november 8, 2017
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The Chronicle’s Duke women’s basketball predictions
The Chronicle HIGH EXPECTATIONS
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COLUMBUS CALLING?
No. 12 Blue Devils have sights set on special season and first Final Four in more than a decade By Alex Sanfilippo Staff writer
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Great things come to those who wait, so the cliché goes. Graduate students Rebecca Greenwell and Lexie Brown have waited for years. Head coach Joanne P. McCallie has waited her whole Duke career for another taste of the Final Four. And with so many pieces finally coming together, this may be the breakthrough year. Tabbed with preseason All-American honors, Greenwell and Brown lead arguably the most complete team in McCallie’s tenure with the Blue Devils. With a balance of demonstrated senior leadership in Brown, Greenwell and graduate transfer Bego Faz Davalos coupled with highlytouted underclassmen Leaonna Odom and Mikayla Boykin, lofty expectations hover above the 2017-18 women’s basketball team. “I think we’re going to have a very successful season and be very tough to beat,” Greenwell said. “We have a veteran team with a lot of experience and talented newcomers who are ready to make an impact. I think we can accomplish anything we set our minds to, and we are going to be really tough.” As is the case with either Duke basketball program, there will always be preseason expectations. With the exception of the past two years, every women’s basketball team dating back to the 2000-01 season has been ranked in the preseason top 10. But something about this team feels different—special, even, with the team’s top two scoring threats also serving as its experienced leaders. From a historical perspective, preseason expectations correlate with the volume of senior leadership. The two most highly-touted Blue Devil teams in the last 12 years have been the 2013-14 squad—which entered the season with a No. 2 ranking—and the 2005-06 team, which received the No. 1 overall ranking prior to competition. Breaking down the rosters reveals a host of
Henry Haggart | Staff Photographer
Preseason All-American Lexie Brown is seeking the third Final Four appearance of her career this season. similarities. Both possessed a balanced starting five with a wealth of veteran experience–the 2013-14 team had five seniors, the 2005-06 team, four–and both teams leaned on those seniors to be the dominant figures on and off the court. It’s a simple recipe, but it works— the Blue Devils last reached a Final Four in 2006, ultimately falling to Maryland in the championship game in overtime. Brown alluded to the necessity of these intangibles during the team’s media day. “One thing last year that we weren’t necessarily missing, but we didn’t have enough of, was senior leadership,” the Suwanee, Ga., native said. “I think that with this group, we are super experienced and we had a lot of success last season, which we can bring into this season. I’m really excited—this team can definitely get to the Final Four.” This year’s Blue Devil team has a similar
make-up to those two. Although Duke enters the season just outside the top 10 at No. 12, it has three graduate students in Brown, Greenwell and Davalos, all of whom boast exceptional NCAA résumés in addition to true senior Erin Mathias, who has steadily increased her role on the team and started last year in the NCAA tournament. The veterans are complemented by a deep recruiting class of four freshmen, led by Mikayla Boykin, whose staggering high school numbers alone are enough cause for excitement. The Clinton, N.C., native shattered a host of state records by averaging 37.4 points, 13.7 rebounds, 6.5 assists and 5.6 steals per game as a senior. “I’ve just been really pleased that they are all a threat,” McCallie said. “They’re all competitive and they work hard. All four of them can play and there’s nothing that distinguishes—they all have ability, which makes it very exciting. It’s a strong
class with a lot of potential.” Where the veteran experience will ideally prove most valuable is in the postseason, an area in which the Blue Devils have struggled to maintain consistency. Since the championship loss to Maryland in 2006, Duke has yet to reach another Final Four, despite six No. 2 seeds and two No. 1 seeds since 2007. Though all of those teams had seniors who made significant contributions, lessons from the 2005-06 team’s success leave room for comparison. Point guard Lindsey Harding led that Blue Devil team throughout the NCAA tournament as a redshirt junior, ultimately becoming the program’s first No. 1 WNBA draft pick a year later; depending on her play this season, Lexie Brown could easily become a top-five selection. Although Brown will likely lead Duke to a host of victories before March, the postseason will likely be the most defining metric of the team’s success, given its wealth of talent and experience. Despite the pressure, there is a tangible sense of excitement amongst the players, a sentiment echoed by McCallie. “We think really highly of ourselves,” she said. “What other people think about us is not the most important thing.... We’re excited. I don’t think anyone on the outside could ever think as well as our potential and our opportunity to get after every game.” Rebecca Greenwell has seen it all at Duke. The Owensboro, Ky., native has weathered a torn ACL, transfers of star players, allegations against the head coach, missing the NCAA tournament in 2016 and more. In her last season, however, with pieces of the team’s puzzle finally starting to yield a clear picture, the redshirt senior is as confident as ever. When asked if this team is the best during her tenure at Duke, there was no hesitation. “For sure,” she said. “We have all the pieces. I think we’re going to be really good.” Hank Tucker and Conner McLeod contributed reporting.
