(Editor's note: Duke senior Georgia Schweitzer, the 1999-2000 ACC Player of the Year, will share a weekly diary with ESPN.com throughout the season.)

Nov. 10, 2000

	Schweitzer

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- We open the season against UCLA tonight in the Women's Sports Foundation Classic, and after almost four weeks of playing against each other in practice, we finally got to come together as a team and beat up on someone else!

Practices before games begin are very physical and competitive -- it's a new year and playing time is up for grabs. As a senior, I want things to be perfect now. I want the offense to be executed to perfection and the defense to always be in the right position.

Sometimes, I think veteran athletes forget that at one time everything was new to them, too. The identity of a team takes time to develop and every team every year is different. I have to remind myself that we cannot just pick things up from where we were at last year; there are new players and some players improved.

Additionally, we have to get used to playing with each other. Being able to anticipate what your teammates will do is vital to success but it takes time to develop. I have wanted things to be perfect now, but I think I am learning a little patience. Coach G (Gail Goestenkors) always tells me that patience is a virtue -- and it is something that I have to work very hard to achieve.

We are starting to come together. Everyone knows that plays and roles are beginning to be defined. In our first two exhibition games, we were able to overmatch our opponents with defense and fast breaking. Since I am playing the point guard this year, I have to learn to control the tempo of the game and be responsible for the execution of plays.

After the two exhibition games, I still need to improve in these areas. Overall, getting some game experience for our young team was great.

School daze
We left for this tournament on Wednesday afternoon after practice and won't return to Durham until Monday. That means I will miss a class Wednesday evening, one class Thursday and two class on Friday. I have a six-page paper and a 16-page paper due on Monday!

We will have some free time during this trip, which I'll spend glued to a lap top. Missing class because of athletics is difficult -- you have to be responsible, disciplined and organized to stay on top of your work. Sometimes missing class is frustrating but its one part of college experience as a student-athlete that forces you to stay focused.

I am stressed with the schoolwork but I have to be able to leave my worries off the court and give my full attention to basketball while I am on the floor. Learning to change gears has been crucial to my success at Duke on the court and in the classroom.

I often mentally work out the transition in my mind. I go from discussing acetylcholine esterase inhibition (yeah, I am showing off a little but I am really studying this stuff!) to how we are going to break a press all within a half an hour. On my way to the gym, I will visualize information I learned in class and kind of put it to the side and tell myself that now my full attention is on basketball.

Well, I have got to get on those papers.

Go Duke!!