When it comes to Georgia Schweitzer and basketball, there's no stopping her. In grade school, her mother couldn't stop her from shooting on her backyard court. In high school, the janitors couldn't stop her from practicing in the high school gym. And in college, there haven't been too many coaches that have figured out just how to stop her from winning.
But, that's the nature of the freshman Schweitzer-always staying one step ahead of the competition. Although not imposing in person, this low-key Ohio native has cut a figure in the Atlantic Coast Conference basketball that is nothing short of imposing. She has done it by staying ahead of coaches, competition and even expectations, playing with a poise and an awareness rarely found in a freshman.
"She's just a great all-around player," Duke coach Gail Goestenkors said. "She plays with a lot of poise as a freshman. She's an excellent shooter, and she sees the floor very well. She brings us another shooter, a good ball handler and she's someone with a tremendous understanding of the game."
But what has really defined Schweitzer this season is her ability to play well when it counts.
This may be because big matchups have become just another part of the game for Schweitzer. A member of the 1997 AAU national champions Columbus Lions and countless outstanding Bishop Hartley high school teams, this second team All-Ohio selection knows all about high pressure games.
But perhaps more important than learning how to win games, she learned how to win the respect and the hearts of those around her. When talking to anyone who knows her, it becomes almost impossible to keep the focus on her athletic ability.
"As a player, I think she's got the complete game," Bishop Hartley athletic director Erskine Braggs said. "But as a person I think she epitomized what you would want anyone to be. She's an even better person than she is a player."
It is this same simple, down-to-earth personality that has made the biggest impression on her new coach and teammates.
"Everybody loves Georgia," Goestenkors said. "She's an easy person to be around; she's very upbeat, enjoyable."
And this is a sentiment that is returned by Schweitzer, who cited the great team chemistry as one of her top reasons for attending Duke.
"I can not have asked or dreamed for better teammates," Schweitzer said. "They've been so supportive. Its pretty tough being away from home for the first time, but they've all just been so helpful. I love the way we play together, and everyone is so great."
But maybe the most readily identifiable hallmark from her Ohio days is her classic shot and its trademark long follow-through, something she credits to her father.
"My dad was my coach from fourth to eighth grade," Schweitzer said. "I was always asking my dad to come out and shoot with me. [My shot] was the result of that coaching and a lot of practice."
It was that same shot that electrified a hostile North Carolina crowd with 8-of-12 shooting and 20 point performance against the conference arch-rival Tar Heels and thrust her into the ACC spotlight.
"It was one of those nights, where you feel you like you're hot and you can't miss," Schweitzer said. "I just wanted to go out and win, and I happened to be on that night."
Schweitzer's offensive prowess and increased defensive ability combined to earn her not only ACC Rookie of the Week honors, but the starting nod in the last four games. But one thing her new-found notoriety has not brought is an inflated ego. In fact, if there is any one dominant theme to her personality, it is her self-sacrificing nature which even a starting spot couldn't remove.
"I'm just another player," Schweitzer said. "[Starting] felt good, but it doesn't change the mentality that I take every night. I'm not more excited or wanting to win more just because I'm starting. I just wanted to do whatever [Goestenkors] thought was right for me."
But behind the bobbing ponytail and the humble personality, there truly is the drive of a champion, a drive for not only herself to succeed, but perhaps even more for those around her to succeed. There's no question that this drive and simple love for the game will push her well beyond what anyone ever expected from this modest Catholic school-girl.
"When I made my first basket and ever since then it has been just so much fun for me," Schweitzer said. "I mean I just played in my backyard all those nights for so many years-I could just stay out there all night.
"I can't point to one specific thing about the game, it's just the game in general...[I play for] just the hope of betterment. I just always want to keep getting better. I want to be the best I can be. I realize that I have a lot of God-given talent, and I want to develop that."
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