Last year's Duke squad was Lindsey Harding's team. The point guard, the leader and the emotional sparkplug, Harding was the player who could turn the game around with a steal at midcourt and a layup on the other end of the floor.
But the National Player of the Year graduated last May and her departure left a gaping hole at the point guard position.
Although this year's Blue Devil team does not have a similar go-to player, the next Harding might emerge from this year's freshman class.
Jasmine Thomas, a 5-foot-9 rookie, could be the Duke floor general of the future.
Thomas has scored in double figures eight times this season-most among the three freshman on the team-and averages 7.4 points and 2.4 assists per game.
"Jas is more of a scorer than Lindsey was when she first came here," junior Abby Waner said. "Lindsey obviously developed into a huge scorer for us last year, but I think it's more natural for Jas. I know Lindsey developed her shot here throughout her career, and Jas already has a great 3-point shot."
When Harding returned to Duke in January for her jersey retirement ceremonies, Thomas had the opportunity to practice with Harding, who instructed her on some of the fundamentals of being a point guard.
"It was really cool," Thomas said. "I never really got to play with her that much. She was giving me direction, what to do when I got trapped while she was playing defense. So she was kind of coaching me and playing me at the same time."
Thomas had enjoyed success even before facing off with the only player in Duke history to record 1,000 points and 500 assists in her career.
In her fourth game as a Blue Devil, Thomas netted 15 points to help Duke down then-No. 20 Purdue 53-41 on Thanksgiving Day in the Paradise Jam in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. With two-and-a half minutes left in the game, Thomas converted a three-point play after being fouled on a breakaway layup. The play sealed the Blue Devils victory, giving the team a 13-point lead.
"I thought Jas gave us a great lift as a freshman with her leadership and with her attack on the basket," head coach Joanne P. McCallie said after the game.
From that point forward, Thomas used her quickness and aggressiveness to boost Duke's offense during non-conference play. Her 17 points against Penn State Dec. 2 kept then-No.10 Duke close in a high-scoring affair that the Blue Devils lost 86-84.
Thomas' playing time and scoring, though, diminished during the conference slate. Facing staunch ACC competition for the first time, Thomas struggled with her shot and saw less playing time as Waner took on more of the point guard's responsibilities.
"She thinks through things a little bit too much sometimes," Waner said. "I tell her to go with her instinct and just play."
The freshman letdown is not surprising, as Thomas is still adjusting to the speed of the college game. She said, though, that the game has begun to slow down for her-evident in her 12 points, five assists and three critical steals to boost Duke to a 78-70 win over Virginia Feb. 24.
Although Thomas will not likely have the effect on this year's team in the postseason that Harding had on last year's squad, the future looks promising for the speedy freshman. After all, Harding needed five years to develop into the player that she became. Thomas is still in year one.
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