Iciss Tillis and Alana Beard didn't have to get far from Durham to know that they wanted to be back.
Both players gave verbal commitments to women's basketball head coach Gail Goestenkors last Sunday, immediately following their official on-campus visits.
Tillis didn't even wait until she left the state.
As Goestenkors was driving the Tulsa, Okla., senior to the airport, Tillis gave the coach an unforgettable goodbye, committing to Duke over rumored front-runner UCLA before she returned home.
"I kinda knew the whole trip that that's where I wanted to go to school," Tillis said last Sunday. "And I wanted to tell her to her face rather than on the phone.
"She was excited, just as excited as I was. She had a big smile when I told her."
And when she arrived home, Tillis was greeted by her own small version of the Cameron Crazies.
"My stepfather [Jesse Morris] kept saying, 'Oh my God' and my mom was screaming," Tillis said. "They were for Duke the whole time. They told me it was my decision, but all along they were for Duke."
Beard,
"I talked to my parents face to face and saw the expressions they had when I said I was committing to Duke," she said. "It felt right in my heart. I prayed on it a lot, and it was the right decision."
And when Tillis found out later that night that Beard too had committed to play for the Blue Devils, excitement was hardly the appropriate word.
"I loved playing with Alana," Tillis said. "I love her game, she's the best player I ever played with, without a doubt. She's just great."
The two seniors join a five-player recruiting hall that is, at this the point the nation's top class, and which may be rivaled only by Stanford.
Already committed to Duke are 6-foot-4 center Crystal White, rated No. 18 nationwide by the Blue Star Report, No. 19 Rometra Craig, a 5-10 guard/forward and 5-4 point guard Vicki Krapohl.
Tillis, the versatile 6-3 center ranked No. 6 in the nation, and 30th-ranked Beard are the eighth and ninth top-100 player Goestenkors has signed in the past two seasons.
Meanwhile, Duke is expected to fare much worse with Anne O'Neil and Nicole Powell, who visited along with Beard and Tillis last weekend. Powell is expected to choose Stanford over Notre Dame and Duke early this week, while O'Neil is expected to announce for one of her remaining top four schools, none of which are Duke, today.
With one remaining scholarship, Goestenkors is expected to pursue No. 17 Ashley Battle, a 5-11 forward out of Pittsburgh, Pa. who lists Duke and Connecticut at the top of her list.
Battle is expected to visit the weekend of Nov. 5 ,along with the already committed Craig.
Recruiting Note: Men's blue-chip prospect Jared Jeffries will announce his decision today at a press conference in his hometown of Bloomington, Ind. The 6-foot-9 forward is choosing between Indiana and Duke. Jeffries visited Duke Oct. 15-17 and attended the Blue Devils' midnight practice.
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