MASTER STUDENT-ATHLETES
Blue Devil trio mastering Fuqua’s MMS program By Spencer Levy Staff Writer
In recent years, there have been extensive debates over what it means to be a studentathlete. This year, however, three Blue Devils are proving to be a perfect example. Duke’s Fuqua School of Business is home to students from across many disciplines. At 7 a.m., most graduate students are still resting up for a long day of classes and work. But for a distinct few, the day has already begun. Rebecca Greenwell and Lexie Brown are staples of women’s basketball not just in the ACC, but on the national level as well. This year the Blue Devils will return the highest scoring duo in the ACC in these two stars. But the pair is not alone on the court, nor in the classroom after Duke added prolific rebounder and shot blocker Bego Faz Davalos this past offseason. When Greenwell, Brown and Davalos enrolled in Fuqua’s Master of Management Studies program, all three left behind their usual undergraduate educational experiences and
stepped into a completely unique lifestyle. “There’s always good practices and bad. I have loved that they could get their work done in the morning like this and then have the rest of the day, so I think they’re handling it very well,” Blue Devils head coach Joanne P. McCallie said. “It’s very challenging and much harder than the undergraduate situation, but they’ve worked together on it and I think they’ve adjusted to know what the standard is and I think that they are doing a great job with it.” In the recent decade, college basketball programs have seen an influx of graduate transfers. If an athlete graduates and still possesses a year of eligibility, she can decide to transfer to another university to attend a graduate school that fits her career interest without sitting out a year on the court, as undergraduate transfers are required to do. Unfortunately, balancing the “student” component with the “athlete” can be difficult and particularly discouraging for many graduate players. See FUQUA on Page 7
Ian Jaffe | Photography Editor
Lexie Brown, Bego Faz Davalos and Rebecca Greenwell are classmates in the Master of Management Studies program at the Fuqua School of Business.
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BACKCOURT AND BETTER THAN EVER Preseason All-American pair set for last year at Duke
Odom headlines supporting cast around elite backcourt
“It means a lot. It’s a huge honor, something that I’ve always wanted,” Greenwell said. “But I’m just focused on the With the preseason coming to a close, No. team and our team goals.” 12 Duke is set to play a tough schedule, and Both Brown and Greenwell are team all eyes are on the Blue Devils—and their two captains for the second straight year, carrying graduate students in the backcourt—to see a natural team-oriented mindset to try to if they can make this one of the team’s most maximize this group’s potential in their final successful seasons since head coach Joanne P. year in Durham. McCallie arrived at Duke in 2007. “It’s kind of sad, but it’s super cool to have Rebecca Greenwell and Lexie Brown enter Becca and Bego here for our fifth year,” Brown the year with a chance at leaving a lasting said. “We feel really old. We’re the grandmas impact on the future of the program. They of the team. We just want to leave with a bang, were both chosen as preseason All-Americans leave with a legacy here and leave the program after combining to average 34.7 points per better than we found it.” game and knocking down 156 three-pointers These veterans will have to prepare their last season, and they are natural leaders on a younger teammates for a gauntlet right off the team with five first-year players. bat, with matchups against Oregon State, Ohio “We have a long way to go,” McCallie State and reigning national champion South said. “But what I love about our team is Carolina in a four-game stretch in the first the opportunity that players like Lexie and month of the season. Becca have to influence the team from “From a non-technical standpoint, they experience, from competitive experience have to work on their ability to influence the and that type of thing.” team,” McCallie said when asked where the Brown, a native of Suwanee, Ga., could duo could improve. “When you look at Becca, be considered the more she has such a work experienced of the two We’re the grandmas of the ethic, she’s such a great preseason All-Americans. competitor, she never Brown is the only player on team. We just want to leave changes her demeanor.... the team to have reached with a bang, leave with a Lexie is very intense, the Final Four, which legacy here. especially on defense. she did so in both of her That’s really important REBECCA GREENWELL that that influence hits the seasons at Maryland before GRADUATE STUDENT GUARD she transferred to Duke. team a lot.” In her Blue Devil debut Brown and Greenwell last year, Brown had one of the best seasons in are excited about