Thoughts of Duke's appearance in last year's Final Four in San Antonio enter Iciss Tillis' mind every day.
But the junior does not get frustrated by the defeat at the hands of Stacey Dales and the Oklahoma Sooners in the national semifinals, or attempt to tap into a lingering anger for motivation.
"I never think about us losing," Tillis said. "I think more about us getting there, how great it felt and how cool it was that we were actually there. I remember thinking what we hadn't left on the floor. It's more inspiring than 'oh, we lost and this year we're going to win.'
"When I think of the Final Four, I think of the road we had to get there [and] how great it was when we actually got there. Now I think that this year when we get there, we'll not only enjoy it, but enjoy the success of winning."
Last year, the Blue Devils finished 31-4 and were the first team to finish 16-0 in the ACC. Duke, however, has even higher expectations this year and others share those expectations; the Blue Devils garnered the No. 1 ranking in the Associated Press preseason poll--the first time Duke has ever been ranked No. 1.
"It's a nice honor," head coach Gail Goestenkors said. "It just shows the respect that people around the country are giving our program. I think we're keeping it in perspective though. We understand that preseason polls really don't mean anything; it just looks nice."
Returning all five starters from last year's team, the Blue Devils received 38 of 44 first place votes in the poll. Duke graduated just Krista Gingrich from last year's eight-woman
For a team that thrived on chemistry last year, the addition of five new players and the expansion from an eight-player team to a 12-player team could present problems.
"I knew we were going to have a great deal of talent, a great deal of depth, but that chemistry could be an issue because we were so close last year," Goestenkors said. "It's something we've talked about so that we're aware it could become a problem if we let our egos get in the way, if we lose sight of what our ultimate goal is."
Goestenkors sat down with each returning player last spring and attempted to smooth ruffled feathers in advance. The move appears to have worked well, as Goestenkors said the team currently has "great chemistry and a tremendous attitude."
A great deal of Duke's attitude comes from returning All-American Alana Beard. The junior shooting guard scored in double figures in 34 of 35 games last season, and has scored more in her first two seasons than any Blue Devil in history. Last year, she spent the season honing her leadership skills. With Gingrich's graduation, Beard--who set the Duke single season record for steals her freshman year only to break it last season--becomes the team's undisputed leader.
"Alana has gotten a lot more comfortable," point guard Vicki Krapohl said. "As a freshman, she was kind of scared, she was nervous and she was homesick. Now she's just really comfortable on the court. It's her court and this is her team."
The diminutive Krapohl, whose 47.7 percent three-point shooting percentage is the best by a Duke player over two seasons, will platoon with freshman Lindsey Harding.
At the wing positions, Beard expected to be joined by last year's second team All-ACC and first team All-ACC freshman Monique Currie. The sophomore, however, tore her left ACL during Duke's first exhibition game Tuesday and will miss the entire season. Now, senior Sheana Mosch, who has never been significantly improve on her All-ACC freshman first campaign, will be needed to contribute even more.
In addition, freshmen Caitlin Howe and Jessica Foley add depth and three-point shooting. Howe has a three point shot that Goestenkors has said is the best she's ever seen. Foley, who hails from Australia, averaged 21.5 points in two games between her Australian Institute of Sport and Duke last summer.
Down low, Tillis will share minutes with senior Michele Matyasovsky and sophomore Wynter Whitley, who was a member of last year's All-ACC freshmen team. Joining them, freshman Mistie Bass adds strength and rebounding at center and Brooke Smith adds more finesse.
All of these players will be tested immediately when No. 2 Tennessee comes to Raleigh for the Jimmy V Classic Nov. 24.
"I think early on it would be easier, on the freshmen in particular, if we didn't have big games early," Goestenkors said. "That way you can slow things down and ease them into things. I think the fact that we're playing Tennessee in the second game of the year [means] really throwing them in to the fire."
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