First and foremost, Alana Beard and Monique Currie were named ACC
Player and Rookie of the Week,
respectively. This makes 3 ROTW awards for Mo in four
weeks--a Beard-like level of domination for the talented frosh. Alana is
now leading the ACC in scoring at 17.9 ppg. She's third in FG% (59.8%),
second in assists (6.4), first in steals (4.2--nearly 1.6 spg better than
her nearest competitor!), 12th in rebounding (5.8) and third in
assist/turnover ratio (2.42:1). Wow.
Assistant Coach Joanne Boyle is feeling
much better now. Check out some of the names that have
sent her well wishes through goduke.com--former player Windsor Coggeshall
wrote in from Micronesia!
Georgia Schweitzer, meanwhile, is no longer a volunteer assistant--
she's being paid as a temporary coach. Georgia will help coach the guards,
which is a truly brilliant solution to Coach Boyle's absence--Georgia was
a big sister figure to Beard, Mosch and Krapohl in particular. Georgia
will also recruit, which is another brilliant move. Having one of your best-
ever players, playing in the WNBA no less, going to potential recruits is
a fantastic notion.
Coach G discusses her reduced roster with Jim Furlong of
The
Herald-Sun. She notes that an 8-player roster is a risky
proposition, but notes that the '97 Notre Dame team made it to the final
four with such a lineup. Coach G also says that she's unlikely to add
any walk-ons or ask Olga Gvozdenovic to give hoops another try. (That is
especially unlikely since Olga has joined the tennis team.) What is
clear is that Coach G didn't ask either Rometra or Crystal to leave, and
in fact tried to convince both to stay. Gail also notes that the team is
very close right now--it's definitely a circling the wagons sort of time.
Speaking of reduced rosters, NC State was just bit by the
transfer bug. Ivy Gardner and Daphne Hutcherson will
both be leaving the program. Hutcherson is a little-used reserve who
will simply get her engineering degree this year. Gardner is a different
case. She's had knee problems this year but is one of the league's best
defenders and was also counted on for a lot of the team's offense from the
perimeter. With Terah James gone for the year, State is suddenly running
out of guards. Nanna Rivers, Rachel Stockdale, Amy Simpson and Amelia
Labador will all need to significantly step up their games.