Facing numerous unknowns and with the lingering bitterness of the late season collapse a year ago, the Blue Devils could not be happier to get the regular season underway.
No. 7 Duke will do just that Sunday at 8 p.m. when it travels to Tuscaloosa, Ala. to face Alabama at Foster Auditorium. As opposed to the senior-laden teams of years past, this Blue Devil squad is much younger and enters the season with a chip on its shoulder after being picked to finish 2nd in the ACC behind No. 3 Notre Dame.
“We’re just growing everyday in practice,” Duke head coach Joanne P. McCallie said. “We’re getting better and maturing and understanding the kind of intensity it takes to be a great team.”
New faces—with some old faces in new places—highlight the Blue Devils roster leading up to the Alabama game. In addition to more prominent roles in the starting lineup for seniors Ka’lia Johnson and Amber Henson, redshirt freshman Rebecca Greenwell and junior college transfer Mercedes Riggs, along with four new freshman from Duke’s third-ranked recruiting class, will take the court as Blue Devils for the first time in their careers.
With such change, it would appear that a road game to begin the season would be the last thing Duke would want but, that couldn’t be further from the truth.
“I love the fact that we’re on the road,” McCallie said. “It’s beneficial for us as a team from the experience point of view and we’ve got some great senior leadership so it’s a nice combination”.
Despite the massive change on the Blue Devil roster, there is one aspect that remains the same: the presence of three-time All-American center Elizabeth Williams.
The Virginia Beach, Va. native is projected to have yet another monster season, as she leads Duke for the last time in her illustrious career. Following this season, Williams is expected to be one of the top selections in the upcoming WNBA Draft.
“I want her to have an aggressive, dominant mentality,” McCallie said. “She’s one of the best student-athletes in the entire country and there’s nobody as dedicated to academics and basketball as she is. She is an extremely special person competing at a very high level.”
Through two early exhibition games, the Blue Devils have been nothing short of dominant, posting victories of 67 and 55 points versus Limestone and Armstrong State respectively. The Crimson Tide—predicted to finish last in the loaded SEC conference—will not pose the stiffest challenge for Duke. However, as a Division I team, they will be better suited to deal with the Blue Devils talent and size. Duke features the tallest team in school history and in the NCAA this season, with seven players standing 6-foot-3 or taller.
But, under McCallie’s guidance, the Blue Devils have refused to look past any opponent no matter the skill level.
“We like to take a business-like approach," McCallie said. "Readiness for defense, readiness for rebounding, readiness for the things you can control is where you want your team to be focused. Everything else will take care of itself.... It’s time to get challenged and find out what we can do.”
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