Coach Gail Goestenkors said it and incurred the kind of feeling that comes when something is uttered that everyone knows, but no one quite knows how to say. Members of the press assembled in Cameron Indoor Stadium's Hall of Fame room Saturday afternoon simply looked up at the coach in slight disbelief, nodded knowingly and dutifully copied Goestenkors' words in their notes.
"Alana's a dynamic offensive player," Goestenkors said before pausing. "But really, she's a better defensive player. You can't really gauge it until you see us play, but her on-the-ball defense is so good."
Beard-who in the past few weeks has been racking up an impressive résumé of rookie-of-the-year awards, magazine spreads and the kind of publicity normally reserved for players from Knoxville or Storrs-a better player on defense than offene? The freshman leads the Blue Devils in scoring and shoots nearly 50 percent from the field.
She also averages better than three steals per game and in her first NCAA tournament appearance, made seven thefts (not to mention several more near-steals).
In fact, within the first five minutes of Duke's first-round contest, Beard stole the ball from Wisconsin-Milwaukee's Teri Stoltenberg three times. The steals were acrobatic and breathtaking; after each one, Beard would leisurely jog down the court for a layup.
"I told one of my assistants before the game today that if the refs let them play, I thought Alana could break the record for steals," Goestenkors said.
Beard ended up one steal shy of the record of eight steals held by Kim Matthews since 1978, but no amount of preparedness could spare Stoltenberg from having the ball swiped from her throughout the contest.
"I've never faced someone with arms as tall as I am," the senior joked. "She's a great player, the best defensive player I've ever played against for sure. Maybe we could have tied broomsticks to my teammates' arms in practice, but I think you can't simulate what she does."
Indeed, Goestenkors mused that Beard's athleticism, long arms and tenacious on-the-ball defense are assets you cannot practice for. They are specific to this particularly talented kleptomaniac.
"I was concentrating on putting a lot of pressure on the ball and being in their passing lanes," Beard said. "She was an OK ball-handler, but she did seem nervous at times."
Beard's height, along with the size of other Duke guards, also proved especially helpful against the smaller Panthers. Beard has a full three inches on Stoltenberg-not to mention her vaunted wingspan.
As Duke marches on in the tournament, Beard is thrust into the now-familiar spotlight. Although she did lead Duke in scoring, it was her steals that most impressed her coach and refueled discussions about Beard, the future and legend.
Thou shalt not steal? Beard is lucky that this commandment does not apply to robbing basketballs out of the helpless hands of opposing players. A better defensive player than an offensive one? Steal on, Alana.
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