In a game during her senior year of high school, Carrem Gay found herself all alone, on a fast break, with a chance to do something very few women's high school basketball players have ever done before.
Then Gay performed the incredible: she threw down a slam dunk. The crowd went crazy.
If the freshman has her way, the Cameron Crazies might have to prepare to witness their first women's basketball dunk.
But the 6-foot-2 Gay gives the Blue Devils more than just an athletic leaper. She runs the fast break, posts up and shoots from the outside. And, most importantly, Gay's addition gives last year's Elite Eight team another proven winner.
As a senior at Christ the King High School in New York City, she led the team to a 27-0 record, a state championship and a No. 1 final national ranking.
"My high school team was successful. I understand what it takes to be at the top," Gay said.
For Gay, transferring that success from high school means working even harder at her strengths. The freshman said she wants to dominate any way that she can-whether that is racking up assists, rebounds or points.
Though Gay will be coming off the bench this year, head coach Gail Goestenkors knows she will benefit the team. Gay will fit in well with the team's running and pressing style of play, the coach said.
"Carrem can run the floor like a deer and has excellent post moves, good patience inside," Goestenkors said.
Gay said she accepts her role as a substitute, adding that she would be willing to do whatever would most help the team. Coming off the bench has not been the only aspect of playing for Duke she has had to handle-the transition from the high school to college game has not been seamless.
"Adjusting to the style of play has not been that easy," Gay said. "It's a lot more aggressive and I have to learn how to battle differently."
Part of that battle for Gay is realizing that she has to work hard on each play. The freshman said her talent and athleticism allowed her to get away with slacking off every once in a while in high school, but she said those days are over.
The Blue Devils will count on an energized Gay to provide hustle while she's on the court and think the power forward's size and versatility will be hard for opposing defenses to match. Smaller defenders will be hard-pressed to match up in the post, and taller, larger centers will have difficulty with Gay's speed.
In practice, Goestenkors has seen Gay more than hold her own with 6-foot-7 center Alison Bales.
"She's been able to score over Ali now, which is really good for her and good for Ali to have to defend that kind of player," Goestenkors said.
Gay displayed the very versatility that is tough for Bales to handle in practice in her final high school season. She averaged 18.1 points, 12.4 rebounds, 5.3 blocks, and 4.7 assists and was named New York's Miss Basketball and a McDonald's All-American.
But statistics and awards are only part of what Gay takes away from her 27-0 season.
"I learned from that season that it's not really about talent, it's about chemistry on and off the court," Gay said. "That really defines a team."
But a fast-break slam can never hurt.
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