Three members of Gail Goestenkors' recruiting coup of 1999 have told Duke's women's basketball coach they will not return to the Blue Devils next season, while men's basketball freshman Andre Sweet is considering transferring to St. John's University.
Sophomores LaNedra Brown, Olga Gvozdenovic and Lello Gebisa, who along with Sheana Mosch and Michele Matyasovsky formed a class that was heralded as Goestenkors' most talented, have decided to leave the basketball program after playing only sparingly during their first two seasons. Gvozdenovic made her decision first, choosing to remain at Duke despite relinquishing her scholarship and spot on the women's basketball team's roster. Brown and Gebisa, on the other hand, will transfer away from Duke in hopes of playing basketball with other programs.
"We've all had similar experiences. I just think the last two years didn't go the way we envisioned them," said Gebisa, who has yet to pick a new school but emphasized she wants to be closer to her hometown of West Lafayette, Ind. "I really don't think there are any hard feelings. I think the team understands that the three of us need to do what's best for us."
Gebisa, Gvozdenovic and Brown played a total of 292 minutes last season, or less than an average of three minutes a game per player. Although Gebisa and Gvozdenovic were expected to receive significantly reduced minutes due to the emergence of freshman post players Iciss Tillis and Crystal White, Brown's contributions to the team fell short of expectations. Brown was considered a candidate for a starter's role, but her struggles with Goestenkors' motion offense severely cut into her minutes.
Goestenkors and assistant coach Gale Valley were out of town on a recruiting trip this week and did not immediately return calls placed to their office yesterday.
"I'm not disappointed. I just want them to be happy," Mosch, Brown's roommate, said. "If them leaving means they will be happy, then I'll support them."
Sweet, meanwhile, told The Chronicle yesterday he has already met with men's basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski to discuss the possibility of transferring.
Sweet, a freshman, has endured a turbulent career with the national champion Blue Devils. After showing promise early in the season, when he averaged more than 11 minutes in Duke's first seven games, Sweet was suspended indefinitely for academic difficulties. Sweet, who maintained an honor roll grade point average for four years at Brother Rice High School, was given a chance to have his academic standing re-evaluated prior to the ACC tournament in early March. He was never reinstated into the Duke lineup, and he remained on the sidelines in street clothes for all of the Blue Devils' tournament games.
Krzyzewski has not yet commented on Sweet's eligibility or standing on the team, and the 21-year coach did not return calls to his office.
Sweet said yesterday he has yet to rule out the possibility of returning to Duke, but strong speculation is that the freshman will leave to play for Mike Jarvis' St. John's program near his hometown of Manhattan, N.Y. No timeline has yet been set by Sweet for when he will choose between the Red Storm and the Blue Devils.
Norm Bradley contributed to this story.
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