the supporting cast they have program history, setting the ACC record with around them this season. Players like sophomore 56 straight free throws made and ranking sixth Leaonna Odom and freshman Mikayla Boykin in the nation in points scored. But she still could complement the two household names thinks there is more on the table. well during the season. “My personal goals include having a “Leaonna Odom has tons of potential, very better season than I had last year, whatever athletic, very talented and she’s really shown that that means for the team,” Brown said. “I just so far in preseason,” Greenwell said. “Mikayla want to do whatever I can to help us win and Boykin—she’s a freshman, has lots of talent and be successful.” she’s not shy. She’s very aggressive out on the Greenwell, a product of Owensboro, Ky., has floor, and I think that’s something you need out been a Blue Devil from the beginning. She sat there, especially as a freshman.” out her freshman year with a torn ACL, but has Those young players will have plenty of made an immediate impact from the moment opportunities to leave their mark at Duke, but she stepped on the court. A powerhouse from Brown and Greenwell cannot wait. This is the the 3-point line, Greenwell is second in Duke year that will solidify their legacies in Durham, history in career 3-point field goals made with and they are hoping to make it count. 228. Last season, Greenwell was named firstteam All-ACC, but this is her first year receiving Hank Tucker and Conner McLeod contributed preseason All-American recognition. reporting.
By Riley Pfaff
By Dani Schneider Staff Writer
Staff Writer
On a Duke team that features two preseason All-ACC selections and an incoming freshman who is the reigning North Carolina Gatorade Player of the Year, it is easy to keep the spotlight on the team’s most well-known stars. But three players don’t make a team, and one of the most intriguing elements of this year’s group will be the supporting cast. Leaonna Odom returns after an impressive freshman campaign, and is joined by fellow returners Haley Gorecki and Faith Suggs. These three players, as well as well as freshman Jayda Adams, can and will likely see time on the wings this season, particularly while junior guard Kyra Lambert recovers from an ACL tear suffered in last year’s NCAA tournament. This group, along with several others in the post, will be just as key for the Blue Devils as any of their “stars.” “On any day, things can change and grow. Everybody on our team has a chance to play more minutes and that type of thing, but it has to start in practice, and it has to carry over to games,” Duke head coach Joanne P. McCallie said. “I’m not sure which way we’re going to go relative to those subs. As a coach, we’re generally looking to get the defense and rebounding up and then let the offense kind of go as much as you can, so the important thing is that we don’t lose anything in intensity, immediacy and all those things when we sub.” One of the most dynamic players of this group is Odom, who started in half of Duke’s games last season and will figure to be a regular starter in her second year with the program. Her much-anticipated freshman campaign did not disappoint, as she scored just more than eight points per game in 23.1 minutes per contest. Odom, who McCallie says is “by far” the most athletic player on the team, is particularly impressive because of her versatility. At 6-foot-2, she has the height to hold her ground in the post against bigger opposing forwards, recording 32 blocked shots last year, yet is also quick enough to spread the floor offensively, though she is not much of 3-point shooter. “She can play one through four. She’s got some natural gifts that she’s got to apply her work ethic to meet that natural gift, because she does some things on the floor that most women can’t do,” McCallie said. “The way she elevates and the way she plays, the shots that she’s blocked and what not. She’s terrific, a sophomore, much more experienced, much more comfortable with both positions now, so we’re really excited for her.” Defensively, Odom will be especially key for Duke in the absence of Lambert, who started all but one game for the Blue Devils and was was often one of the most energetic defenders on the team last year. Without Lambert on the floor, Boykin will likely see extended time at point guard alongside Brown and Greenwell in
