Former Duke forward Joy Cheek will return to the program as an assistant coach, the team announced on Saturday.
The move comes in the wake of two departures from head coach Joanne P. McCallie’s staff over the past five months. Most recently, Tricia Stafford-Odom left this past week to become an assistant at North Carolina.
Cheek, 12th all-time on the Blue Devils’ career rebounding list, was drafted in 2010 by the Indiana Fever with the 35th overall pick. She faced limited playing time in the WNBA, averaging just 2.1 points per game over seven contests. Her most successful professional campaign came in the PLKK—a Polish league—in the 2010-11 season. She led MKS Tecza Leszno with 13.3 points, 7.8 boards and 1.8 steals per game, all team highs.
Cheek returned to the United States after the successful campaign, but was waived by the Washington Mystics on July 7.
“I always wanted to get into coaching,” Cheek said. “I didn’t expect an opportunity to come up as soon as it did, but it was just one I couldn’t pass up. It’s nice to come back to Duke where I played, a place that I love and I benefited from so much.”
Cheek hopes to bring a new perspective to the coaching staff, that of both a former Duke player and alum—both claims no other Blue Devil women’s basketball coach can make.
“Especially with recruiting, I’ll be able to sell our school and sell [head coach Joanne P. McCallie],” Cheek said. “I understand Coach P after having played under her, but I think that’s going to be a big thing, selling our university and selling our program, and knowing firsthand.”
Recruiting will be Cheek’s top immediate priority, as it has been throughout McCallie’s tenure. Duke brought in the top-ranked class in 2010 and followed it up with the fourth-best class this year, according to ESPN’s Hoopgurlz scouting service. Two of the top-50 prospects in the Class of 2012 have already committed to the Blue Devils, but Cheek will be busy keeping up with a bevy of uncommitted top prospects, including a trio of five-star guard recruits—Jordan Adams, Nirra Fields and Brianna Butler—who maintain interest in Duke’s program.
“[Recruiting] will be the first, and biggest, thing,” Cheek said. “September is a time we can make phone calls, reach out to players, we’ll see them on campus, they’ll work out at practices. We’ll have players come in for their official visits, or unofficial visits, all those types of things.”
With two full years of professional basketball under her belt, Cheek is also confident that she can help the older Blue Devils transition into their future careers, whatever they may be.
“We’re going to have players on our team [at Duke] who have a greater chance than I ever had to make it to the WNBA,” Cheek said. “As well as playing well to help your team, you’re also auditioning for your next gig, whatever it is after college, whether that is off the court or on the court, and I’ve had a chance to do both.”
Some of the players Cheek will now coach, though, were her Duke teammates in 2009. While she acknowledges her relationship will change with the Blue Devil players, Cheek does not expect an awkward transition.
“I’m not here to, you know, lay into them and yell at them and scream at them because that’s not the type of player I was,” Cheek said. “As a player, as a teammate, I wasn’t like that. I won’t be that type of coach, but sometimes I’ll probably be commanding of them. It is different from being a player and a teammate than being a coach. There’s a line that’s drawn, but I’m here for them.”
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