For a team that has seemingly struggled to account for the loss of standout forward Oderah Chidom in the post, reinforcements are coming—next year.
Duke signed a trio of high school seniors to its 2018 recruiting class Monday, including two post players who head coach Joanne P. McCallie hopes can fill the void in the frontcourt. Although the class is not as highly regarded as the No. 8 overall class McCallie hauled in last year, it includes ESPN's No. 81 recruit Onome Akinbode-James, a 6-foot-3 post, and Prospect Nation's No. 64 overall prospect Uchenna Nwoke, a 6-foot-6 center.
McCallie also added a quick point guard in Rayah Craig, ESPN's No. 93 overall recruit.
“It’s a great, great class,” McCallie said in a press release. “They are three exceptional women, all dedicated to great academics, great basketball and a desire to make history at Duke as we pursue our first national championship. They are special because they work extremely hard, they are very athletic and each of them offers something completely different.”
Despite having one of the best backcourt duos in the nation in Lexie Brown and Rebecca Greenwell, Duke has stumbled early with a road loss to Villanova that exposed its lack of depth.
With the departures of Brown and Greenwell imminent, McCallie hopes the recruits can step in right away and play significant minutes. Craig attended Desert Mountain High School and averaged nearly a triple-double last season, leaving her as a candidate to take minutes in 2018-19.
“Rayah is a jet-quick point guard. She needs to get physically stronger, but she is a jet-quick point guard who gives us more athleticism in the guard position so we can press, run and be more effective in that way," McCallie said. "She is a natural leader. She thinks and plays the game and is best off the bounce right now. She is someone who is really going to develop and enjoy the collegiate game.”
Although Craig is just 5-foot-10, Nwoke will be the tallest player in McCallie's program since Azurá Stevens took the court in 2015-16. Although Nwoke is not ranked by ESPN, McCallie hopes Nwoke will develop into a consistent true center.
“Uchenna is somebody who is going to work extremely hard and will have a job to own the paint, get blocks and really use her body as a presence defensively, rebounding-wise and of course scoring on the blocks," McCallie said. "She is excited to learn, is really excited for the next level and also the conditioning it takes at the next level. We are really pleased to have her because all of our post players have been more inside-out players, where Uchenna is happy to be a true five with her back to the basket.”
On the other hand, Akinbode-James fits more of the profile of sophomore Leaonna Odom with her versatility and skills with the ball.
“Onome is extremely physical, very athletic and one of the most determined players I have seen on the court, relative to how hard she plays and how aggressive she is willing to be. She can score in the paint, she can score short corners, she can score high post," McCallie said. "She is working on her three ball, which she can hit as well. She is also a very versatile player. Literally, she will play the one, two, three or four for us at Duke. I call her a ‘point-four.’ But I think it is her mindset, how tough she is mentally, that is going to be one of the biggest contributing factors to her success her and to how she helps the team.”
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Managing Editor 2018-19, 2019-2020 Features & Investigations Editor
A member of the class of 2020 hailing from San Mateo, Calif., Ben is The Chronicle's Towerview Editor and Investigations Editor. Outside of the Chronicle, he is a public policy major working towards a journalism certificate, has interned at the Tampa Bay Times and NBC News and frequents Pitchforks.