Duke's Sophomore Class: Kathleen Scheer, Shay Selby, & Chelsea Hopkins

#1 - Chelsea Hopkins

5-8 Guard - Las Vegas, Nevada

Strengths:In many respects, Chelsea is the best pure point guard on Duke's roster. She's a pass-first player with a nice first step who can penetrate. She loves having the ball in her hands so as to set up her teammates, both in transition and in the halfcourt. Defensively, she's a pest who applies a lot of ball pressure and has a real nose for the ball. She's especially adept at picking off steals near midcourt and rushing in for layups. Chelsea shows no fear despite her short stature, attacking the basket with gusto. As a result, she did a nice job of getting to the foul line, where she converted at a solid 75%. Her knee injury clearly slowed her down and affected her confidence a bit, but she has an opportunity to seize the role as backup point guard.

Needs Work: First, Chelsea simply has to continue to get healthier and stronger. There's no question that she has the potential to be a leader, given her mental toughness. What she needs most is experience in running the team and getting comfortable with as many different combinations of players as possible. This will be especially important, given that her first step is not nearly as quick as it was before her injury. At this point, Chelsea may just be cautious in testing her knee, but that will pass as the year proceeds when she's in the heat of battle. For this season, she needs to take care of the ball above all else, with a high assist/turnover ratio. She'll also continue to need to apply a lot of ball pressure, making things difficult for opponents when she comes into a game with her level of energy. Offensively, she doesn't need to worry about taking too many jumpers. She should take them if she's wide open, but otherwise focus on attacking the basket to generate points. Watch her play carefully in the season's opening weekend to see what kind of impact she makes when she comes into the game.

#5 - Shay Selby

5-9 Guard - Cleveland, Ohio

Strengths: Thanks to a bad knee, Shay didn't get to show off much of her game as a frosh, with the exception of games against Temple and Southern California. Shay is a quick and dynamic player who is a natural scorer and accurate passer. Like Jasmine, she has a slightly unorthodox shooting stroke, but it is effective (42% from three), if streaky. Selby also likes attacking the basket, a prospect that was at times difficult for her last year as she tried to become accustomed to the physical nature of college play. With a dearth of ballhandlers on this year's team, Shay has the potential to make an impact off the bench.

Needs Work: Defense was the area Shay needed the most improvement in before the injury. For her, it will simply be a matter of time and comfortability, because she certainly has the quickness to do it. Like the other young players, Shay also needs to get stronger so as to absorb punishment and get to the foul line. She's certainly fearless in the way she attacks the basket, but she'll need to learn to adjust to defenders so as to avoid offensive fouls and turnovers. Selby has the potential to be an exciting player, and I hope she gets the minutes this year so she can prove herself.

#24 - Kathleen Scheer

6-2 Forward - New Haven, Missouri

Strengths: Kathleen's most obvious strength is her shooting. While the team has other good shooters, there's no one with her in-the-building range and accuracy. Last season, playing limited minutes and sometimes struggling to keep up with the speed of the game, she still shot 40% from three. At minimum, Kathleen will be a tremendous zone-buster, especially given her height (6-2). Few teams will have the size to chase her all the way out to the perimeter when she's shooting. Kathleen has the potential to be much more than just a stationary shooter, however. She's a battler who never stopped hustling in every minute she got. This season, look for her to try to attack the basket and get fouled in addition to firing away from long range. Scheer will also run the floor, block shots against smaller teams and become involved in Duke's passing game.

Needs Work: It's obvious in watching Kathleen in the early going that she's eager to prove herself and demonstrate that she's ready to contribute. What she needs above all else at this point is patience. When she's in the game, she has to be in position to take the best shot, not just the first open shot. Duke doesn't set a lot of screens for shooters, but Scheer could make her game less predictable by moving more without the ball and forcing opponents to react to her teammates. One can tell that Scheer wants to post up and take opponents off the dribble, but she'll need to be careful to pick her spots. Kathleen should spend the early part of Duke's schedule gaining confidence, working on her ball handling, and continuing to battle. If the game continues to slow down for her and she gets more comfortable with the physicality of the game, then her major skill will become all the more valuable.