Cooper Flagg isn’t the one stellar freshman at Duke. Toby Fournier has the potential to be a star.

DURHAM, N.C. – A bit greater than 90 seconds remained and No. 16 Duke had basically already received the sport in opposition to rival No. 8 North Carolina, main by 18 factors. However Toby Fournier by no means relaxed. Her effort didn’t waver.

UNC’s Indya Nivar drove into the paint, solely to be double-teamed by Fournier and her Blue Devils’ teammate Ashlon Jackson. Nivar threw a nifty cross between Fournier’s legs, placing the ball within the mitts of an open Blanca Thomas, for what seemingly seemed like a straightforward layup for the Tar Heels.

Besides the 6-foot-2 Fournier spun round, confronted the 6-foot-5 Thomas and leapt into the air, swatting away her shot with relative ease.

It was one in every of many highlights that Fournier produced in a 68-53 residence victory for the Blue Devils over the Tar Heels, and her efficiency ended any debate about who the very best freshman within the Atlantic Coast Convention is. In an enormous recreation, on senior evening, in opposition to a rival, with seeding implications for the ACC Event and the NCAA Event on the road, Fournier stepped up in an enormous approach, ending her evening with 19 factors, 10 rebounds, an help and two blocks.

“Toby is a beast,” Blue Devils senior guard Reigan Richardson mentioned. “When she steps on the court docket, her confidence is simple. Her vitality simply bleeds into all of us. When she’s on a roll, we feed her any probability we get.”

With 6-foot-5 Maria Gakdeng in early foul bother and the powerful and versatile Alyssa Ustby out of the lineup, Fournier had her approach with North Carolina within the first quarter. The Tar Heels apparently made the choice to not shut out on the Canadian freshman on the 3-point line, and he or she made them pay for it with 1:37 to play within the opening body, when she rainbowed a shot in from the left wing on a dish from Taina Mair. The Cameron Crazies roared as Fournier raised her proper hand within the air with three fingers up in celebration.

“I’ve been engaged on my capturing,” Fournier mentioned earlier this season. “In the event that they again up off me, I’ll shoot the ball.”

Moments later, when UNC’s Trayanna Crisp’s try at a response ricocheted off the rim, Fournier jumped above Thomas and secured the defensive board with each arms. As Duke led by as a lot as eight factors within the first interval, Fournier was a serious purpose why. She had 13 factors on 5-of-6 capturing to associate with six rebounds in eight minutes of motion.

“Toby bought us off to an unbelievable begin. Her presence, her aggressive mentality – she was attacking,” Duke coach Kara Lawson mentioned. “That basically steadied us and simply gave us lots of confidence. As a result of when she’s enjoying properly, we’re an excellent group.”

It’s onerous to argue with Lawson on that final level. When Fournier scores not less than 13 factors in a recreation, Duke is 13-1 this season, with their lone loss approaching the highway in opposition to a ranked opponent – at Maryland on Nov. 10 – through which the Blue Devils missed 12 free throws and misplaced by 5 factors. And when Fournier has not less than seven rebounds, Duke is 7-2. When Fournier makes a 3-pointer, the Blue Devils are 5-0.

Certainly, Cooper Flagg isn’t the one stellar freshman enjoying at Cameron Indoor Stadium this season.

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A local of Toronto, Fournier was a five-star prospect, ranked as prime 10 recruit by ESPN, and was a Jordan Model All-American. She’s skilled with Canada’s senior girls’s nationwide group and helped her nation win a bronze medal on the U19 stage on the 2023 FIBA World Championships. She grew up idolizing Candace Parker and Elena Delle Donne, and it’s onerous to not discover bits of their video games in hers. Like them, she has an excellent deal with for a ahead, a knack for rebounding, the power to step out and knock down mid-to-long-range pictures, and a aggressive drive.

And like Parker, she will be able to dunk too. A couple of of Fournier’s highschool highlights of her slamming down the ball went viral and gained her some notoriety.

Regardless of the sport of basketball considerably operating in her household — her great-grandfather was a part of the Toronto Raptors’ authentic possession group within the Nineties — Fournier didn’t begin enjoying critically till the age of 12. She dunked for the primary time at 14. However she’s a lot greater than merely an athletic rim-runner who can catch lobs and throw the ball with drive via the ring.

Fournier tried and stop lots of totally different sports activities as a child, profitable three lengthy leap championships alongside the best way, however basketball is the one which caught for her. She’s lengthy cherished the sport, and her capability to play it at a excessive stage got here considerably naturally. That, coupled together with her fast coordination, sharp IQ, robust work ethic, otherworldly athleticism and lanky body, turned her into one of many prime prospects in her class. She may’ve gone to South Carolina, Stanford, UConn, UCLA or one in every of a number of different main applications, however signed with Duke as an alternative, the place she feels at residence and the place she felt like Lawson would make her a greater defender.

