SJ299: Commending J.J. Redick.
WHEREAS, J.J. Redick of Roanoke's Cave Spring High School, is recognized for his stellar high school basketball career and his exemplary performance with the Duke Blue Devils; and
WHEREAS, J.J. Redick was named the 2006 Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year and one of the 10 finalists for the prestigious 2005 Sullivan Award; and
WHEREAS, the award is named after James E. Sullivan, the founder of the Amateur Athletic Union based in Orlando, and has been presented annually since 1930; and
WHEREAS, J.J. Redick averaged 20 points per game in his freshman and sophomore years at Roanoke's Cave Spring High School and was looked upon early in his high school career as a top recruit by colleges across the nation; and
WHEREAS, J.J. Redick's high school basketball accomplishments are impressive, including being named a McDonald's All-American, the Most Valuable Player at the McDonald's game, and its three-point competition winner; and being named Virginia Player of the Year by four different groups his senior year; he also led the Cave Spring team to the 2002 AAA State Championship; and
WHEREAS, as one of the top 50 players in the country and one of the top 10 guards, J.J. Redick could have chosen any college to attend, but he made the commitment to play for the Duke Blue Devils in his junior year of high school; and
WHEREAS, J.J. Redick made an immediate impact in his first year at Duke, averaging 15 points per game and finishing second in the voting for ACC Rookie of the Year, however, the team lost to Kansas in the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA tournament; and
WHEREAS, in the 2003-2004 season, J.J. Redick set an ACC record by making 54 consecutive free throws at one point in the season, and he led the ACC in free-throw percentage at .953 and Duke fought its way all the way to the Final Four; and
WHEREAS, J.J. Redick finished the regular 2004-2005 season as the leading scorer in the ACC, and after scoring 76 points in three games, he was named the MVP of the ACC Tournament; he was also named ACC Player of the Year and a Naismith Trophy Finalist, as well as received AP First Team All-American, NABC First Team All-American, Adolf Rupp All-America Team, and ESPN First Team All-American honors; and
WHEREAS, during the summer of 2005, J.J. Redick played for USA Basketball's U21 Team, representing the country in the world championships in Argentina; and
WHEREAS, J.J. Redick was named a 2006 pre-season All-American candidate, and great performances were expected from him and the Duke Blue Devils during the season; and
WHEREAS, J.J. Redick and the Blue Devils have lived up to expectations; during the course of the regular 2005-2006 season, Redick became the leading scorer in Duke basketball history and the all-time NCAA leader in career three-point field goals, among other accomplishments, and the Blue Devils, led by Redick, completed the season with a 27-3 overall record, finished in first place in the regular season ACC standings, and were ranked number one in the national polls throughout most of the year; and
WHEREAS, J.J. Redick majors in history and minors in cultural anthropology at Duke University; he writes poetry, and several of his poems have been published in Sports Illustrated; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED by the Senate, the House of Delegates concurring, That the General Assembly commend and congratulate J.J. Redick on his amazing high school career and his brilliant college basketball performances; and, be it
RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the Senate prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to J.J. Redick as an expression of the General Assembly’s appreciation of his extraordinary talents and his commitment to the sport of basketball.
