2015-16: Duke women's basketball player preview: Angela Salvadores

Angela Salvadores

• Year: Freshman
• Height: 5-foot-10
• Position: Guard

Game Breakdown:

A dynamic point guard with a stellar basketball IQ, Salvadores is the backcourt presence that Duke sorely missed last season. The Leon, Spain native enters the season as the fifth-ranked reshman in the country and headlines a top-ranked Duke recruiting class that brought aboard five highly-touted guards. Surrounded by talented scorers in the backcourt, Salvadores is poised to have a breakout year as her team’s primary ball handler and facilitator.

Although only a freshman, Salvadores has had the opportunity to hone her skills in multiple international tournaments. Playing for Spain in the FIBA U17 World Championships, Salvadores posted an awe-inspiring 40 point performance in an eventual loss to Team USA. One year later, playing at the U18 level, Salvadores averaged 20 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.3 assists through eight games at the FIBA World Championships and was named tournament MVP en route to leading her team to the gold medal.

Role on the Team: Salvadores will step in at the point position for the Blue Devils and look to help correct the turnover issue that plagued Duke a year ago. Head coach Joanne P. McCallie has said that every guard on the roster will spend some time playing point, but expect Salvadores to be taking the ball down the court when the game is on the line.

Salvadores is also primed to emerge as one of the Blue Devils’ top scorers for the 2015-16 season. After losing its top scorer in Elizabeth Williams from last season, Duke is aching for another player to step up and replace her contributions on the scoreboard. Unlike Williams, who got her points in the paint, Salvadores cashes in on perimeter shooting and can get to the basket at will. The freshman from Spain is the player on the Blue Devil roster most likely to replace the points scored by the four-time AP All-American.

Projected stats: 16.0 PPG, 5.0 APG, 1.5 SPG