Schweitzer insists she's OK to play

March 15, 2000
The News & Observer

By Barry Svrluga; Staff Writer

DURHAM -- There has been a bit of banter at Cameron Indoor Stadium between those in the Duke women's basketball program and the Blue Devils' ACC player of the year, Georgia Schweitzer.

Georgia, you're hurt.

No, I'm not.

Georgia, why don't you admit it? Your leg is killing you.

No, it's not.

Young lady, you're playing with a fracture in your right fibula. It must be bothering you.

Would you go away? I'm OK.

Or not.

"She shouldn't be playing right now," Coach Gail Goestenkors said.

"Oh, it's fine," Schweitzer said.

With the Blue Devils, who are seeded second in the East Regional of the NCAA Tournament, preparing for a first-round game at home vs. Campbell on Saturday, Schweitzer could be the topic of discussion even without those little arguments. She did lead Duke with 15.5 points per game, became the team's go-to player when forward Peppi Browne went down with a season-ending injury, and led the Devils to their first ACC Tournament championship.

But throw in this annoying argument, and Schweitzer's story becomes more interesting. It seems the 6-foot junior guard/forward suffered the injury - for which she must take six weeks off after the season - against Wake Forest on Feb. 14. She has played ever since. Though she will play against Campbell, she missed practice before the ACC Tournament, played three games in three days and won't practice until at least later this week.

But from Schweitzer, not a peep. For the coaching staff, that can be frustrating.

"She prefers not to talk about it," Goestenkors said. "She does not handle injuries well, as far as mentally. She tries to pretend she's not hurt, which is something we can't afford to do."

But, sometimes, all this pretending is too difficult. Late in the ACC Tournament final, a 79-76 win over North Carolina on March 6, Goestenkors called timeout. She looked at Schweitzer.

"She was basically crying," Goestenkors said. "She could not run over to the bench."

What to do? Take her out? Sit her down? Ice her leg? Tell her everything's going to be all right?

With somebody else, perhaps. But Goestenkors knows Schweitzer, "the toughest kid that I've ever been around," she said. "So, of course, I called the last play for her, to run as fast as she could to go get a basketball. I knew she'd get it."

Getting Schweitzer to run down that pass was oodles easier than getting her to talk about the injury. But it's worth a shot.

"I was reading where [Goestenkors] said that I was mad at her for telling people," Schweitzer said. "And I am because it's really not a big deal to me. And I try to say that to people, and they're like ... "

And she rolled her eyes. Don't people get it? It's no big deal.

"That's her mentality," Duke center Lauren Rice said. "She doesn't want to make any excuses for anything. So she's going to underplay any pain that she's in."

There are believable parts to Schweitzer's argument that her leg doesn't bother her. Not practicing before the ACC Tournament, or since, has helped. She and some teammates went to the beach Friday and Saturday to lie in the sun and think about things other than fullcourt presses and injuries. That helped, too.

Then, there's the matter of concentrating on a game, a situation, a matchup. Those things have a way of pushing pain to the side.

"It doesn't really bother me too much when I get out there," Schweitzer said.

Grimacing. Wincing. Limping. Crying. And not talking about it all - unless pressed.

Rice spoke on Monday about how Schweitzer "may be being a little stubborn, saying it didn't bother her as much as it did." And all Schweitzer could do was sit back and take it. Then she remembered one place she might be able to respond - the basketball court.

"We have practice in half an hour," she said to Rice, threatening a bit. Then she remembered her situation.

"Not that I'll be playing," she said.