During the November signing period, the women' s basketball tam signed one recruit, Jennifer McGinnis. The following is a profile of the top-40 prep player from Tennessee.
According to women's basketball head coach Gail Goestenkors, it takes a great deal of faith for a top high school basketball player to bypass more established programs in favor of Duke's up-and-coming team.
Jennerifer McGinnis of Oak Ridge, Tenn., seems to have more than enough faith in the Blue Devils' second-year head coach. McGinnis, considered one of the top-40 prospects in the nation, signed a letter of intent last month to enroll at Duke in the fall of 1994.
"[Goestenkors] seems really enthusiastic about coaching, like she talks about how she wants to win a national championship," McGinnis said. "That's her goal, and it's mine, too."
National championship talk regarding the Blue Devils may be a bit premature-reaching the NCAAs for the first time since 1987 is the goal of this year's squad. But the fact is that Duke's program is on the rise, and Goestenkors is eager to make the Blue Devils a national contender sooner than many people might think.
"[For McGinnis] the choice [of schools] came down between us and Auburn," Goestenkors said. "At the time, Auburn was ranked third or fourth in the polls. So again it was another tough decision for somebody to decide to come to a school that was not ranked yet. But let's have faith and confidence that we can be right up there in a couple of years, a year or two."
In McGinnis, Duke will get a 6-3 post player from one of the best high school programs in the country. Oak Ridge, coached by Jill Prudden, is ranked ninth in the nation by the USA Today.
McGinnis led the Wildcats in scoring last year at 17 points per game while helping the team to a second-place finish in the highly competitive Tennessee girls high school basketball tournament.
McGinnis' decision to attend Duke over higher-profile programs was made because of several factors.
"From talking to the coaches, I knew I could make a bigger impact on where the program went [at Duke]," McGinnis said. "Also, I knew it was a better educational school."
Prudden emphasized the academic factor in McGinnis' decision.
"The academics were very important," Prudden said. "She felt very comfortable with the people at Duke, and she was excited to be part of a building program.
"She realizes basketball is not everything, that there's more out there and you have to be future-oriented. I think she wants a good education and a good degree from the university."
On the court, McGinnis is one of a rare breed of inside players that can also move behind the three-point arc and consistently hit the long-range shot.
"She's a post player, but one of the things we try to utilize in our offense is the fact that she steps out and shoots the three very well," Prudden said.
McGinnis has competed for many years on an Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) squad from her area, and she has had extraordinary success. Her team captured the AAU natioanl championship when she was 13 and when she was 15, and her team came in second in the most recent tournament.
Goenstenlors has taken special note of her latest performace in the AAUs.
"At the national tournament last year, [McGinnis] was an AAU All-American," Goenstenkors said. "For the tournament she averaged making four three-pointers a game. She's not a physical player-she's more of a finesse player-but she's got great inside moves."
According to Prudden, who has coached 15 players who have gone on to play Division I, McGinnis has what it takes to succeed at the next level.
"I think she's a winner," Prudden said. "Any coach would rather work with a kid that is used to winning and knows what it takes to win. [Duke] sets its expectations pretty high, and I think she'll come into their program very hungry and very eager. She's a person that sets high goals.
"I have been fortunate, I've had a lot of good kids come through here. Jennifer's got a lot of potential. If she will learn to elevate her game, she'll be one of the best kids to come out [of Oak Ridge]."
McGinnis points to winning the state championship as her ultimate goal for the upcoming season. And she has two talented teammates at Oak Ridge that have also committed early to Division I schools-guard Erin Young is headed to N.C. State and guard Shawnee Lenior has signed with Alabama-Birmingham.
Still, winning the title will not be easy, considering there are two other Tennessee high schools ranked in the top 12 nationally.
But this competition should prepare McGinnis well for her career with the Blue Devils.
"She's going to come in, she should be way ahead of most freshman," Goenstenkors said. "She's been very well coached and she's got the basics down."
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.