the starting lineup, opening up more opportunities for guards to work in off the bench. Gorecki and Adams are the next two guards in line for McCallie to sub in her backcourt rotation. Gorecki, who took a medical redshirt last season for a lingering hip injury, will provide experience off the bench for Duke, as well as a passable shooting option to fill in for Brown and Greenwell, both of whom are deadly from beyond the arc. As a freshman, Gorecki averaged 4.5 points in 14.1 minutes per game, though to be a truly credible threat she will have to improve her career 22.2 percent 3-point percentage. Her counterpart off the bench is Adams, a lessheralded recruit than Boykin but nevertheless a potentially valuable reserve. The freshman from Irvine, Calif., will need to learn on the fly if she is to become a regular contributor, but paired with Gorecki, she could help add important depth to a group that is already missing one of its key leaders on the court. With the addition of Adams, Boykin and fellow freshmen Jade Williams and Madison Treece, there are significant opportunities for young players to be involved from the get-go for Duke. For a team that will need production from its freshmen, particularly off the bench, the team’s trip to Italy in August may prove to be critical as its development accelerates during the season. “We have a lot of young faces, so they have a lot to look up to. The biggest thing they had was coming in and going to Italy, and being able to get some games under their belt,” Suggs said. “They’re still learning but they’ve had those games under their belt, so they’re picking up really fast.” Suggs is the final returner, along with Lambert and Odom, who saw time at the wing last season, coming off the bench in 32 games. The daughter of a former NFL safety, Suggs has many of the same athletic abilities as Odom, and like her younger teammate can also be versatile on the floor and spend time at the forward and guard positions. Besides the wings, the rotation behind starting center Erin Mathias in the post will largely be filled with newcomers as well. Treece and Williams both have the potential to provide big minutes for the Blue Devils, as each has the height and rebounding prowess needed to replace Mathias down low. Redshirt Senior Bego Faz Davalos, a transfer from Fresno State, also could fill in for Mathias or play alongside her in a tall lineup. Davalos is the active NCAA leader in blocks, rebounds and double-doubles. Still more than a month away from conference play, McCallie was quick to point out that her rotations are far from set in stone. But with a range of options available to her and Lambert still sidelined, the supporting cast for Duke’s more established stars will take center stage early and often. Hank Tucker contributed reporting.
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CHOREOGRAPHY TO COACHING
From Hollywood to Durham: A coach’s journey By Spencer Levy Staff Writer
Do you ever wonder where Adam Sandler learned to play basketball for some of his movies? Or why the award-winning actor decided to stop by Cameron Indoor Stadium during his last visit to Durham? Movie choreographer. Television actor. NBA Development League coach. NBA draft scout. College basketball coach. Mentor. You can find all of these roles and more by looking no further than one individual at Duke: Hernando Planells. The fact that Planells even ended up at Duke was nothing more than a culmination of a decade of a diverse basketball background that parallels no one in the industry. It is not often that a college basketball coach would reference Sandler in the same breath as Detroit Pistons’ point guard Avery Bradley. Planells credits one individual with the greatest impact on his career. “Probably Adam Sandler. I’ve worked on three of his movies and actually, he was here— He was at the DPAC and he came, he played with us at the K Center,” Planells said. “Just the time he would take aside and kind of teach you the ropes a little bit of how to handle yourself and understanding what true service is when dealing with anybody at that end.” Planells worked with Sandler on three movies: “The Longest Yard,” “Grown Ups” and “That’s My Boy”. He also served as Sandler’s personal trainer for one movie, while choreographing the basketball scenes for a couple of others. “We played basketball, and learning how to incorporate all that into what he likes and what his needs were helped me in so many different ways, and I still thank him to this day,” Planells said. Planells graduated from Regis University and coached three high school teams at the close of the 20th century. Then, in 2001, Planells’
career took a turn that brings him a smile while reminiscing through the amazing experience. He was named the head coach of Spike TV’s hit SLAMBALL as the Bouncers’ head coach. “It was awesome. When you get to coach a sport that no one has ever played when there are trampolines involved and you are yelling at them to jump higher and risk themselves and jumping up and dunking the basketball,” Planells said. “The great thing is incorporating the football, basketball, hockey elements into it. I was lucky just to be a really small part of it. It was exciting because it got me involved more in coaching, but it also got me in the production world on TV and film.” After two seasons on the job, Planells put his entertainment role on hold. It was time for a new career path. But once he arrived on the big stage, his phone kept on ringing and his entertainment career