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Clough: Joy Cheek Steps It Up
12/26/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
By Rob Clough, GoDuke.com
DURHAM, N.C.-- After a solid start to her season in Duke's first three games, Joy Cheek went into a bit of a slump. Between the Purdue and Penn State games, she averaged just 5.0 points a game and 2.0 rebounds per contest. Perhaps not coincidentally, Duke struggled during this period, losing three straight games and barely scratching out two other wins. The decision was made to start her in Duke's huge showdown with Rutgers, and since that time she's made quite a turnaround, averaging 14.0 points per game and 6.0 rebounds a game--nearly triple her output during that slump.
Joy noted that "after the Penn State game, I had a meeting with Coach P. She thought that I brought a lot of energy and leadership to the team, which put me in the (starting) lineup. I had started one game in the Virgin Islands against Temple and I remember not playing that well and not really helping the team
much. I felt like this time around as a starter I really had to give the team the energy and leadership Coach P was looking for in me."
Part of Joy's struggle was simply staying on the floor. Her constant foul trouble contributed greatly to her struggles on the court, especially on defense. In her run of double-figure scoring games that have come since, fouls have never been an issue. Explaining the difference, she offered that "A lot of my fouls came because I wasn't in the right position or [was] too late to the spot. As I've gotten more comfortable with our defenses and learned how to read my opponents' moves, I have been able to avoid fouls. Some of my fouls
have also come from mental lapses, so being more focused on defense has helped me also."
That certainly showed in the way Duke was able to limit Kia Vaughn of Rutgers, Hope Foster of Bucknell and Marcedes Walker of Pitt in the Devils' wins over each of those clubs.
While the victory over Bucknell saw Cheek post a career-high 19 points, it was her performance over Pitt that was her most impressive of the year. In addition to keep her team in the game in a low-scoring contest, Cheek hit the game-winning basket. She noted that "A lot of the opportunities that I got in the Pitt game
[were] from being aggressive. I took the open shots and read what the defense gave me. My teammates recognized that I was getting kind of hot and they did a good job of feeding me the ball."
Cheek has excelled in games that were a bit physical in her career, noting that "I don't mind physical games at all." Of her game-winning shot, she stated that it "just came from me doing what I was supposed to do. I think our guards handled that part well. I didn't do anything special like split the defense or make a good move. Chante [Black] shot the ball and no one boxed me out so I went hard to the glass and came up with it. After making that bucket I didn't really think that 'oh this is great after we have been struggling', I just
thought 'we got the win'."
Assessing her own play, she expanded on what she's doing well and what she needs to work on still: "In the first maybe six games I was really disappointed in myself. I was shooting like 75% from the field but was only averaging about two rebounds. I couldn't believe it because I felt like I was going to the boards hard but I still wasn't coming up with the ball. I asked Lauren [Rice, the team's video coordinator] to make me a DVD of last year's game against Virginia Tech at their place and against Carolina. In those two games I rebounded well and I wanted to see what I was doing to get the boards. Since then, I feel like I have been doing better on the boards. So overall, I am pretty pleased with how I have been playing, but there are so many other things I can do to be even more effective for our team."
One of those things that Cheek's been working is the use of a jump hook. While acknowledging that "I shot it some last year", she did emphasize that "Coach [Al] Brown is a big fan of the hook and baseline. I do use it a lot because I am shorter than some posts and I can get my shot off. I use it against some posts my height also because it's hard to block and I can use my body to give me space."
Of course, Cheek is more than just a low-block scorer. She's comfortable pulling up for jumpers and driving to the hoop as well. This season, she's started taking more threes and has acquitted herself well, shooting 40 percent from behind the arc. Commenting on having the freedom to shoot from long range, she said "I love showing my versatility. I like shooting off the dribble and handling the ball as a post. Coach P said it early in preseason that every post player has the green light to shoot the three and they should. So I'm enjoying the opportunity."
Cheek has some imposing tasks ahead of her with the powerful post players of the ACC, but the steps she's taken have certainly pointed her in the right direction and especially have boosted both her own confidence as well as the confidence of her teammates in her to perform.
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