Beard shines, Strother impresses in junior national event

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Player of the year front-runners Alana Beard and Diana Taurasi command top billing on the United States junior national team, but on July 8 a cast of coaching celebrities flocked to the Capitol to watch a high school senior.

Beard and Taurasi's 43 points and 10 assists produced a 90-67 thrashing of Brazil in the Americans' final state-side competition before their 1997 FIBA junior world championship title defense commenced last weekend in Brno, Czech Republic. Nonetheless, the unmistakable Who's Who in women's basketball descended upon the Smith Center at The George Washington University with their eyes set intently on 17-year-old Ann Strother. Featuring Tennessee's Pat Summitt, Vanderbilt's Jim Foster, Georgia's Andy Landers and Texas's Jody Conradt, the curious group of onlookers represented nearly all of the 10 universities attempting to woo Strother.

But one notable exception did not attend the Strother's sweepstakes, which conveniently coincided with the first day of the most recent recruiting period. Duke's coaching staff, considered high on the blue chip guard's list of potential suitors, instead allowed three of Strother's teammates to recruit on the Blue Devils' behalf. Duke coach Gail Goestenkors said Joanne Boyle, the team's assistant coach who holds primary responsibility over the upcoming crop of recruits, will spend some time in the Czech Republic. For now, however, Goestenkors has relied upon the convincing capability of Beard and incoming freshmen Monique Currie and Wynter Whitley, who together give Duke more members on the USA team than any other college in the country.

"We're trying [to recruit Strother]," Whitley said of the top-rated prep guard, who last year became only the second rising high school junior ever to play for a USA women's basketball junior world championship team. "Every once in a while we'll say something to her about coming to Duke."

Strother said she would trim her list of potential universities down to five following the conclusion of next weekend's championship tournament.

Highlighted by Beard's 19 points, Duke's current contingent of young stars meanwhile accounted for nearly one-third of Team USA's scoring during its International Invitational title-game triumph over Brazil. Beard, the reigning national freshman of the year and a sure-fire preseason All-American, led her team to a 4-0 record in America with close to 19 points per game.

On a somewhat off-night against the Brazilians, however, Beard committed more turnovers than she had assists and steals combined. Although Beard's offense took a backseat to a sensational game from UConn's Taurasi, her pressuring defense proved invaluable during a 51-11 run that spanned two quarters and turned a seven-point deficit into another lopsided USA rout. Early in the relentless push, the Brazilians caved against a ferocious trap that produced five consecutive steals, four of which occurred in Brazil's backcourt.

"I think one of the strengths of our team is our ability to put pressure on the ball," said USA coach Geno Auriemma, who called upon several of his former and current players at Connecticut to attend Strother's performance. "When we've got Cappie [Pondexter], Loree [Moore] and Alana in the game at the same time, that really gives us the opportunity to do some things. No question that changed the game."

Whitley, who like Currie earned second-team All-America honors last year as a senior, enters Duke with some striking similarities to Beard's classmate, Iciss Tillis.

Last season, the lanky three-point-shooting Tillis often played the five position for the quick, but under-sized Blue Devils. Whitley, a 6-foot-2 forward who feels equally comfortable on the perimeter, said Beard immediately started calling her "Baby Iciss" when they first met. But Goestenkors cautioned that Tillis and Whitley, who Duke's coach referred to as a finesse forward and power forward, respectively, are hardly carbon copies of each other.

Unlike Beard, Whitley did not have many opportunities to showcase her abilities on the USA squad. Against Brazil, Whitley played only eight minutes, fewer than anyone on her team. For one brief minute in the third period, though, Whitley, Currie and Beard shared the court together in a lineup that boasted far more white and blue than red. The pairing produced Whitley's only field goal, a fast-break layup assisted by Beard on a two-on-one that foreshadowed another year of excitement for a program that has improved season by season since Goestenkors' arrival in 1992.

In any case, Goestenkors said she expects her team, which features seven freshman and sophomores compared to only one senior, will age a little bit from having her three youngsters work with Auriemma and the nation's top players.

"I think this has been a great experience for them, even though Monique and Wynter aren't getting as much playing time as Alana and some of the other girls," Goestenkors said. "They're learning what it takes to play at an elite level."

Note: Upon their return from the Czech Republic, Currie, Whitley and Beard will begin individual workouts on the Duke campus. Whitley and Currie, however, will not accompany their teammates when the Blue Devils leave for Australia Aug. 11.