plunged forward. To this day, he has held cameos in multiple movies and commercials in addition to helping out behind the scenes. He has worked on other popular movies such as Coach Carter, SpiderMan 3 and Semi-Pro. The 2006-07 basketball season provided yet another opportunity to expand his knowledge of the game, serving as the head coach of the Ryukyu Golden Kings of Japan’s top basketball league. “It is faster because of a lack of size…. Fundamentals are taught,” Planells said. “In Japan, they have a huge influence of Americans and foreigners, so there’s an American-type aspect to the game.” After some time coaching the Hollywood Fame of the American Basketball Association, Planells was off to work for longtime NBA Director of Scouting Marty Blake, where he scouted numerous NBA prospects for general managers across the league. “When you’re scouting, the top players are obvious and it’s finding the diamonds in the rough that can either go to the NBA or in the D-League,” Planells said. “When you look at
everyone, you want to see how they are going to be able to compete, number one, but how they are going to behave and live at that pro level when you are making money and your job is to play basketball.” While Planells was scouting for the NBA, one team in particular took notice. In 2010, Planells became an assistant coach for the Maine Red Claws—the Boston Celtics’ D-League affiliate— under then-head coach Austin Ainge, the son of Celtics president Danny Ainge. “If you are in a position of influence, there’s just pressure. Granted, when you’re working with Austin, and Danny Ainge is around and all that stuff, I think there is [pressure],” Planells said. “But that wears off after the first five, 10 days.” That journey included coaching a D-League Defensive Rookie of the Year in DeShawn Sims. But another player stood out in a different way. Planells helped develop former Boston Celtic and current Detroit Piston star Avery Bradley.
“It was really just teaching [Bradley] the pro game,” Planells said. “When I do watch him on TV, it’s like, for lack of a better word, watching like your relative playing really well and you feel like you have something to do with it, but he was already talented when he got to us.” This experience allowed the Duke coach to make an impact on and off the court with his up-and-coming players. “When you coach at the pro level, you teach a lot more,” Planells said. “You build a lot of relationships, more than I think at any other level.” These relationships eventually led Planells to his current position at Duke. In his fifth year on the Blue Devils’ coaching staff, Planells has blown away his previous record of time he has spent in the same place. “Talk about a loyal soldier. From helping me out with summer camp to working his way See HERNANDO on Page 7
N.C. record-setter ready to join veteran backcourt By Conner McLeod Staff Writer
Henry Haggart | Staff Photographer
BOYKIN FROM PAGE 6 me to go even harder in practice...and push my teammates to play better as well.” But Boykin’s first impression overseas did not carry over to Duke’s Blue-White scrimmage, as she only scored three points in almost two halves of play. McCallie hopes that Boykin can learn from the experience and stay confident on the floor for the rest of the season. “Mikayla needs to influence other players,” McCallie said. “She needs to be vocal, to be demanding as a point guard, and to be out there and run the show.” Boykin did not have much time to show improvement in Sunday’s exhibition against Alaska Anchorage, taking a hard fall in the first half and sitting out the entire second half with an ice pack around her knee. But all indications are that the injury is not serious, and she will be ready to contribute before long. “My ultimate goal is to win the national championship,” Boykin said. “One thing I want to focus in on is building my leadership role
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and trying to become a better communicator with my teammates.” Boykin will also be molding her role alongside two of the best and most experienced backcourt players in the country in graduate students Lexie Brown and Rebecca Greenwell. Learning how to lead from two preseason All-Americans will only sharpen her own leadership skills when it’s her time to take over in the future. Greenwell and Brown have high praise for the rookie and see a lot of potential in her game. “She’s not shy and she’s very aggressive out there on the court,” Greenwell said. “I think that’s something you need as a freshman.” In Boykin, Duke now has a versatile point guard willing to play hard and give the Blue Devils even more depth at the position this year and for the rest of this decade, especially with Greenwell and Brown on their way out after this season. If Boykin can live up to her full potential as a scorer and a facilitator, she could be the weapon that finally takes Duke back to the Final Four. Hank Tucker contributed reporting.
