The next generation

In a drafty Card Gymnasium, the woman who shook the college basketball world shook nothing more than a clipboard.

It was an errant pass that had drawn the ire of the three-time ACC coach of the year this time, but a few moments earlier it was a missed box-out and before that it was filling the wrong lane.

Needless to say, there's a lot of clipboard shaking around Durham these days, and for eighth-year coach Gail Goestenkors, San Jose could hardly be any farther away.

"I feel needed, finally," she jokes of the team she now leads, a team that is six players removed from the Blue Devil squad that marched all the way to the NCAA finals in San Jose last season.

There's a lot of truth in that laugh, and if it were any other year, there would be a lot of worry, too.

But for the past two seasons, Goestenkors has been redefining normal for Duke women's basketball.

It began with the signing of heavily recruited Krista Gingrich in 1997. The first-ever high-profile prospect to commit to Duke gave the program a visibility that even its three straight NCAA appearances could not.

And then it snowballed into something magical.

Which brings the hopes of Duke basketball to a nearly-empty Card Gym on a late October evening.

Five new freshmen, one new offense, one frustrated coach.

"Right now, our practices are very up and down," Goestenkors said. "And I think that's indicative of a young team. There's a lot of stopping, standing, teaching."

And, of course, clipboard shaking.

After two years of doing little more than maintenance to a system that had churned out 28 regular-season conference wins in two years, Goestenkors revamped her offense in the off-season.

No longer with the services of Kodak All-American center Michele VanGorp or the rock-solid backcourt duo of Hilary Howard and Nicole Erickson, Goestenkors turned her offense from a four-out game with VanGorp working in the middle to a full-throttle explosion of a five-out track meet.

"We're definitely looking to run more," Goestenkors said. "And we're looking to press more. We know we're going to struggle with big strong posts like [N.C. State's] Summer Erb because we simply don't have the size."

But what Goestenkors does have, she designed her offense to highlight. Unlike last year's pick-your-poison offense that revolved around VanGorp, forcing opponents to either double-team the 6-foot-6 center or allow Erickson and Howard free range from the perimeter, this year's system is based on five players with little position distinction.

The four top returnees, juniors Rochelle Parent and Georgia Schweitzer and seniors Lauren Rice and Peppi Browne, have all played at least three positions in their Duke careers. Along with sophomore Krista Gingrich, those four will do everything from posting up to shooting threes in the five-man motion.

But none of them have played roles quite like they'll have this season.

Rice, used as an emotional boost off the bench last year, will have the biggest adjustment as she becomes the Blue Devils' defensive stopper inside, by hook or more likely, her coach jokes, by crook.

"She knows she's got her work cut out for her because she's going to be undersized," Goestenkors said. "But if anybody can get a big post player off the block it's Lauren, because she's strong and so smart. She's our biggest cheater. She cheats defensively, but she gets a lot of tips and steals. If you're going to have a big mismatch, you've got to be real smart."

Both Parent and Gingrich will have to become full-game players and Schweitzer and Browne, the lone two starters remaining from last year's team, will have to change from auxiliary threats to go-to players.

But the jump from role players to prime-time players is a leap of faith Goestenkors made a long time ago.

"Everybody's role needed to expand for us to succeed," Goestenkors said. "We started talking about this last year, and they know it.... They've got new roles, more expanded roles."

And then there are the freshmen.

Mosch, a smooth-handling guard from the Erickson branch of the Duke backcourt family, can play either the point guard or shooting guard spot with ease and will likely have an immediate impact on the team.

"She'll probably be our press breaker; she's that confident and she can handle the ball that well," Goestenkors said. "She's one of our best penetrators, she can create her own shot, and we don't have a lot of people who can do that."

But the best fit for the new offense might be Matyasovsky, a 6-1 post with excellent touch on the inside to go along with three-point range.

"She's perfect for our motion," Goestenkors said. "She's a great motion player, at the two, the three, the four position. She's going to give us a lot of versatility."

Yet what impressed Goestenkors the most about the Triton, N.J., native is how quickly she's adapted to the intricate offense.

"Michele Matyasovsky is one of the smartest players I've ever been around," Goestenkors said. "She's ready to go. She knows every position for every play. She's got the greatest basketball mind I've ever seen in a freshman. Right now, she's a sophomore in my mind."

Gvozdenovic, the third impact freshman, suffered an ACL tear in October that will likely keep her out until December, leaving a hole in the Blue Devil frontcourt that Goestenkors is hoping Gebisa will fill.

Signed as a project, Gebisa is progressing faster than Goestenkors had expected and should see regular playing time, even though the rail-thin, 6-7 center lacks the strength to bang with the big centers of the ACC.

"If Summer Erb blew on her, I think she would fall over," Goestenkors joked.

Like a lot of things surrounding the team this season, LeNedra Brown, a sleeper signed late last season, remains somewhat of a question mark. Much like Parent, her athleticism will get her playing time, but Brown could easily get lost in the shuffle of a deep Duke lineup.

Yet in the age of uncertainty for the women's basketball team, Goestenkors knows one thing for sure-a drafty October gym is a long way away from a packed house in March.