Last year, Wynter Whitley was the only member of the class of 2005 to play on the women's basketball team, as then-sophomore Monique Currie tore her anterior cruciate ligament in the first exhibition game and was lost for the season.
This year, though, their roles may be reversed. Currie is on schedule to return at full strength by the start of the 2003-2004 season, while Whitley will be sidelined for much or all of this year after major left ankle surgery.
"The doctors had to fix my tendons because they had slits in them and were basically shredded," Whitley said. "The ligaments were also really stressed. It was essentially just ankle reconstruction."
Whitley, a strong and athletic post player, made her mark at Duke as a freshman, averaging 7.8 points and 4.9 rebounds per game in 22.5 minutes of play. The Atlanta, Ga., native started 20 of the team's 35 games and earned All-ACC freshman accolades.
However, her numbers decreased by nearly 50 percent across the board during her sophomore campaign, as she collected just 4.4 points and 2.8 rebounds in 14.5 minutes per game. Her field goal percentage also fell from .481 as a freshman to .390 during her second year. In hindsight, the ankle sprain that Whitley sustained in a December practice may have been partly responsible for her struggles.
"I hurt my ankle really badly in practice but I played a game the next day against St. Joseph's," she said. "I was starting that game so I tried to tell myself that I was fine."
As the numbers indicate, though, Whitley was far from healthy last year. Her ankle never fully recovered, and she suffered numerous additional injuries to it during Duke's run to the Final Four.
"Even my mother could tell that something wasn't right. I just kept trying to think that it was normal, but it impaired my shooting and jumping. I started to favor my right side more and that also probably hurt my shot."
Although Whitley's exact recovery time is unclear, her doctors hope that she can be back on the court by December or January. She is currently doing physical therapy three days a week to expedite the process and help ensure proper healing.
Given this lengthy layoff, Whitley and head coach Gail Goestenkors are considering the possibility of her redshirting her junior season, leaving her two years of college eligibility.
"I'm not sure yet if I'm going to redshirt," Whitley said. "The main thing is that I want it to heal completely and I want it to heal right. I don't want to come back at 75 percent and then hurt it again." The loss of Whitley may be felt most heavily at the defensive end, as she is perhaps the strongest post defender on the team.
"We're definitely going to miss her," sophomore guard Lindsey Harding said.
"She brings a lot of strength to our team, and she's one of our best defenders. Hopefully our freshmen can step in."
Although she will be sidelined for a significant amount of time, Whitley remains close with her teammates, as many of them have also suffered long-term setbacks.
"My teammates joke around with me a lot about [the injury], but they've been supportive more than anything," Whitley said.
"This is the longest injury that I've ever had. It's frustrating watching my teammates do stuff that I can't, but I'm still there for them and still feel like part of the team."
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