"Five hundred, twenty-five thousand, six hundred minutes. Five hundred, twenty-five thousand moments so dear. How do you measure, measure a year?" How do you measure a season of... basketball?
For the true fans of Duke's women's basketball, this quote from the musical "Rent" may be hard to answer. By true fans I mean those who were gracious and generous enough to spare two hours of their busy schedule to cheer on the women's team for more than just the Carolina game. I'm talking about the fans who cheered, not just because Mike Krzyzewski mentioned the team before the men's Carolina game, but because they had the opportunity to watch some amazing basketball.
For those of you who came to as many of the games as possible, what a season to remember! Who would have thought that at the beginning of the season that Duke would be in the Elite Eight, and three minutes away from a Final Four? After all, this team had never even advanced to the Sweet 16.
This was a team that had lost two of its best players in Kira Orr and Tye Hall. I mean, sure the Blue Devils had picked up transfers Nicole Erickson and Michele VanGorp from Purdue, and added freshmen Georgia Schweitzer and Rochelle Parent, but for all we knew, they could have been disappointments.
Well you know what? They weren't. All the new faces, along with all the old, made this a historical and memorable season for Duke. Erickson, with Hilary Howard, gave the Blue Devils a balanced and potent backcourt. Schweitzer, Parent and Peppi Browne brought to the team a frontcourt balance that more than made up for the departure of Hall. The Blue Devils surprised everyone, except perhaps themselves, throughout the season with their amazing run, which included winning the Atlantic Coast Conference regular season title. I had a feeling watching the team play a pickup game before the season started that this team could make history by reaching the Sweet 16, but winning the ACC and reaching the Elite Eight, never. Even I can be wrong.
Duke did not always enjoy a smooth season. It had its highs and lows. The Blue Devils were a surprising team all right-if they weren't shocking you with who they beat, they were shocking you with their losses. Starting the season with an exhibition loss to Moscow Dynamo did nothing to silence the critics. Yet a few weeks later, the Blue Devils dominated a good Notre Dame team.
For all of 1997 the Blue Devils struggled, seemingly searching for some type of consistency. Just when the Blue Devils would beat teams like Ohio State and Michigan, they would lose the next few to Clemson and UCLA. And even the games they won, they won ugly. Sure they beat Ohio State by 30, but give me a break, they weren't really that good. Against a semi-decent Michigan squad, Duke all but choked away a 12-point halftime and an 18-point second-half lead. In fact, if it wasn't for a lucky break at the end of the game, Duke would have lost. Clemson and UCLA were really the first true tests for the team, and both times they left questions.
The team found its groove, ironically enough, after a loss to a tough North Carolina squad, a team that gave Tennessee a major scare in the Final Eight. The Blue Devils played the Tar Heels tight for about 35 minutes, but they simply faded in the end. That game seemed to turn the season around as the Blue Devils were able to defeat in one week three teams ranked in the top 20. In those three games against N.C. State, Virginia and Clemson, the Blue Devils won by an average of 20 points. The team went on to win the ACC regular-season championship with a 13-3 record, the school's best ever, and took revenge on the Tar Heels, beating them by 13 in Cameron Indoor Stadium.
The Blue Devils lost to Carolina in the ACC Tournament, but this was still a team that was capable of making a run in the NCAA Tournament. The Blue Devils received an unbelievable draw for the NCAAs. Forget Sweet 16. With Stanford, the weakest of all the one seeds, in their bracket, the Blue Devils had an amazing chance to reach the Final Four. Yet this team also had the chance to lose in the second round, depending on which Blue Devil team showed up. Would it be the one that inexcusably lost to a mediocre Maryland or the one that beat a tough Tar Heel team?
Against Middle Tennessee State, the Blue Devils didn't play great but they played well enough to beat an overmatched Raider team by 25. It was the next game, against Louisville, that showed not only the fans but the entire nation that this team was real. Louisville was only a tenth seed, but had looked impressive in a first-round game with Utah.
Duke was dominant from the start. You could see a look in the players' eyes that this was their time. They were not going to be denied. The Blue Devils constantly broke not only the Cardinals' traps, but their spirits, as they rolled to victory. Any question about the Blue Devils choking was gone. The next question was: would they be satisfied with just making the Sweet 16?
Playing a Florida team that had beaten them earlier in the year, the two seed could easily have settled for an already remarkable season. But the Blue Devils refused to go gently into the night. The Blue Devils' chance rested on containing All-American Gator Muriel Page, and Browne and Lauren Rice did just that. Browne especially played like a demon on both ends of the court, grabbing rebounds and steals. But that type of play was typical of Browne's season, as she led the team in both categories.
After defeating Florida, the Blue Devils finally started getting the respect they deserved. People started talking about Duke and the Final Four, but that's a place reserved for teams like Tennessee, Louisiana Tech... and unfortunately this year, Arkansas.
For some reason, against the Razorbacks, the Blue Devils played like they did against Maryland. The Blue Devils looked scared, almost as if they didn't feel they belonged in the Elite Eight. Still, as bad as they played in that game, they still were perhaps one bad call away from the Final Four.
How do you measure a season of basketball? For the true fans you measure it not just in victories or championships, but the memories that this season provided. Remember Erickson's 27 against the Tar Heels, or her dominating 21- and 20-point performances against Louisville and Florida, respectively, to help lead Duke to the Elite Eight?
What about Howard's typical 13-point, seven-assist and five-steal effort against the Wolfpack? Howard, the spark plug for the team, often dazzled her opponents with quick drives to the hoop and beautiful passes to wide open teammates.
Don't forget Schweitzer and her picture perfect jumpshot going for 20 points against the Tar Heels in Chapel Hill.
Remember Parent stepping up big at the end of the season when Schweitzer was hurt? A common sight was watching Parent fight and scrap for every loose ball and every rebound.
These and countless other stories made for a remarkable season. On behalf of the true fans of women's hoops, let me say thanks to the team. Thank you for the memories and thank you for an amazing season. A lot of people don't believe that the team can duplicate this season next year. They're right. Maybe this team can make the Final Four next year, but this season was one for the ages. For those of you who didn't attend more than one game too bad, you can only imagine what you missed.
Jamal Middlebrooks is a Trinity senior.
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