Any list of the biggest college basketball states in the country would definitely have to include Indiana and North Carolina. For its Class of 2000, the women's basketball team harvested these hotbeds with the signing of Lauren Rice and Jennifer Forte.
Rice, a native of Peru, Ind., and Forte, who hails from Raleigh, may have grown up as Hoosier and Wolfpack fans, respectively, but now their loyalties have firmly shifted to Duke blue and white.
"I was kind of brainwashed with Indiana," Rice, a 6-foot-1 power forward, said. "But they can be real nutty here too."
Both players said Duke's academic reputation helped convince them to come here. Forte, a 6-foot-3 center, said her final decision was between the Blue Devils and Wake Forest, but she wanted to stay close to home.
"I've still been pretty homesick," she said. "But the other players are great. We're like sisters-we laugh, we joke, we cry, we have so much fun. If it weren't for them, I'd be miserable."
Rice has had a bittersweet start to her Duke career, as she has been hurt on-and-off since the beginning of practice. She played in the first exhibition game against Team Champion AAU Nov. 10 but was reinjured the following Monday in practice and missed Saturday's contest versus China.
"I had real high expectations coming in," she said. " I was real excited, but I've been hurt since I've been here. My job right now is to watch and learn."
Rice, who said she hopes to play against UNC-Asheville Saturday, never missed a game due to injury in high school, so sitting on the sidelines is a new, and sometimes frustrating, experience.
"I think it's harder as a freshman too," she said, "because you feel like you need to prove yourself to the coaches, and to your teammates."
But coach Gail Goestenkors said she thinks Rice can still make an impact this season.
"She's a very intelligent basketball player, and understands the game," she said. "She really hasn't missed too much. She understands what we need and what we want so well that she was able to step in sooner than some other people would."
The injury bug has plagued the Blue Devils as a whole, the most notable victim being senior forward Tye Hall. As a result, Forte and several other players have garnered more playing time.
"A lot of people would look at it as a bad sign," she said. "But I think it can be a positive because people who wouldn't normally be playing are getting some experience."
But Forte also said she misses the opportunity to practice against Hall, though she added that she and the other freshmen can still learn a lot from the upperclassmen.
"It was great when I could play against Tye in practice," she said. "But I've learned so much just talking to her. She's like me in that she's tall, but not that thick, so she's teaching me about how to play strong. And Payton [Black] is stronger so she pushes me in practice."
Rice and Forte come to Duke with impressive resumes. Forte set the Millbrook High School career scoring record with 1,499 points, earning conference MVP honors last season. Rice was twice an honorable mention Street & Smith All-American, as she averaged 22.3 points and 12.8 rebounds over her four years at Peru High School. But high school and college are not the same thing, and both players said they want to improve parts of their games, particularly their post defense.
"In high school," Forte said, "if you're tall you just stood behind the other players and blocked their shots."
She added that she hoped to contribute on the boards in Hall's absence.
"She's a post player who likes contact, who likes to take the ball to the basket," Goestenkors said. "I think she's going to play some valuable minutes for us this year."
While Rice will also bang inside, she said she hopes to bring a more well-rounded game to the Blue Devils.
"I think I play a different role from most forwards," she said. "The fact that I can handle the ball, and pass, and then I'm a three-point threat too."
While Forte is continuing to learn the finer points of college post play, Rice said she's just focusing on getting healthy and staying in shape as she recovers from her injuries. But whatever happens for Rice and Forte this season, they will still have three more years on which to build.
"I think that with the freshman class we have right now, the next few years are going to be really good for us," Rice said.
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