

Thanks for the great article on JJ. I've always been a huge Redick fan and enjoy reading articles on him. In fact, I have his jersey in all three colors and wear them whenever I go to the gym to play ball. The harassment I endure by doing this doesn't bother me at all. In fact, I feed off of it. I love the fact that people hate Duke and Redick, while I cheer for and admire both of them. If I have a T-shirt on, you can bet it says Duke on the front, either alone, or with a #4 on the front and back. I've patterned my game after JJ's and players surrounding me will refer to me as JJ (I take this as a huge compliment, especially after I've buried 5-6 from 3pt land). Clearly, I'm a huge fan. I have Duke magnets and a Duke plate frame on the back of my Land Cruiser and a shiny DUKE plate with big bold blue letters on the front. I have a Duke flag flying at the enntrance of my home and all sorts of Duke items in my office. On my bookshelf, I have 6 Redick cards framed. I have pictures of him from the Duke/Bucknell game that I attended (right behind the press table in Jan. 06). Videos of JJ from You Tube saved in my Favorites Folder. It goes on and on. I'm enthralled by the guy, his shooting, is competitiveness, desire to win and mental toughness. So, when I tell you that I really question the success that JJ will experience at the NBA level, it may come as a surprise. I hope I'm wrong because I would love to see him rise and become a star at this level. However, I just don't see it happening anytime soon. First, he looks like a boy among men on the court. He lacks size, strength and quickness relative to nearly everyone else on the floor with him. His ballhandling skills are weak, he doesn't seem to have the ability to beat anyone off the dribble. From what I've seen to this point, driving the lane is even an issue. Defensively, forget about it; I've seen him beat off the dribble way too many times. This won't improve anytime soon as either you have the quickness to effectively defend or you don't...unfortunately, my man JJ doesn't have it. Let's all just face it....JJ Is What He Is...a SHOOTER. You can't turn him into something he's not. Man do I love his J-shot though. From foot position to sqauring his shoulders to his head position, hand mechanics, follow through....just his form period. Because of this fact, he will never be the guy to lead Orlando to the playoffs and a world championship. His role will always be as a shooter, averaging probably no more than 10 pts a game, at best. He will always be just an average or less than average player. I don't like saying it but that is reality. So, for all of those who continue to think that JJ Redick is the man who can take the Magic to the top...forget about it now and save yourself all the anguish. At Duke, JJ played in a system that was designed around him. Heck, go to "Goduke.com" and look at the stats from last season. JJ shot the ball, on average, 12 times more than the next guy during any given game. Considering you had a guy like Sheldon Williams down low, that's quite a disparity in shots taken. When you take 20+ shots a game, you should average 20+ points per game; of which, JJ did at 26.8. However, the offense at Orlando, or anywhere else for that matter, will never be designed around a straight up shooter (I understand he became more than just a shooter in his Sr. year at Duke but in the NBA he's just a shooter). As a result, JJ will most likely never see a night in the NBA where he takes 20 shots. As a result, he's just not going to be a scoring threat in the NBA. He understands he's going to be a role player and that's not going to change, he knows this. Hell, anyone who knows the game recognizes this. He also knows that he needs to improve his game within this limited role. If he doesn't improve, then he will struggle to get minutes. Reality is reality and sometimes the truth hurts, but it is the truth... Still a huge Redick Fan, Blue Devil #4