Her Turn to Step Up

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By Steve Barnes
From GoDuke The Magazine

DURHAM, N.C.-- Who knew that a childhood excitement over a package of Pilot pens would lead to preseason All-American status years later? Maybe Jasmine Thomas was just getting a head start.

Before you think the above statement is a bigger stretch than literary license permits, let the Blue Devils junior point guard explain.
"I always thought going to Staples to get school supplies was really fun when I was a kid," she said. "I always enjoyed school and I wanted to be organized and ready to go."

There's the connection - prepared and organized - two attributes that are essential for running a basketball offense.

The Fairfax, Va., native begins her third season as Duke's primary ball-handler, but not the only one. The 5-foot-9 leaper worked on her shot all summer, intent on raising her .356 career field goal percentage.

"I stayed in Durham all summer and worked on my shot every day," said Thomas. "I didn't have a set number to shoot all the time, but I know it improved. I did drills with the coaches to get better and shot a lot on my own. Whenever everything felt right, the release, rotation, that sort of thing, I stopped for the day. I always left the floor feeling good and that's carried over into practice."

Thomas' learned the game while tagging along to the local rec center with her older brother Darrell. After playing with the boys for a while, she badgered the coach to start a girls team, which eventually happened. Her father, Johnnie, was (and still is) a big fan of the Duke men's program, so she was thrilled when the Blue Devils' former coaching staff showed interest.

"Even though Duke was the place he would have picked for me, he let it be my decision," said Thomas, who chose Duke over Virginia. "He wanted it to be the right place for me and it is."

Thomas arrived on campus with the usual hype that surrounds a highly recruited athlete. She was anywhere from fifth to eighth in the national player rankings, a two-time Virginia player of the year and a McDonald's All-America. After steady improvement her first two years, Thomas was named to the preseason All-ACC first team and a second team All-America by one publication this year.

"It's an honor anytime you are mentioned for anything, but I would rather win," said Thomas. "We haven't won the ACC Tournament or reached the Final Four since I've been here and I would gladly trade anything I win for those things."

Lindsey Harding accomplished both before moving on to the WNBA. Her graduation left the spot wide open for Thomas, who counts the Blue Devils' all-time assists leader among her hoops heroes.

"I watched Lindsay and Duke on TV every time I could," said Thomas. "I still get a little nervous around her even after I've met her several times now. She practiced with us once when I was a freshman and she was trying to get me to be more vocal on the court. She told me to try to stay in attack mode and protect the ball at the same time. That's not always easy to do."

Last year, Thomas trimmed her turnovers by 10 from her freshman campaign while adding 16 assists. This season's ratio should be even better.

"I'm so much more comfortable in this offense," she said. "From the first day of practice, I just knew all the plays and where everyone was supposed to be. I don't know how it happened exactly, but things clicked for me from the start. I'm way ahead of where I was a year ago."

Duke will lean on Thomas to run the show most of the time, but not always. Coach Joanne McCallie wants senior Keturah Jackson, along with sophomores Chelsea Hopkins and Shay Selby, to play the point also, freeing up Thomas to look for her shot more.

"I need Jas to be dangerous no matter where she plays," said McCallie. "I want her to play freely without frustration so she stays focused. She has such quick explosion to the basket and I want her to recognize when to use it, and make the right pass to the right person when she can't. She is poised to have a great year for us."

Thomas sees her progression as the next step in a natural accession. For the first time in over a decade, the Devils don't have a star player (or two) to draw the media and opponents' focus. With the program's second all-time rebounder (Chante Black) and top career three-point shooter (Abby Waner) no longer on the floor with her, Thomas thinks it's her turn to step up.

"There's a certain hierarchy on every team," she said. "I'm supposed to be vocal as the point guard, but we had Abby and Chante showing strong leadership, so it will be easier for me to be assertive this year. I need to be an extension of Coach P out on the court. We still have seniors (Jackson, Joy Cheek and Bridgette Mitchell) who are good leaders, but I feel more comfortable telling my teammates where they need to be on the floor as an upperclassman."

Thomas had some breakout games as a sophomore - a career high 22 points in the Blue Devils' remarkable comeback overtime win at Southern Cal when they trailed by 17 points late in the game, 22 more at Virginia and 19 at home against UNC, including the game-tying basket that forced overtime. This year's goal is to have more of those games more often.

"I want us to have a more balanced attack this year and she has to be a big part of that," said McCallie. "We need to be dangerous from more positions and harder to scout. We need to dictate the flow with our defense and take care of the ball on offense. We had some atrocious turnovers last year where a lot of different people were trying to make the perfect, spectacular pass when a basic pass would have been better.

"The big thing for Jas this year is consistency. If she stays calm and focused, she will have a great year and so will the team."

Players Mentioned

Chante Black

Joy Cheek

Lindsey Harding

Chelsea Hopkins

Keturah Jackson

Bridgette Mitchell

Shay Selby

Jasmine Thomas

Abby Waner

Duke information