Say hello to the nation’s No. 1 recruiting class.
After a crushing three-point loss in last year’s Elite Eight, Duke is looking to bounce back and return to the Final Four. Helping the Blue Devils achieve that goal will be five of the country’s best incoming freshmen.
The prize of the class is 5-foot-11 guard Chelsea Gray, widely regarded as a top-five recruit nationally. Gray, although slowed for much of the preseason with foot soreness, will look to replace much of the ball movement previously provided by Joy Cheek, who contributed 46 assists during her senior season last year.
“[Chelsea is an] incredible passer, incredible floor general [and has] a sixth sense about the game—a Magic Johnson-type passer,” head coach Joanne P. McCallie said. “She sees the floor in some really mysterious ways, and she’s a lot of fun to watch that way.”
Gray, along with guard Chloe Wells, will be instrumental in injecting youth into the Blue Devils’ backcourt this season. Wells is an intriguing case, as she is regarded as a top-tier talent despite transfer rules preventing her from playing during her senior year of high school.
“I think [Wells] is under the radar,” McCallie said. “I think she’s getting pretty ready to compete. She’s hungry to be out there for sure.”
Wells and Gray, in addition to fellow freshman Tricia Liston, will all be competing for minutes at the guard position alongside senior Jasmine Thomas. Liston—the tallest of the freshman guards at 6-foot-1—and Wells displayed their talents at the Blue-White Scrimmage, leading all scorers with 18 points apiece.
Thomas has served as a mentor for the freshman guards, observing their improvement since the summer. Ultimately, she has seen a great deal of progress in the short time the team has been together.
“We’re about to start up games, and I feel like I’ve seen them turn it up [to] another level since pickup in the summer,” Thomas said. “They’re all working so hard on the floor.”
In the frontcourt, Richa Jackson and Haley Peters will challenge Krystal Thomas, Kathleen Scheer and Karima Christmas for playing time. In the Blue-White Scrimmage, Jackson was the only freshman to start on the White team with presumed starters Krystal Thomas and Jasmine Thomas, an indication of the early trust the coaches may have in her.
Peters, sister of men’s basketball player Casey Peters, has a strong shooting touch to go with her 6-foot-3 frame, which enables her to be both an inside and outside threat on offense. Peters thinks the team has developed strong chemistry dating back to the summer, in large part due to the veterans’ leadership.
“This summer we spent a lot of time together, and [the seniors] kind of facilitated that,” Peters said. “It’s made it easier for us to integrate into the team, and it’s been really smooth.”
Smooth transition aside, McCallie hopes for improvement in two main facets of the rookies’ play thus far: She wants to see increased defensive intensity and improved consistency.
“I think they understand attacking on offense better than they understand attacking on defense,” McCallie said. “It’s really important they make aggressive mistakes versus passive ones.”
Notably, McCallie believes that as of now all of the freshmen will regularly be involved in the rotation. Yet, even though all five have proved themselves worthy of playing time, so far none of them have played well regularly enough to stand out. In the end, displaying a high level of consistency may be the crucial factor in determining how much of an impact the freshmen will have on the season.
“One day, somebody plays well and the next day somebody else plays well,” McCallie said. “I have yet to see any of the first years show me consistency.”
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