Everyone deserves a second chance. Take for example former Duke basketball player Lindsay Harding sat out the entire 2004-2005 season due to a violation of team rules and later became just the second women’s basketball player to have her jersey retired in the rafters of Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Duke’s Chloe Wells is determined to make the same type of comeback after her suspension from Duke for the 2011-2012 Spring semester for a violation of University policy.
Wells, now a junior guard for the Blue Devils, was an important part of Duke’s campaign last year, averaging 10.4 points in just 10 games, putting her in the top five on the team in scoring average. Her success was cut short by her suspension, which hurt a Blue Devil team that lost a strong defender and vocal leader.
But Wells did not take her semester of independence to relax or take a break from the grueling life of a Division I athlete. Wells used her time to work even harder, both as a player and a person.
“I got a job. I started learning how real life works when you get out of college,” Wells said.
But Wells’ time was not just devoted to her job. She knew there would be a spot on the team for her in the fall, and she was determined not to waste any time earning that spot.
“Every day I was in the gym running or doing something to stay active,” Wells said.
And her efforts did not go unnoticed by her coach.
“She worked so hard away from us, where we don’t even see her,” head coach Joanne P. McCallie said.
Between her job and the hours spent in gym, either practicing or working out, Wells made sure not to lose touch with the one group of people that supported her throughout the suspension—her teammates.
“My teammates came over at least once or twice a week. Sometimes we’d watch shows together. They kept me in the loop,” Wells said. “I watched all their games on TV and I came to all their games that were at home. I wrote to them, told them what they were doing wrong.”
Being off the team certainly did not mean being out of their lives. This allowed Wells to have the extra motivation to push harder and finally have the opportunity to be around the people she played and thrived with once more.
There is another side to Wells’ comeback story, one not immediately visible when she steps back into action at Cameron Indoor Stadium. This is how Wells changed as a person, not a basketball player. A word to sum it all up—maturation.
“With my time, I reflected a lot, and I realized how I got in that position and how to work not to get back in that position,” Wells said.
But that does not mean those changes were easy.
“She’s matured so much as a person. I’m so proud of Chloe,” McCallie said. “She’s been through a lot of adversity. She’s come back strong. I think she’s come back a much better person.”
Part of that maturation came from learning what she had to lose.
“I have a whole bunch of privileges that I don’t want to ever forfeit again,” Wells said. “I want to make sure I do the right things, even when nobody’s looking.”
McCallie has recently cited the lack of on-court leadership as an issue, and Wells’ return seems to be coming at just the right time. Although she remains sidelined at the moment with a leg injury, McCallie is anxious to have her guard back.
“I’ve really missed coaching her on the floor,” McCallie said. “She’s a vocal kid, she plays very scrappy and that’s been hard, to miss her.”
Now that Wells has matured and improved both as a player and a person, the question remains: What can be expected of her this year? She has yet to return to practice because of the injury, but McCallie maintains her eagerness of Wells’ return, as she will certainly look to her to continue last season’s offensive success.
“Whenever she gets back she’ll be playing, she’s a pistol. She’s a competitor and she’ll get her way in. She’ll help us defensively, she’ll help us run the point and push the ball. She can score,” McCallie said. “She’ll be hungry, and I think that’s her greatest asset coming back.”
Wells will be looking to use this season to prove her coach right, as well as make up for lost time with her teammates.
“I’m just ready to give all that I have to them, since I made a mistake that took myself out of the picture,” Wells said.
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