This year’s Duke women’s basketball team returns eight players from last season, but it also brings in two more who have experience playing under head coach Joanne P. McCallie—only they will be working exclusively from the sidelines.
The Blue Devils announced the hirings of Candice Jackson and Joy Cheek in May and August respectively, joining Al Brown as assistants to McCallie. Jackson played for McCallie for four seasons at Michigan State while Cheek was on the Duke squad for the coach’s first three seasons in Durham.
The two appointments come after a pair of departures from the staff. Samantha Williams coached four seasons for Duke before leaving for Louisville and Trisha Stafford-Odom bolted to North Carolina in August after two seasons. The two were the program’s recruiting co-coordinators, and were successful in those roles, bringing in 2010’s top-ranked recruiting class and more elite talent in this year’s class, which features top post prospects Elizabeth Williams and Amber Henson.
The two new coaches are confident they will outperform their predecessors, though, in part due to having played under McCallie and known her so well.
“It’s been a great experience so far getting to reconnect with her…. I’ve learned a lot in the two months I’ve been here,” Jackson said. “Her philosophy is still the same—very defense-oriented, very intense and a lot of high energy.”
Jackson comes with ACC experience after spending the last two seasons as an assistant and recruitment coordinator at Wake Forest. Prior to that she worked at Richmond, and before that as a graduate assistant at her alma mater, where she was a part of the team that made it to the 2005 NCAA tournament championship game.
Cheek, on the other hand, comes straight from playing professionally, where she suited up for the Indiana Fever and the Washington Mystics for two seasons in the WNBA. She then played in Poland for a year and was prepared to play in Spain before receiving the offer to coach at Duke.
“Coach P and I always had a good relationship,” Cheek said. “I always came into her office and talked about strategy, players, and what’s best for the team.... I think a huge selling point [to recruits] is that I did go to Duke and I know first-hand what it’s like to be a student athlete at Duke.”
Cheek will also be in an interesting position coaching former teammates—seniors Shay Selby and Kathleen Scheer, along with junior Allison Vernerey were all Blue Devils with Cheek. She added that she is excited for the opportunity to work with them because as a teammate she always made an effort to help teach and improve her younger teammates.
In terms of her experience with the program, McCallie was excited when speaking about the newest member of her staff. Although at just 23 years old Cheek may not have the same sideline experience as some of her peers, her time studying and playing at Duke and then competing on the next level could make her the ideal fit into the program.
“Talk about awesome timing, and an incredible opportunity,” McCallie said. “Joy is a person who completely understands what we’re trying to teach and how we’re trying to do things at Duke.... She understands the standards, she understands the Duke way and it is the most refreshing thing I have ever gone through in my coaching career.”
Together, Cheek and Jackson should balance each other well in terms of their skill sets. Cheek, a former forward, will primarily work with Brown in coaching the post players while Jackson will work closely with the guards—a position she knows well in McCallie’s system from her time as a player.
Although those may be their two areas of expertise, the two coaches insist that they are ready to help each other out as they get used to their new positions. Even though it may take time for the two coaches to develop chemistry together, there is one thing they already shine at—making their former coach feel old.
“I guess I’m getting old enough where former players of mine [can coach],” McCallie said. “Maybe older coaches would laugh and say ‘I’ve had [former players on staff] for 20 years or something’ but I’m here to say it’s one of the best feelings I’ve had in coaching.”
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