Who is Vicki Krapohl?
Unless you have had a class with the Mount Pleasant, Mich., native, or you consistently follow the women's basketball team, you probably have no idea.
Simply put, the sophomore starting point guard is unobtrusive. To a casual observer of the squad, Krapohl might stand out only because at 5-foot-5, she is far and away the shortest Blue Devil. She does not score very much, grab many rebounds or even lead her team in assists, something most point guards do.
She is the consummate teammate, a role vastly overlooked by most spectators, yet a position that is both undeniably crucial, and sometimes impossibly hard to fill.
Krapohl, for one, is so focused on what she can do for her teammates, that she honestly does not care whether people acknowledge her efforts. She answers questions not defiantly, but with a certain indifference.
"With my stature--I've been playing a tall person's sport my entire life," she shrugs. "Even in academics, I don't find myself an extremely smart person. I just think I work smart."
Do not be fooled by Krapohl's modest self-description. Not only has she earned a starting spot
Last season, most viewed Krapohl as the fifth and least important member of the impact class of 2004, a group that included Alana Beard, Iciss Tillis and Rometra Craig, all of whom played an average of at least 18 minutes per game, and Crystal White. Krapohl averaged only 5.6 minutes of playing time, but she never second-guessed her decision to attend Duke.
"I was so happy here last year," she said. "I had a lot of people [ask] OHow are you doing? Are you OK even though you're not playing very much?' But I was very happy. [Duke was] very successful, and I got to play under the best point guard in the nation last year, Georgia Schweitzer."
Devoid of ego, Krapohl enjoyed last season primarily because of how important an emphasis she places upon the simple act of learning, both on and off the court.
"Although I didn't play in any games, I played every day in practice, and I still got to go to Duke, and I still got this great education," Krapohl said. "I never regretted it, not even last year when I didn't play. This year is just like a bonus."
Despite ranking 13th in minutes per game last season, Krapohl saw an opportunity.
"With the loss of Georgia, we needed a point guard, and that's something I thought I could provide," the sophomore said. "I'm not six feet tall and I can't do a lot of the things she could do, but if I can get the ball to other people, and play great defense, and hit an open shot or two, then that's all I need to do, really."
Contrary to public belief, role players are actually quite hard to find. Duke began this year with 10 players, as three players left the program during the offseason. It now has eight, because two of Krapohl's talented classmates, Craig and White, also chose to depart.
Since the mid-December transfers, Duke is 9-1 (their only loss came to then-No. 2 Tennessee), including a perfect 6-0 in conference play. Krapohl has flourished, yet remains the ideal teammate focused on helping the team any way she can, and loving every day she lays it on the line for her teammates.
"When people leave, when things aren't going our way, we come together," Krapohl said. "You look around and there are eight of you. We have to count on each other."
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