The Duke Blue Devils accomplished something significant with the commitment and pending signing of the Elizabeth Williams of Virginia Beach, Va., but the impact is beyond adding talent in the paint.
Much like the emergence of Stanford in recent years, the addition of Williams, the No. 2 prospect in the class, will solidify another deep-tournament player for years to come. Joanne P. McCallie and staff inked the top signing class in 2010 but those players are freshmen and while their impact is imminent it may not be immediate. Adding back-to-back stellar classes with leaders where the team needs it and depth on the roster gives Duke a chance to be on the level with current powers Baylor, Connecticut, Stanford and Tennessee. With Williams the expectations elevate and while they are high for this season, next year will be another kind of pressure altogether.
The 6-foot-3 post is more significant than any other player in Duke's haul, not because she is the highest ranked, but because she fills an immediate need and has the ability to contribute from day one. Krystal Thomas, the Blue Devil's starting post, is a senior this season and the team has just one other player on the roster to play the center position next season, sophomore Allison Vernerey. Without Williams the team would have faced a significant drop in talent or been forced to change its system, both offensively and defensively, until someone emerged as a dependable ACC post.
The team has talent and depth in the backcourt to replace senior All-American candidate Jasmine Thomas both on the current roster with junior Shay Selby and freshmen Chelsea Gray and Chloe Wells, as well as with the commitments of Ka'Lia Johnson and Whitney Knight in the 2011 class. With that surplus of capable ballhandlers, the emphasis of Duke's recruiting has been in the frontcourt in this class.
In the paint Williams will have a dynamite partner in Amber Henson because her highly skilled, finesse style and range at the forward position should fit nicely with Williams ability to score in close. While celebrating the signing of Williams the team has two more pieces in motion and, as expected, both are in the frontcourt department.
Betnijah Laney, the No. 11 prospect in the ESPNU HoopGurlz 100, is a combo-forward who has really developed the perimeter skills to accompany her powerful game, and has Duke among her finalists. Adding a player like Laney to a future forward group of Haley Peters, Richa Jackson and the aforementioned Henson puts a wealth of versatility and talent around Williams in the paint. The other moving piece is Gretel Tippett, the 6-4 wing-forward from Southport, Australia, who will visit Duke in the spring and decide if coming to the United States for school is a better fit than the several professional options.
If neither Laney nor Tippett decide to become Blue Devils the team will still have the expectations because the team has the pieces in place and can move those two scholarships to the 2012 class and see if it can make three top 10 signing classes in a row.
With Williams on board the cake is out of the oven and cooling.
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