HERNANDO FROM PAGE 6 up. Now, he’s an associate head coach. He has a lot more responsibility. He is in charge of recruiting. He’s got the post players.... He’s doing a great job,” Blue Devil head coach Joanne P. McCallie said. “He wants to be a head coach. He’s been interviewing for coaching positions. The right one has not come yet, but I think that it will.” There are many aspects of his past that can be seen in his coaching today, but there is one in particular that gives this coaching staff a leg up on its competition. Recruiting in college basketball is difficult for many coaches to excel at. Planells’ background as an NBA scout gives McCallie an expert evaluator and sharp decision maker in her back pocket. “It helps you make a decision,” Planells said. “In recruiting, a lot of us coaches can’t make a decision. We like this player or that player.” At the end of the day, the film industry
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and basketball are more related than one might think. Building relationships in coaching and entertainment mirrors one another. With all of these diverse experiences in his back pocket, the associate head coach currently serves as the director of “Always Be Contagious,” a leadership program that hosts conferences and podcasts for business leaders and other coaches. “It comes down to service, decision-making and relationships.... When you work with actors and producers and directors, everything is communication-based and how are we going to work together to build something up? When you are working on a movie, it’s a $30 million budget and you have all these moving parts you’re trying to get together so it looks great for like an hour and a half,” Planells said. “It transfers over to basketball, you are trying to get a team together, trying to get the different pieces together. How do you get them working so that in the end, you are winning a championship and helping these young ladies really get to another level on the court and off the court.” Hank Tucker contributed reporting.
Ian Jaffe | Photography Editor
Hernando Planells’ life in basketball has taken him to Hollywood, Japan and Maine before he arrived in Durham.
FRESHMAN FLOOR GENERAL
Mikayla Boykin averaged more than 37 points and 13 rebounds per game as a senior at Clinton High School in North Carolina.
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On a roster filled with height and out-of-state imports, a 5-foot-9 point guard and the lone North Carolinian on the team might be the piece Duke needs to put the team over the top come March. Freshman Mikayla Boykin, the centerpiece of a top-10 recruiting class for the Blue Devils, adds another scoring option to a Duke team looking to make the Final Four this season. Last year, the Blue Devils’ offense was heavily reliant on top scorers Lexie Brown, Rebecca Greenwell and Kyra Lambert. But after Lambert tore her ACL in the first round of the NCAA tournament, Duke could not get the lid off the basket, shooting just 38.8 percent from the field in an upset loss against Oregon in the Round of 32. One piece the Blue Devils could have used to win was another player who not only could score in bunches, but could get her teammates involved as well. Boykin embodies all Duke needs to fill this role, especially while Lambert is still sidelined indefinitely with her injury. “Mikayla has earned her minutes and continues to do so with her work ethic and of
course her skillset,” Duke head coach Joanne P. McCallie said. On a Blue Devil squad already loaded with talent, Boykin’s own exceptional stats justify why she already had a starting spot in the team’s lone exhibition game Sunday night. At Clinton High School, Boykin averaged 37.4 points, 6.5 assists, 13.7 rebounds and 5.6 steals per game. The reigning North Carolina Gatorade Player of the Year, Boykin’s ability to do everything on the court and her natural leadership helped her lead her team to a state championship. ESPN ranked her No. 21 overall and No. 7 for twoway guards in her class. Although many high school stars struggle to translate their skills to the college level, Boykin has already shown that she is more comfortable with the adjustment. In Duke’s trip to Italy in August, Boykin led the team in assists with 15 in three games and shot an efficient 63.0 percent from the field. Her play and reputation earned her a spot on the ACC’s preseason Newcomer Watch List. “[Winning the nomination] is a great feeling,” Boykin said. “I feel like it’s just going to motivate See BOYKIN on Page 7
FUQUA FROM PAGE 3 But Davalos is unlike the majority. Due to Fuqua’s distinguished pedigree, the San Luis Potosi, Mexico, native decided to finish her Fresno State education and graduate in three years in favor of the opportunity to learn from some of academia’s finest business scholars. Unlike most college basketball transfers, the educational aspect of her new school may have been an even bigger attraction than the basketball program. “Oh, it was huge,” Davalos said. “It was definitely something [like] 70 percent, 80 percent of my decision. Fuqua is an incredible school of business and I was really excited to take that challenge.” The Fresno State transfer said that this fall is the first time that she has taken classes with teammates. In fact, these classes may have started earlier than McCallie would have preferred. Against its best opponent of the team’s Italy trip this past summer, Duke was forced to compete without the likes of the intellectual trio, as Fuqua classes were commencing back home in Durham. The Blue Devils lost that game to Celje Basketball Club—a Slovenian professional team featuring former Duke standout Oderah Chidom. “I wasn’t sure how people would accept me, and being an athlete, if they would think if I’m adequate enough to be there,” Brown said. “They’ve been super supportive, super chill. The
