Apparently Alana Beard could not get enough of Duke.
After four superb years, including two Final Four appearances, she is back for one more shot at a championship--a world championship, that is.
Beard, a Blue Devil from 2001 to 2004, is a member of the USA Women's Senior National Team that began practicing Tuesday and will continue until Sept. 6 in preparation for the FIBA World Championships in Sao Paulo, Brazil, which begin Sept. 12.
"It's a great feeling to have, coming back to Cameron," Beard said. "I think the best thing about it is that I can look into the rafters and see my jersey is hanging up there and sort of remember what it took to get that up there--you know the late nights in the gym, my entire four years here."
Before being drafted second by the WNBA's Washington Mystics in 2004, Beard was a dominant force in Cameron. As the Blue Devils' first scoring option, she racked up 2,687 career points--the highest total in Duke history, man or woman, until J.J. Redick passed it last spring. She was also a three-time All-American and the 2004 Wooden Award winner and AP National Player of the Year.
Duke retired Beard's No. 20 jersey Jan. 24, 2004, making hers the first women's jersey to hang from Cameron's rafters.
Now, she said, she couldn't be more excited to return to the gymnasium where she accomplished so much.
The decision to hold practice in Cameron was made before Beard was named to the national team, but nonetheless she was thrilled to find out she had the opportunity to return to her alma mater.
"I was like 'man it would be the perfect situation,'" Beard said. "'I could get named to the team and be able to be back at Duke for two weeks and play in Cameron, be able to relive the old times.'"
Besides lacing up on her old court, practicing at Duke provides another homecoming of sorts for Beard. She is reunited with Blue Devils' head coach Gail Goestenkors, who is serving as an assistant coach for the national team.
The two have maintained a close relationship since Beard graduated two years ago, speaking weekly and instant messaging often, Beard said.
"It's like I never thought I would play for her again," Beard said. "Just the thought of coming back and seeing her face, to walk into the gym everyday and see Coach G's face just sort of made me smile."
Though Goestenkors will not act as head coach, her position leaves the two in a unique position to continue their player-coach relationship.
"I can't wait to have Alana back in Cameron and work with her," Goestenkors said in early August. "She's excited. We stay in contact a couple of times a week. So when I found out that she had made the team, she was on cloud nine."
The last three seasons, Beard has played for the Mystics. In 2005, just her second year in the league, Beard earned a spot on the WNBA All-Star team. This season she was sixth in the league in scoring at 19.2 points per game while she led her team to the playoffs for the second time.
Even so, her time in the nation's capital is hardly comparable to her days at Duke, she said.
"Cameron is one the of the top facilities to play in," Beard said. "One thing that I remember is the floor, just walking in and stepping on that floor because it is just so soft. It makes my feet, my knees, my body just feel good.... But it's very competitive, it has so much history in it and I'm just going to be so excited to be back on that court again."
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