On the 2003-04 season
We're really excited. We feel like we could have and should have the most talent we've ever had. We'll only have, because Caitlin won't be able to play, we'll only have 10 players that actually can play, but they're 10 exceptional players. So we feel really good about the fact that we have a small squad but a very talented squad. And also the way the season ended last year, on a bitter note, although we had a great season, didn't accomplish our ultimate goal. That's really helped us to work hard this summer to get better. I think it's a good combination to have a small group of highly motivated individuals that didn't quite reach their goal, so really, really looking forward to next season.
On Increased Fan Support
It's a really exciting time for us. We increased our attendance so much last year, we averaged almost 5,500 which was up a great deal from last year, and we're hoping we can really build on that. I always think of that especially during the recruiting season because that is something that is still used against us because we're going up against Connecticut and Tennessee, those are our two main rivals right now for all these players, and that's something - it's really the only thing now that they can use against us because we have the academics and now we have the program as well. That's something we're still striving to improve upon, we made great strides last year but we're hoping for an even greater turnout this year.
On Having the Toughest Schedule in America
This is the toughest schedule in the history of our program that we've put together to try and help us prepare to be our best in March. It's probably going to be ranked as the toughest schedule in the nation. We're going to open with Texas, will probably be 2nd or 3rd-I think we'll be second, they'll probably be third preseason. And then a week later we play Purdue in the Jimmy V Classic, they'll probably be ranked anywhere from fifth to seventh, and then Tennessee is coming here and we're going to Connecticut. Auburn is coming here for a Christmas tournament - they'll be in the top 25 - obviously Connecticut will be No. 1 preseason, Tennessee will be No. 4 or 5. We're almost playing everyone in the top 5 to prepare us for the ACC and the NCAA tournament. It's going to be a great exciting year for us.
Everybody's better in the ACC. Virginia's going to be I think really kind of scary good because they were so young last year and they made a great run toward the second round of the ACCs. Carolina lost two seniors, but they signed some great, great freshmen. N.C. State lost a couple of seniors, but they return a really good shooter and player that had to sit out last year because of injury, and I think their chemistry might actually be better this year.... Florida State, they signed a top 5 class and returned four starters, Georgia Tech returns four starters.
On Paying Student-Athletes
I don't think college athletes should be paid, I think they're getting a free education and that's payment enough. However, they're talking about a fund now that may come through that would allow in certain instances you to help a student-athlete.
Right now they have what's called a Student-Athlete Needy Fund, basically, and that's if you qualify for a PELL grant, that sometimes you can get some extra money for necessities. The fund that we have now is very limited in what you can give and what it can be used for, but this fund that they're thinking about right now would enable you to give some student-athletes things like a trip home at Christmas, or in the instance of some tragedy and you need to get them somewhere, so it would give you a little bit more leeway.
There are just some kids that can't afford to fly home, and especially at a school like Duke where we have so many student-athletes from far away, they can't just get in their car and drive home. I'm hoping that that fund really goes through because it could help us a lot.... Each school, they would divide so that each school gets the same amount of money and then you decide where it goes.
On the Importance of Title IX
I think title IX has been a godsend for women to be able to participate and I think the sad thing is that, in particular the wrestlers, that's where a lot of the lawsuits are coming from, they're trying to pit men against women, and that's not the issue. It's football that is skewing everything, so I guess I just feel like people are looking at it the wrong way.
It's football that needs to be contained just a little bit. There are 11 people on the field at a time. There are 11 people on the soccer field at a time and on a lacrosse field at a time. But yet they get 80 scholarships and these other sports get like 5. And they're the only sport that I know of that stays in a hotel overnight at a home game, that's 80 - well, more than that - staying in a hotel on a home game.
I remember reading where Florida last year for the preseason, when no one else is on campus instead of staying in the dorms.... they took them to the nicest hotel and had them stay there for three weeks at a cost of like 40,000 dollars when they could have stayed on campus for free. That's somebody's salary. I think we can trim the fat, I don't have anything against football and I love Carl Franks, and you certainly don't want to get him upset, but at the same time there's a lot of fat in football I think. People always say that's the moneymaker, when you go down and you look at it in black and white, it's the moneymaker only in a few schools.
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