Barnes: McCallie Hungry For More In 2009

DURHAM, N.C. ? Those of you who have ridden the Space Mountain rollercoaster at Disney World should be able to relate well with the season the Duke women's basketball team just completed.

The 25-10 campaign ended with a 77-63 loss to Texas A&M in the third round of the NCAA Tournament in Oklahoma City. In fact, the game was somewhat of a microcosm of the entire season. The third-seeded Devils got off to a slow start against the second-seeded Aggies, rallied to take the lead later in the first half, then watched as unforced errors and missed free throws spelled the end of the line.

There were plenty of ups and downs to Joanne P. McCallie's first season in charge. A Joy Cheek putback for a last-second win over Pitt in Madison Square Garden, a solid all-around effort in a close win over Rutgers in Cameron Indoor Stadium, the annihilation of upstart Georgia Tech in Atlanta, a wipeout of Florida State at home and an upset win over Maryland that led the Blue Devils back to the ACC Tournament's title game for the first time in three years were among the highlights.

Three losses to North Carolina, two to Maryland and tough defeats at Vanderbilt and Penn State rank among the lows.

However, considering the turmoil the program went through this time last year, McCallie considers the season a success.

“These women are remarkable,” said McCallie of her players. “They showed tremendous resiliency during a very difficult time and handled the transition to the new coaching staff very well. I thought the coaches did a great job in adapting to the players and that we accomplished an enormous amount this year. We had to develop for the future while pursuing championships, and I thought we did well under those circumstances. I thought we made good progress all season and were a lot better in March than we were in November.”

The new circumstances certainly benefited junior center Chante Black. After sitting out all of last year while healing knee and calf injuries, Black returned as the Blue Devils go-to player in McCallie's post-oriented attack. Black posted her ninth double-double of the season in the final game, scoring 17 points and grabbing 12 rebounds against Texas A&M. She was the team's leading scorer and rebounder and scored in double figures 30 times in the 35 games.

“Chante became a dominant force inside,” said McCallie. “She became much more aggressive and demanded the ball. Her outside game improved a ton and that forced opponents to guard her away from the basket, which in turn, opened things up down low for Joy (Cheek), Carrem (Gay) and Krystal (Thomas). She had a terrific year and I'm glad she'll be here for another one.”

Next year's squad will have all players back except for senior Wanisha Smith, who was drafted in the second round (27th overall) by the WNBA's New York Liberty. She was the 11th Duke player to go in the WNBA Draft and will join former college rivals Essence Carson of Rutgers and UNC's Erlana Larkins for training camp shortly.

Abby Waner plans on being in a WNBA training camp around this time next year. Despite the critics who focused on her lower shooting percentage, McCallie saw her development this season in a different light.

“I thought Abby had a great year,” she said. “She grew so much beyond being defined as just a shooter. She led us in assists, she became more aggressive on the defensive end and she was willing to do whatever the team needed for us to win. She stepped into the point guard role when Jasmine (Thomas) struggled and did a great job for us.”

Waner moved into fifth place among all-time Duke thieves with 230 steals and became the school leader in three-point shots attempted.

Third-year sophomore Keturah Jackson earned a starting role after seeing little court time the previous two years. She developed into Duke's best on-the-ball defender and looked to score more in the second half of the season, hitting double figures three times, including 10 in the final game.

True sophomore Cheek started most of the time during the second half of the season and developed an outside shot while refining her post moves.

All of the above already has McCallie thinking of the future.

“I'm hungry for more,” she said. “You can't rush time and we will still be in the process of understanding each other and what each player can give to help the team be successful. I thought we grew tremendously during the transition and time of change this season, which sets the stage for next year. We have everybody back, plus three freshmen who should help us win.”

Guard Chelsea Hopkins (5-8) of Las Vegas, guard Shay Selby (5-9) of Cleveland, Ohio, and forward Kathleen Scheer (6-2) of New Haven, Mo., make up a class that is ranked fifth best in the county by two recruiting services and seventh by another. It's the ninth straight year that Duke has brought in a top 10 class. Selby is considered to be the nation's top point guard by one service.

“All three are ACC players because they combine size and speed with athleticism,” said McCallie. “They have good fundamentals and I'm excited to see all of them in Blue Devil uniforms. In fact, I am excited about year two for all of us.”