professors have been amazing. My classmates have been amazing. We’re working in teams a lot, so I go from one team to another team, so it’s been a really nice transition.” Having each other through thick and thin has enhanced all three of the Blue Devils’ time this fall. Although the classes are difficult and the exams put the finest details to test, the three Blue Devils have adjusted well to their newfound environment. “We’ve been struggling a little bit in the grad program. We’ve been getting good grades, though, but it’s been super difficult, probably one of the hardest things that I’ve done academic-wise,” Brown said. “But it has made us super close. We study together, we sit together in class. We’ve all made a bunch of friends in the program, which is really cool, and it’s just been a really nice experience.” The stark contrast from her last academic year as an undergrad to this one is not lost on Greenwell. The environment has shifted, and the structure of a graduate school education is unlike her previous four years in Durham. “It’s actually a lot different. You don’t see as many people as much—just from the gym back to Fuqua. I’m more involved with the Fuqua students, which is a different Duke experience because most people didn’t go to Duke. They are from all over,” Greenwell said. “There are a lot more diverse people. But I still feel a part of the Duke community, being around the team. It’s just two different experiences for sure.”
Neal Vaidya | Staff Photographer
Duke added Bego Faz Davalos as a graduate trasnfer after she averaged a double-double last season at Fresno State.
Henry Haggart | Staff Photographer
Rebecca Greenwell redshirted her first year in Durham due to a torn ACL, resulting in a fifth year of school this season. Although the classes may be more difficult than last year and the ability to balance exam preparation and game preparation has become another burden, all three players are able to enjoy their classes and succeed together. “I really enjoy them. They are a lot tougher, more difficult than undergrad, but they are also very practical and relatable to life. They are definitely going to be useful in the future,” Greenwell said. “The professors are great. The students are great. They are all very smart, so it makes the learning a lot easier and a lot more interesting.” The common theme of togetherness in class also applies to the hardwood. All three know what their teammates have on the agenda when practice ends and class begins. The feeling that they are never alone allows for a safety net and a sense of belonging. “When we’re in class, it’s basically class only. A lot of the people in the class are kind of in awe of us, which is kind of cool,” Brown said. “The fact that we’re balancing a full basketball schedule and a schedule at Fuqua, so that’s really cool.” Although Greenwell, Brown and Davalos are easily identifiable in the classroom—particularly Davalos, who checks in at 6-foot-3—there is another member of the team that is going through the same difficult workload. Student manager Erin Weber arrived at Duke to attend the Fuqua School of Business after graduating from Washington State, where she was also a
women’s basketball manager. “The three of us kind of don’t really talk about basketball when we’re in the classroom and we definitely don’t want to talk about the classroom while we’re on the court, so we keep it pretty separate,” Brown said. “But we have Erin here, [so] sometimes the conversation about assignments or something like that will slip in.” Whether it’s studying for an accounting class or staying accountable to one another on the floor, Greenwell, Brown and Davalos maintain a strong bond. And as the new Fuqua semester is now upon the graduate students, so is a new opportunity outside of their lectures. The trio will look to translate their connectivity from studying late at night to working seamlessly together on the floor as well. Whatever transpires on the court, there will always be these three walking from the gym to class as one. Although the on-court achievements of this team may be remembered more than this group’s academic interests, for these three Blue Devils, what makes those rewards feel even better is the work that they put in when nobody is watching. “It’s just really nice to have a person to listen to you, to stay with you, to study with you and struggle with you,” Davalos said. “It’s just the best. Going together is an amazing experience.” Hank Tucker contributed reporting.
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8 | WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2017
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