The Continued Maturation of JJ Redick

by Ryan McNeill If basketball fans are skimming through box scores and headlines what they’ll notice about JJ Redick’s game on Sunday was his career-high 27 points. Sure, a career-high in scoring is noteworthy, but his scoring exploits only tell a small part of the story of his growth as a player. What will likely be lost in the shuffle are the 6 he hauled in or the 5 dimes he dished out. Not only that, but after the game his head coach called him tough. “I’ve said all along that he is a guy you can trust and count on,” Stan Van Gundy gushed after a big win against Toronto. “He’s not always going to get 45-plus minutes like he did tonight, but he played great, great basketball tonight. He’s off to a great start this year with 6 rebounds and 5 assists tonight and 5 rebounds against Jersey. He’s a tough guy who will get in and throw his body around. He’s just somebody as a coach you really like and can trust.” Earning his coaches trust hasn’t been an easy thing to do. In fact, it’s b...