Rob Clough's countdown of the top 10 players in Duke Women's Basketball history continues with his selection for #7, Katie Meier. Meier wore #31 for the Blue Devils from 1986-1990, with a redshirt season coming in 1989. Her top honors included making the All-ACC First teams for the 1990 regular season and tournament. Meier is presently head coach of the Miami Hurricanes

Katie Meier Photo courtesy Duke Photography

Katie Meier brought flash, verve and excitement to Duke's program. As great as Chris Moreland was, she was great in a Tim Duncan sort of way-- dependable, efficient and predictable. She couldn't be stopped but did the same thing over and over. That's why playing with a whirlwind like Meier was so good for both players. While Katie was shooting, handling the ball (unusual at the time for such a tall guard), rebounding and playing oppressive perimeter defense, Moreland would be ready to get a great pass and finish or rebound a miss. 6-1 guards who can handle the ball, initiate the offense and shoot are a valuable commodity today, but they were quite a rare species in the 80s. That's why she was able to make such a pronounced and immediate impact.

It was Meier's injury in the 1987-88 season that derailed a Duke team that entered the top 15 and was undefeated for the early part of the year. While she did wind up returning, she wasn't quite the same the rest of the year, her final season with Moreland. Meier certainly made up for that absence as a senior, when she had one of the all-time greatest seasons for a Duke player. Forget the 19 ppg scoring average, 4 assists per game and 2 steals a game. Meier averaged an incredible 9 rpg that year, which is the best single-season rebounding mark outside of Moreland and Barb Krause. Meier wasn't just tall, she was long; in many ways, she was an earlier model of Alana Beard. Her long arms and big hands gave her complete control of the ball and allowed her to poke away at loose balls and disrupt passing lanes. Meier's only significant career honors included first team All-ACC as a senior and second team Academic All-America. Her expert passing certainly made Moreland and Sue Harnett better players, and I suspect that she would have had an even finer career with additional talent and depth surrounding her to receive her passes. She's still one of the top five scorers in Duke history and is #10 in assists after holding the all-time mark for seven years. She's also in the top five in steals and free throws made.

Our top ten will continue this weekend with our sixth greatest player in Duke Women's Basketball history...