Devil feeling no pain

March 25, 1999
The News & Observer

By Jumoke R. Gamble; STAFF WRITER

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Georgia Schweitzer is as tough as nails. And as brittle as a potato chip. The proliferation of injuries she's endured this season is a testament to both.

Shoulder surgery can wait, though. And the ribs are healed. And the knees ... well, she'll just live with those. Right now, the poster child for a tougher Blue Devils team is busy leading Duke to the NCAA Tournament Final Four. Friday, she and her teammates will take on Georgia at 7 p.m. The winner plays the survivor of the 9:30 p.m. game between Purdue and Louisiana Tech.

"I'm so proud of Georgia. She's the toughest kid on our team,'' Duke coach Gail Goestenkors said. "Our team doctor said no other athlete -- male or female -- would be playing with her injuries."

And play she has.

In four tournament games, Schweitzer is shooting 60 percent from the field, including 50 percent on three-point attempts, and she ranks third in scoring at 13.5 points per game. During the season, she averaged 10.2 points.

"I love the game of basketball so much that the pain doesn't matter,'' said the 6-foot sophomore forward, who jumped into national prominence as fast as you can say Tennessee. She scored a career-high 22 points Monday night in leading Duke to a 69-63 upset of the three-time defending champion Lady Vols at the Greensboro Coliseum, and her East Regional MVP performance put Duke in its first Final Four.

All this from a player who required as much emotional healing as physical endurance. Her first season was marked by passivity on the court and homesickness off.

"It was hard because I'm one of those people who takes time to adjust to a different environment. I had not been away from home a lot. I'm very close with my sister Holly,'' Schweitzer said. "I didn't know how to do my own hair. I didn't know how to dress myself. She kept me in check with stuff like that.'' Schweitzer adjusted enough to earn All-ACC freshman honors last season. Now a sophomore, Schweitzer stands on her own feet, no matter how painful or unsturdy.

Her injury woes started about the time Duke began its season in San Jose at the Nike Four in the Fall tournament. Schweitzer saw limited action while nursing torn cartilage in her left knee. She had surgery and was inactive for just a few days.

A week after surgery, the knee started bothering her again. An MRI revealed a bone bruise. She was on crutches for a week.

Then on Nov. 21, five games into the season, she cracked two ribs when she fell during a loss to Notre Dame.

"That was the worst of all the injuries,'' said Schweitzer, who hails from a football town, Gahanna, Ohio, on the outskirts of Columbus. "I was on painkillers and stayed in bed for two weeks. The only time I got up was to go to practice. Almost every day after practice I'd just lay there and be glad I made it through another day."

Around Christmas, Schweitzer suffered her most recent injury. While trying to brace a fall in practice, she put her hand out and popped her right shoulder out of place. The injury must be surgically repaired, but, still, she won't be sidelined. Duke doctors are allowing her to play out the season before operating.

She nearly faced another surgery when a sore right knee was diagnosed as a torn anterior cruciate ligament. Fortunately for her and for the team, it turned out to be another bone bruise, with minor cartilage damage.

Despite constant pain in assorted places, Schweitzer says she is where she wants to be: on the court contributing. As is her nature, she tries to make the best of the situation.

"When the [shoulder] injury first happened I had to change some things like overhead passing," Schweitzer said. "Shooting doesn't really bother me, but as long as I can keep my elbow in, I pretty much protect my shoulder.

"I think [the injury] makes me concentrate a little more because I had to keep my elbow in, which is important in your shot in general.'' Still, her technique is not all that it can be. Her coach can tell.

"The best is yet to come for her,'' Goestenkors said. "She had a good game against Tennessee, but she's a much better shooter . She's been struggling -- whether she admits it or not. As a coach, I can tell she's changed her shot to compensate for the shoulder."

Her shot will return. It's something she began developing, along with that toughness, years ago while playing against her brothers -- Aaron, now 25, and Andy, 24 -- on a backyard court.

"We roughed her up a couple of times in the back yard, but no matter how many times we blocked her shot or beat on her, she kept coming back for more," Andy said.

Georgia Schweitzer will need her toughness after the season, when she will have a myriad of injuries to address. For now, though, her heroics are being appreciated.

As she entered her Environmental 109 class Tuesday morning, she was given a round of applause by her classmates and professor. Schweitzer's life is changing and she feels its worth every last bump and bruise.

"All the practices and the injuries I've had," she said. "This makes it all seem to go away.

Players Mentioned

Georgia Schweitzer

Duke information