Iciss' cool demeanor melts away off basketball court

Every year, a new batch of freshman athletes arrives on East Campus, and they all talk about the same things: the harder classes; the longer practices; the faster, fiercer, taller, bigger, better competition.

But not Iciss Tillis.

For the cool and collected freshman forward, it took less than two months at Duke to understand that the differences between high school and college are not that significant in the grand scheme of things.

"To me, the biggest adjustment hasn't been basketball or the academic part," Tillis said. "Those are concrete things that you can really work on, but the abstract things of love and family you really miss. It's been thinking about all the things I took for granted in high school that I miss now."

A few weeks before she spoke those words, Tillis learned first-hand how fragile those carefree days of high school can be. During the second week of October, as most students were preparing for Fall Break, Iciss found out her grandfather had passed away.

Suddenly, mid-terms and the beginning of team practices were put starkly into perspective. Halfway across the country from her hometown of Tulsa, Okla., Tillis said the news of her grandfather's death helped awaken her to everything she had left behind in journeying from the togetherness of America's heartland to her lonely single on the second floor of Blackwell dormitory.

Missing her family, Tillis learned one more thing before she returned home for her grandfather's funeral. She discovered that while she could never regain her grandfather, she would never be without family on this campus.

"My teammates have been my family; they literally became my family," Tillis said. "My grandpa died, but my friends were here for me. That kind of showed that I have family away from my family."

In fact, Tillis' versatility has already made her the focus of playful banter between her teammates. At a practice last month, Goestenkors worked with Tillis at center and both forward spots, teaching the lanky freshman where to position herself defensively in various scenarios she will encounter this season.

But on one particular possession, Tillis made a mental lapse and roamed through all three spots in the same sequence. It was a mishap her teammates enjoy reminding her about.

"I had to tell her, 'Iciss, you only play one position per possession,'" Goestenkors said. "So the team likes to tease her about playing all five positions by herself."

Tillis, whose confident demeanor and charming smile underscore the contrast between her and typical freshmen, does not shy away from her teammates' jests. Still, her affable, fun-loving personality has taken the Duke coaching staff some time to get used to, especially after an awkward initial meeting two years ago.

"The first time I met her up close, I remember that she never changed facial expressions on the court, she never flinched," said Goestenkors, recalling a visit during Tillis' junior year, when the two-time Gatorade state player of the year was ranked No. 1 nationally in her class by National Recruiting Report. "She was stone-faced... she wouldn't even look at me.... I knew we had no chance at her."

Tillis returned home to Tulsa after that visit, and one phone call later, Goestenkors realized she had erred on two counts.

First, the recruiting mastermind quickly caught onto the idea that the business-like Tillis had a might eventually find herself at home in Durham. And more importantly, the veteran coach uncovered the real Iciss. She may be an ice woman on the court, but as soon as Iciss steps off the court, her cool persona melts away until nothing remains but laughter and smiles.

"I was surprised when she was so energetic on the phone, she was like her personality," Goestenkors said. "If you just saw her on the floor, you'd never know she was such a fun person. She loves to laugh, that surprised me. And still, on the court, her expression never changes."

The one thing that is ever-changing when Tillis is on the court, though, is the freshman's position. At 6-foot-4, she stands taller than all her teammates except fellow freshman Crystal White, but Tillis will by no means be relegated to a permanent spot in the low post. Her shooting finesse and slender-as Goestenkors has already learned, you don't dare call her "thin"-frame give her the potential to play almost anywhere on the court.

In recent seasons, other tall but "slightly built" women have played under Goestenkors-Payton Black and Tyish Hall have drawn early comparisons-but their versatility was restricted by a lack of one thing at which Tillis excels. Perhaps, it is best summed up by the two numbers on her back-hint, they are both 3s.

"She's like Ty Hall-Ty Hall with shooting range," Goestenkors said.

Hall, who still holds the best mark ever by a Blue Devil for career field-goal percentage, could hit almost anything she attempted, but in four years at Duke, she never once took a shot from three-point range. Tillis, on the other hand, has a classic shooter's touch, as she showed fans last Friday by burying 2-of-3 three-point attempts against Athletes in Action.

Her 18 points, second only to classmate Alana Beard's 28, and six rebounds as the starting power forward were a sign of what she has in store this season, but Tillis' coach is convinced it is only the beginning.

"She's coming along very quickly and she'll be there before ACC season," Goestenkors said. "Understand that she's going to contribute early on, but she's really going to hit her stride later. She's going to be a force."