E-Will is hard to replace, but lots of talent and pieces this year to fit together. Thanks for the report.
Duke opened its practice today to the media.
It's only their third practice and Duke won't resume practice until next Tuesday because of fall break.
Some injury updates.
Lynee Belton is practicing at about 90 percent. Knee in brace. She is expected to be at full speed in early December or so.
Oderah Chidom is recovered from shoulder surgery.
Assistant coach Al Brown is back in action.
Duke has 14 players and eight male practice players--only four today--which means Duke can do lots of things in practice, lots of subgroups.
Duke is taking it easy with two players.
Amber Henson is in a Master's program, with lots of classwork. And she's had all those knee surgeries. So, she's only practicing an hour or so a day.
Duke shut down Spanish import Angela Salvadores in September. She played a lot of international ball this summer and she's adjusting to a new country, new hemisphere, new language. So, Duke gave her time to rest her body and start her adjustment. As a result, she's a bit behind.
The biggest surprise early is Haley Gorecki, a 6-0 freshman from Illinois. She was a top-40/50 kind of recruit. But Duke thinks she was way underrated. She's impressed with her basketball IQ and high skill set. Very reminiscent of Rebecca Greenwell. And yes, Gorecki is a guard.
In fact, we were told that if the season started today, Duke's starting lineup likely would be Henson, Azura Stevens, Greenwell, Gorecki and Kyra Lambert. I assume Salvadores will move up once she gets the rust off.
But Gorecki looks like a real keeper. Can she guard ACC wings? That will determine how much she plays this season.
Then there's Lambert, a 5-9 point guard from Texas. Lightning quick, great skills, she can shoot from beyond the arc. But her intangibles are off the chart. Great leader, communication skills, motivator, really team-oriented. Look for her to start at point guard from day one.
Stevens and Greenwell looked great and should be Duke's two best players.
But only because Lexie Brown is sitting out this season, as a transfer from Maryland. She's 5-9, can get anywhere she wants to on the court anytime she wants and made darn near every shot I saw her take and I saw her take a lot. She is going to be great at Duke. Not good. Great.
I would expect Stevens to start at the 4, Greenwell at the 3. Henson, Chidom and Kendall Cooper should compete for the starting spot at the 5 and whatever minutes Stevens leaves available at the 4. Belton's development is TBD and sophomore Erin Mathias is a bit behind.
Excluding Brown, Duke has 13 players available. Duke should run and press a lot but they aren't going to play 13 players. Nobody does. So, it will be interesting to see Mercedes Riggs, Mathias, Belton and freshmen wings Faith Suggs and Crystal Primm compete for minutes. Some of this group will join the rotation but not all. Basic math.
Duke ended last season shy of depth, ball-handling and outside shooting. All of those concerns have been more than addressed. But that team had an elite rim protector in Elizabeth Williams and replacing her is going to be a challenge.
Could be center-by-committee.
And the team is young, with a lot of talent in the freshman and sophomore classes. So, it may take some time to gel. But if Duke can get solid performances inside, this could be a very dangerous team come March.
Obviously, early impressions based on a small sample size. But I thought I would share those impressions.
E-Will is hard to replace, but lots of talent and pieces this year to fit together. Thanks for the report.
Thanks, Jim. Great to hear about Haley, Kyra, and Lexie. And Angela comes in with such a reputation, I have confidence there as well. And, of course, Azurá has been my hero for quite some time. Teams certainly won't be able to swarm at Rebecca this season as they did the end of last season.
I am very excited for Duke women's basketball, this season and for the foreseeable future.
Salvadores by January will be the catalyst to make this team go. I just hope they have some plays designed. Too often Duke women's bball offense has been predictable and very stagnant.
And just like that, I'm super excited for the women's season. Thanks for the update, and I can't wait to watch a team with plenty of players available. Looking forward to seeing how they gel!
Isn't there a quota of hyperbole required in threads like this?
I may end up following the women more closely, if only for level of intercourse.
Unless she has gained a lot of mobility, it is hard for me to see Henson in a starting role past December.
Well, it would be regained her mobility, wouldn't it? After all those knee surgeries? Center will be an interesting position battle this season. Amber (#20), Kendall (#12), Oderah (#10), and Lynee' (#9) were all top 20 recruits coming out of high school. And in typical Duke women's team fashion, three of the four have suffered major injuries since then. I thought Oderah, especially, was playing very well last season before she got hurt.