Eight years ago, a trio of talented and determined women met on the basketball court for the first time. Little did they know that they would end up playing not as rivals but as teammates for the same college. Now, after years of playing against each other in high school and with each other in college, Windsor Coggeshall, Tyish Hall, and Kira Orr embark on their senior season.
After eight years of playing basketball together from AAU to the Blue Devils, Coggeshall, Hall and Orr have each other's styles of play virtually memorized. Without even looking around, each one of them knows where the others are going to be.
In addition, they have a strong relationship off the court as well as on. Through the years they have grown together and learned from each other, and their various personalities complement each other.
"I think we've grown a whole lot together," Hall said. "It's been a great experience getting to know them and playing with them for all this time. We play really well together, knowing where each other's going to be, just because we've been playing together for so long."
Just as their personalities differ, their entrances into the world of basketball are also strikingly different.
Basketball has been an integral part of Orr's life since early childhood. At the tender age of six, she watched from the sidelines while a group of boys in her apartment complex played pickup games. One day a man approached her and asked her if she liked what she saw. Fascinated by the sport, Orr responded affirmatively, and the man spent about 90 minutes teaching her how to dribble, pass, shoot and rebound. Without introducing himself, Orr's mentor departed. She never saw this stranger again, but he sparked an interest that developed into a major part of Orr's life. Before long she was playing with the neighborhood boys-and beating them.
While Orr's inspiration to play basketball came from a stranger, Coggeshall's greatest source of encouragement and support came from her father. From fifth grade onward, she was involved in many different sports, and her father was her biggest fan. In fact, he coached her in both basketball and soccer for several years. As Coggeshall grew older, she fell in love with basketball and focused more of her time and energy on the sport.
When Hall started playing basketball, she never intended to play very seriously. Moving to a new school district right before her freshman year in high school, she attended a basketball camp with the primary purpose of meeting people and making friends. At the end of her sophomore year, she received her first letter from a college coach. Hall had always dreamed of going to college, and the letter made her realize that basketball was one means by which she could get there. From that point on, she took basketball more seriously-and the rest is history.
Now, after three different childhoods, four years competing with each other, and three years playing together at Duke, their proverbial 15 minutes in the spotlight has arrived. Orr, Coggeshall, and Hall are the leaders of the team this season. They are the ones whom the newcomers look up to, the ones who will guide the team through what will hopefully be a victorious season.
The journey has not been an easy one. Reaching this point in their basketball careers has required both perseverance and flexibility for all three. Throughout their years at Duke, they have all had to be willing to adapt to change, to learn new styles of play, and to do whatever it takes to improve.
"I think I've improved every aspect of my game in my four years here," Coggeshall said. "We focus on the little things here, and every year we get a little bit better. You can always improve."
The trio will have their work cut out for them this year as well. In addition to leading the freshmen both on and off the court, they will also have to help fill the void created by the graduation of Ali Day and Jen Scanlon.
"I would say that the team as a whole has to fill that gap," Hall said. "It's not just one person who's going to pick up Jen or Ali's scoring average or Ali's rebounds. It's all of us as a whole."
Coggeshall, Hall and Orr each have new obstacles to overcome this season. After missing several games last season due to two herniated discs in her lower back, Coggeshall has returned to the court but is still on the road to a complete recovery.
"I still have bad days with my back," Coggeshall said. "I was in rehab all summer so hopefully it won't be too much of a problem. Right now I'm just trying to figure out how to make it so that I don't have bad days on game days."
Hall has also been plagued by injuries lately, suffering a stress fracture in her pelvis. Although she is no longer on crutches, it has not been determined when she will be able to play.
Orr faces a different sort of challenge. After playing as point guard for the last three years, this season she will move to shooting guard, while sophomore Hilary Howard will take over at the point. Orr feels confident that she can make the transition with ease.
"It's kind of working out that way because I think I look to score a little bit more than [Howard] does....so I get the spot," Orr said. "Last year I switched over to the two guard a lot. I played two guard a lot in my high school team as well. I think I feel a little more comfortable at the one, but playing the two is not completely foreign to me either."
The 1996-97 season will be a time of metamorphosis for Duke. Due to the Blue Devils' youth and injuries, several players have had to learn new positions. In addition, in order not to end this season in a manner similar to last year's crushing loss to San Francisco, they have also been practicing new strategies and working on refining the minute details of their game.
"Right now we're just trying to learn the system because we switched both our offensive and our defensive games a little bit," Orr said. "We drew some schemes up, so it's a learning process for everyone right now. I think we're just trying to focus on knowing what to do on the court and being comfortable with the system and from there we'll eventually start to really break it down and fix all the kinks."
The Blue Devils may have to struggle to get accustomed to fulfilling new roles, but Hall, Orr and Coggeshall believe that they have what it takes to make the transition. Both the bumper crop of talented rookies and the corps of experienced veterans are willing to work diligently to realize their full potential.
"Our strengths are that we have tremendous athletes on the team and that our work ethic is great," Hall said. "Everyone wants us to be the best we can be, and we all know what we have to do to get there. Our practices have been really intense."
Orr, Coggeshall and Hall possess expectations that match Duke's level of determination and intensity. All three seniors intend to improve on their finish from last year and to make their last season at Duke a season to remember.
"For the team, I really want us to win the ACC tournament," Orr said. "For two years now, we've gone to the championship game and lost, so I really want to accomplish that goal. I really want us to get an NCAA bid, a home bid, and I think that we can go far in the tournament if we reach the potential that we have. We can be a very good team. I feel confident that we'll reach our peak level and we'll achieve our goals."
If the Blue Devils are to attain these goals, it will be Windsor Coggeshall, Tye Hall and Kira Orr who will lead the way.
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