Rob Clough's countdown of the top 10 players in Duke Women's Basketball history begins with his selection for #10, Peppi Browne. Browne wore #10 for the Blue Devils from 1997-2000, scoring 1132 points while shooting 48.2% from the field. Her career totals also include 677 rebounds, 234 assists, and 217 steals.

Peppi Browne (photo courtesy Duke SID)

Peppi remains my favorite Duke player of all time. She possessed a sort of unabashed enthusiasm for the game that lacked any sense of self-consciousness. Browne was never a player who worried about style points or being cool; she went out there with her knee pads and simply went to work. She made the All-Frosh team back in 1997 and had her share of wild moments during her first two seasons. She would often get so excited during a game that she'd take a bad shot or lose control of the ball. At the same time, her sheer relentlessness bailed Duke out of many a tough situation.

There were any number of players I could have chosen for this slot. Arguments could be made for Sue Harnett, Kira Orr, Ali Day, Ali Bales, Sheana Mosch and Mistie Bass, among others. I chose Browne because of the role she had in bringing Duke its first regular season championships, its first title game appearance and then as a key bridge between that 99 team and the Alana Beard era. Duke's 2000 team is my all-time favorite because that group kept winning despite having lost six seniors. Browne anchored that team with a newfound maturity and confidence born out of the way she had helped shut down Chamique Holdsclaw of Tennessee in the fabled 1999 Eastern Regional Finals, as well as her strong performance in an exhibition game against the US Olympic team.

What I liked best about Peppi was the way she could rise to the occasion. There was a game against Virginia in 1999 when Duke fell behind by double digits. Browne went into whirlwind mode, harrassing the Hoos into turning the ball over as she led Duke to the win. By her senior year, her defense was so refined that her mere presence in the game meant that opposing teams had to plan around her. She also started making lots of great decisions on offense, breaking open a tie game in Tallahassee with a brilliant improvised move. That made it all the more heartbreaking when she tore her ACL in a blowout win against UNC, costing her the latter half of her senior year. That cost her considerably in terms of career stats, as she missed a dozen or more potential games. She's still top 25 in career scoring and top 15 in rebounds and steals. She was also named first team All-ACC as a senior despite her injuries and was well on her way to winning ACC player of the year before she got hurt. Browne played the game with the same sort of spirit as Duke's other great players, and that underdog sensibility is what enabled her to become, as I used to put it, "the world's greatest 5-10 rebounder".

Our countdown will continue with #9 later this week...