My sympathies, James. Any time Duke loses, since it happens so rarely, its fans I’m sure have no resort but to howl at the moon and find consolation in Duke’s natural superiority over the lesser forms of life the school deigns to compete with.

Nonetheless I must insist that J.J. Redick enjoyed plenty of coddling — for at least two season he’s been the darling of a media that has protected him at every turn against the occasional lowlifes that show up at Duke at Maryland games to deride his play. But I’ve noticed that he can dish it out pretty well himself. Perhaps yesterday if he hadn’t spent so much time complaining to the referees that he was being fouled by LSU defenders — on plays that time and again saw him pushing off in a desperate effort to get open — his shooting concentration wouldn’t have flagged.

It could also be that he was a bit too conscious of his clippings. He’s a great shooter and great competitor. But in the stratosphere in which he competes, he’s really not a great enough athlete to thrive among those more physically gifted. If an LSU freshman could stymie him, what chances will he have in the NBA?