gimme the insider info.

Duke's Jason Williams can sink a clutch three, with a defender hanging on him, when his team needs him most.

That's why he'll likely be the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft.

But a free throw? Williams's Achilles' heel is aching more than ever these days.

"I wasn't scared," Williams said. "That situation is something I dreamed about. I went to the line and put the shot up and it went halfway down, in and out."

That situation was a chance to tie Thursday night's Duke-Indiana game with 4.2 seconds on the clock. Williams's free throw bounced in and out. A few seconds later, Williams's collegiate career probably came to an end.

Probably. Technically, Williams, the consensus No. 1 pick in the NBA draft, has one more year of NCAA eligibility. No one thought he'd ever need it. After opting out of the draft last year, Williams took some summer classes and put himself on track to graduate a year early this spring.

He had a good plan. Win the Naismith Award, take Duke back to the Final Four, and walk away with another championship ring before moving onto the land of the lottery -- where losses come with the same frequency that wins come at Duke.

All of those dreams came crashing down Thursday as Duke lost to Indiana, 74-73. Williams had another sub-par game, going just 6-for-19 from the field with four turnovers. But he was almost the hero. Williams fired up a desperation three-pointer from the key with Duke on the ropes. The shot fell, and so did Williams, as Dane Fife was called for a foul with 4.2 seconds left.

"Boy, I was mad," Indiana's A.J. Moye said. "Really mad. Then, I remembered who was shooting the free throw."

Damn A.J., where's the love for college basketball's player of the year?

The free throw. Why can't Williams sink a free throw when it matters most? It's not the only question NBA scouts have begun asking about his game. Why doesn't he always get his teammates more involved? Why is he playing more out of control this year? Is he really a point guard, or another dreaded combo guard who is too short to be a shooting guard and too shot happy to really run an NBA team?

No respect for college basketball's player of the year?

Are you telling me a 7-foot-5 walking stick from China or an elite JUCO player has a better shot at excelling in the NBA than Williams?

No, no one's saying that. The player haters will really start coming out of the woodwork the next few months, but Williams is still the No. 1 pick in most people's eyes. At least the one's that matter.

"He needs to work on his free-throw shooting. So does Shaq and he's considered the best player in the game," one league exec told Insider after the game. "But he does so many things well. He's a phenomenal scorer, has the body, scorer's mentality and the intelligence to be a superstar in the league. He'll contribute right out of the gate. Everyone has their flaws. But he's as ready for the NBA as anyone in the NCAA. One game, or a couple of bad games, doesn't erase what he's done his whole career."

In other words, just because Kwame Brown and his high school superfriends can high jack the lottery, doesn't mean that they own it.

Truth be told, just about everything Williams has touched has been magic in his career. This brief brush with mortality might do him some good.

"This is weird game. The ball bounces your way sometimes. It usually does for my sake. It didn't go that way today," Williams said, his eyes red with emotion. "I'm not sad about losing. I'm just sad that it's over. This has been the greatest ride of my life."

Don't fret, for Williams, the ride is just beginning.

Posted by VG:

Didn't Boozer blow an uncontested layup to win the game... At least Williams made the three...

Boozer is not gonna be the next Elton Brand. He's gonna be the next Marcus Fizer.

Posted by killacross:

First of all boozer got fouled.... second of all he will be something inbetween fizer and brand.

No, Fizer is better than Boozer if anything.