Columnist Steve Addy: Battier a real hero

Steve Addy

Monday, April 2, 2001 | 10:51 a.m.

Sun basketball writer Steve Addy is filing daily postcards from NCAA Tournament sites.

Greetings from Minneapolis,

(Or as Minnesotans might say, "How ya doin' there?")

The first time I saw Shane Battier play basketball, he was a junior at Detroit Country Day School in Birmingham, Mich. I was covering the Pistons then, but I had to see the kid everyone was calling "the next Chris Webber."

Webber had graduated from Country Day a few years before and gone on to Michigan, and I wasn't much of a fan. But I wondered if Battier was truly as talented as Webber, or if he just happened to be the next good Country Day prospect.

It was quickly evident that Battier was not as athletically gifted, but that he was a million miles ahead of Webber maturity-wise. What a special kid, I said to myself.

As the years have passed and Battier became the linchpin of a great Duke team, it is now clear he is a player and person of amazing quality. No matter what he tries in life, he won't be merely good at it or even great. He will be exceptional, if not the best.

Tonight at the Metrodome, here's hoping Battier accomplishes something that Chris Webber never could: win an NCAA championship.

Hoopily yours,

-- Addy