Basketball teams sneak peek into promising future

When Gail Goestenkors used to try to recruit top high-school women's basketball players four or five years ago, she would tell them to imagine building a program that could win ACC titles and compete for trips to the Final Four in the future. That program is built, and now it's a matter of bringing in the athletes that can keep Duke pointed toward the top. This weekend, one such high-school star will be on campus, when Alexandria, Va., native Kara Lawson visits the University. Lawson is rated as the best point guard in the country by the All-Star Girls Report and the fourth-best guard by the Blue Star Report. The 5-foot-8 Lawson, who has already made visits to Virginia, Vanderbilt, Stanford and Tennessee, averaged 27.3 points, 9.5 rebounds, 8.1 assists and 4.5 steals last season for West Springfield High School. The trip to Duke will be her last college visit, and Lawson expects to make a decision during next week's early signing period. "Every school is different," Lawson said from her home Wednesday. "Basically at this point, when I go on my visits I like to get a feel for the team, get to know maybe my future teammates. I've been studying and looking up schools ever since I was in eighth grade." Indeed, Lawson's high-school coach, Bill Gibson, said that the most important factor for Lawson is her comfort factor at the schools. Beyond the academics that top-flight schools like Duke and Stanford can offer, Lawson is concerned about the status of the basketball programs she visits. While all five schools on her list are among the 10 best in the nation, Duke may have something more to offer. "They have an up and coming program, that's one of the things I like," Lawson said. "[Goestenkors] has done a great job in the short time she's been there. I've been following ACC basketball since I was in second grade. I've seen the tremendous strides they've made under her direction." Lawson met Goestenkors for the first time when Lawson was a seventh grader and Goestenkors was the rookie coach of a cellar-dwelling Duke team. Five years later, Lawson is one of the most coveted seniors in the country and Goestenkors has the Blue Devils aiming for their first appearance in the Final Four. While Duke just brought in freshman Krista Gingrich to play the point, Lawson is unconcerned with the presence of another potential star. She also adds the fact that Duke graduates seven seniors after this season, leaving the door open to immediate playing time. "People ask me about [Gingrich] all the time," Lawson said. "Every college is going to have someone there who plays their position. I'm not looking for a free ride anywhere. You want your teammates to be good because you play them every day in practice." There aren't many weaknesses to Lawson's game. She says that she has "pretty good hops" and can touch the rim, but that only begins to describe her ability on the court. "She can do it all," Gibson said. "She handles the ball well. She could probably quarterback [Duke's] football team because she's got a strong arm. Sometimes she'll rebound the ball and throw it from baseline to baseline. "She can also shoot the three. But of all those great abilities, her greatest ability is her knowledge of the game." Though Gibson says that Lawson probably has some kind of order of schools in her mind, Lawson said she hasn't reevaluated her first four visits yet and won't do so until she has returned home from Duke. Lawson has actually been to Durham a few times already but has never seen a game played at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Though the women do not play this weekend, Lawson will attend the men's game tomorrow night against Australia.