Duke to Retire Redick's, Shelden's Jerseys

Well, I suppose J.J. Redick could use some good news right about now. Duke has decided to retire his jersey #4 on February 4th, and Shelden Williams' #23 on February 28rd, becoming the 12th and 13th Duke players to receive the honor. The two join the following list:

• Dick Groat
• Art Heyman
• Jeff Mullins
• Mike Gminski
• Johnny Dawkins
• Danny Ferry
• Christian Laettner
• Bobby Hurley
• Grant Hill
• Shane Battier
• Jason Williams

It's certainly an honor for them to be a part of that list, but you might also note that the list is also a little bit light on guys who went onto NBA superstardom. Doesn't matter. In fact, not only is that completely irrelevant to those guys being great college basketball players, consider it a compliment to Duke basketball. It's evidence that while at Duke, these players squeezed every bit of ability and production they could out of their abilities. That's a compliment to the coaching staff and the work ethic.

So, while there's likely going to be a lot of time in the future (and in fact, already has been in the past) to point out J.J. Redick's shortcomings and to sort of ignore Shelden Williams, the fact that they were great in college is a very meaningful thing. They deserve congratulations, and they deserve the honor.