Shortly after gaining national prominence and notoriety with her team's Final Four run last season, women's basketball coach Gail Goestenkors dug back into her roots in Michigan to land her first recruit for the class of 2004.
Five-foot-five point guard Vicki Krapohl of Mount Pleasant became the first member of that class when she verbally committed to Goestenkors and the Blue Devils after taking an unofficial visit last spring.
Rated the No. 2 prospect in Michigan by both the Detroit News and the Detroit Free Press, Krapohl picked Duke over Stanford, Notre Dame and Michigan. But the quest for Krapohl's services quickly became no contest after her visit to Duke in April. Krapohl returned home on a Sunday, and gave Goestenkors her commitment on Monday.
"It was kind of amazing, people say it hits your heart once you're in the right spot, that's what I felt when I was at Duke," Krapohl said. "I could be here for four years and not miss home.
"My parents were saying, 'you have to think about [the decision].' I just didn't think it was fair to really anyone else who was really recruiting me-they didn't stand a chance."
During her visit, Krapohl attended the welcome home gathering held for the men's and women's teams returning from the Final Four, met with the players and, most importantly, found a parent she never knew she had.
"[Goestenkors] was really nice, I knew if I went there, I would have a mom away from my mom," Krapohl said.
Regarded as the state's finest point guard, Krapohl is a gifted ballhandler and passer, averaging 24 points, five assists and five steals for Mt. Pleasant High School last season. At the AAU Nationals last month in Dallas, Krapohl led the Motor City Blazers to a fourth-place finish in the 60-team field.
Not only can she create problems for the defense, Krapohl's wizardry with the ball can present problems for her own team as well, according to her high school coach Buck Buchanan.
"She sees the entire court better than anybody I've ever seen and gets people the basketball when they're open, every time," Buchanan said. "I've had some problems because we've had people who haven't always handled those passes.
"She's been double- and triple-teamed now for three years, and she's continued to score 24 points a night. Absolutely, without a doubt, the best player I've coached."
Only three games into her final season at Mt. Pleasant, Krapohl seems eager to test her game at the collegiate level. With sophomore Krista Gingrich already entrenched at the point guard position, however, Krapohl won't necessarily be thrown into the fire at Duke.
"I think it's going to be a huge jump [to the collegiate level]," Krapohl said. "I'm not scared, I think it'll be fun and exciting. I'm really looking forward to playing under [Gingrich]-I'm sure she has a lot to teach me."
And those lessons can start in less than two weeks, when Krapohl takes her official visit to the campus. Joining Krapohl on the visit will be fellow high school senior Crystal White, a 6-foot-4 forward from Mt. Clemens, Mich. who's also looking at Duke.
Rated in the nation's top 50, White can take over a game defensively with her long wingspan. While she predominantly plays in the paint in high school, White has indicated an interest to move outside.
"I'm really excited about her," Krapohl said. "I can't think for her, but I hope she goes to Duke-I think she likes Duke."
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