With the regular season ready to begin, head coach Gail Goestenkors is winding down a performance that's going to be all but impossible to follow.
Ashley Battle, a versatile 5-foot-11 guard from Linsly Academy in Wheeling, W. Va., will visit Duke this weekend as Goestenkors looks to add her sixth recruit to what is already arguably the nation's top recruiting class.
Battle, West Virginia's Player of the Year last season (along with former men's target and current Arizona Wildcat Brett Nelson), lists Duke, Connecticut and Penn State as her top three choices, although both she and her high school coach Carrie Kozdras are remaining close-mouthed about her final destination.
"Everything she's told me is in confidence, but she's obviously very interested in Duke," Kozdras said. "But she's also very interested in Penn State and Connecticut.... She's just a great kid; whoever gets her will be very fortunate."
Battle, who has already made official visits to Penn State and Connecticut, described them both as "very good." Her weekend visit to Durham will be her third and final official visit.
A series of early reports said that the Pittsburgh native was leaning toward Connecticut, but both Duke and the closer-to-home Nittany Lions now appear to be on equal standing with the Huskies.
"[Penn State, Duke and Connecticut] are definitely my top three," she said. "Any are possible. I just want to take my last visit and then rank them all."
The explosive point guard was initially concerned about the Blue Devils' style of play, expecting a carry-over from the post-oriented offense run last season. But with this season's change-over to a new five-out, track-meet attack, the style of play will better suit the West Virginia senior.
"I am looking for [an up-tempo style]; that's what I've been playing my entire life," Battle said. "[Duke's new offense] does make it more attractive. But I have to see what they're gonna do with it. I can't just jump in."
Battle will get her first look at the offensive scheme this weekend when she sees the team play Saturday against the Russian national team. At the same time, the Blue Devils will get a look at a player who has been described as a "taller Ruthie Bolton-Holifield."
"She sees the floor better than almost anyone I've seen," Kozdras said of her star player, who leads her team in rebounding. "Another positive thing about her is that she's really grown. She now knows when to shoot and when not to shoot."
And if the University can't sell itself, it will have plenty of representatives doing the job for it. Rometra Craig, who became Duke's third commitment last month, will also be making her official visit to Duke this weekend. The two met over the summer at the Nike All-America Camp, where Battle's counselor was, fittingly enough, current Blue Devil Krista Gingrich.
Even Battle's mother, who will be accompanying her daughter on her trip to Durham, got caught up in the Duke networking.
"My mom, and Iciss' [Tillis, another recent Duke commitment's] mom and grandmother talked the whole time [at the All-America Camp]," a laughing Battle said.
And as far as she's letting on, Battle isn't concerned about finding playing time in the talent stockpile Goestenkors now has with 10 players currently either in their freshman year of college or senior year in high school.
"I'm not worried," she said. "If I was worried I would've dropped out when they signed the fifth."
Duke, meanwhile, must sit and play the waiting game on Nicole Powell, who has yet to formally issue a verbal commitment. The 6-2 forward, who visited Duke on the weekend of Oct. 22, is still believed to have Stanford ranked ahead of the both Blue Devils and Notre Dame.
If either Battle or Powell commits, the Blue Devils will not have any remaining scholarships for the class of 2004.
Victor Zhao contributed to this story.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.