“Simply watching them, even earlier than I got here to highschool, I used to be trying on the protection, I used to be taking a look at their offense, each single a part of the sport that they play. I used to be taking a look at that and form of seeing the place I’d match on the group,” Fournier mentioned. “I knew that protection was positively one thing I needed to work on, and I knew that Duke can be the place the place I’d develop probably the most.”

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Fournier hasn’t began a single recreation this yr for Duke, however one may make the case that she’s been the Blue Devils’ most precious participant. Regardless of enjoying simply 19.7 minutes per recreation, she leads Duke with a scoring common of 13.6 factors. She additionally has the very best discipline purpose proportion on the group – 54 % – is second in rebounding and tied for first in blocks.

Since 2009, 20 freshmen have averaged not less than 13 factors, 5 rebounds and a block per recreation whereas capturing not less than 50 % from the ground. Fournier is one in every of them, and different names on that record embody Brittney Griner, Breanna Stewart, Brianna Turner, A’ja Wilson, Kamilla Cardoso, Ayoka Lee and Aneesah Morrow. UConn’s Sarah Robust and Fairfield’s Meghan Andersen are on this unique group too. However out of all of them, Fournier has performed the least variety of minutes.

One other prime contributor off the bench for Duke, sophomore Oluchi Okananwa, sees her teammate’s potential.

“I see myself lots in her, when it comes to being that prompt the bench in her first yr,” says Okananwa, who received the ACC Sixth Participant of the 12 months award final season as a rookie. “It’s so enjoyable to play together with her. She’s so extremely gifted.”

Based on HerHoopStats, amongst gamers who’ve performed not less than 20 video games this season, Fournier is ninth within the nation in factors per 40 minutes, averaging 27.7. Most of the gamers above her in that stat are family names, like USC’s JuJu Watkins, Florida State’s Ta’Niya Latson, Oklahoma’s Raegen Beers, Iowa State’s Audi Crooks, and Vanderbilt’s Mikayla Blakes. It’s a determine that reveals what Fournier may grow to be down the highway for Duke with a bit extra seasoning.

Fournier can be 18th within the nation in participant effectivity ranking with a mark of 34.8.

In a lopsided Jan. 16 loss at Cameron Indoor Stadium – through which Fournier collected 23 factors and 11 rebounds – Cal coach Charmin Smith admitted that the Golden Bears didn’t actually have a solution for her. Fournier shot 7-of-10 from the ground and abused Cal’s publish gamers together with her fast footwork and mushy contact on the rim.

“We have been supposed to protect her on the block, which we didn’t actually have that a lot success. She scored lots within the paint,” Smith mentioned. “She was an issue.”

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It hasn’t all the time been straightforward for Fournier this season although. She struggled mightily in opposition to the Tar Heels of their first assembly in opposition to the Blue Devils in Chapel Hill on Jan. 9. Fournier scored simply two factors in 19 minutes whereas going 0-of-8 from the ground and turning the ball over 3 times in an time beyond regulation loss for Duke.

To Lawson, Fournier’s efficiency on Thursday evening confirmed her resiliency, competitiveness, and gained expertise.

“For Toby, I feel it was simply time,” Lawson mentioned. “At this level within the season, she’s performed virtually each group within the (ACC). She’s performed lots of the highest groups. I feel she simply has extra of a consolation now of how she will be able to play and the way she will be able to assault.”

Because the season has progressed, Fournier has been capable of mirror on video games the place she wasn’t at her greatest and study from them. After scoring simply two factors in a loss at South Carolina on Dec. 5, she scored a season-best 27 within the subsequent recreation in a house win over Virginia Tech.

“Simply going off the more durable video games, the video games the place I used to be struggling, I used to be capable of form of take into consideration what I wanted to do otherwise,” Fournier defined. “I used to be making lots of errors… and I took all of that data that I bought from (South Carolina) and I attempted to make use of it for (Virginia Tech).”

She added: “Mentally, I used to be positively going via it somewhat bit, particularly being a freshman. It’s been actually onerous. It’s been fairly tense. However I feel it’s all part of the method.”

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Maybe the one different actual contender to Fournier for the ACC’s Rookie of the 12 months award is Georgia Tech’s Dani Carnegie. And to make certain, she’s been an enormous contributor to the Yellow Jackets’ surge this season and is an enormous purpose why they’ll make the NCAA Event. Their scoring averages are about the identical, however Fournier has extra rebounds, owns a greater capturing proportion from the ground and has a greater defensive ranking.

Fournier has additionally helped her group win extra video games in opposition to marquee opponents. Georgia Tech is 1-5 in video games in opposition to Quad 1 opponents and 11-8 in opposition to groups within the prime 100 of the NET. Duke in the meantime is 5-5 in Quad 1 video games and 16-7 in opposition to the highest 100.

Duke was eleventh within the prime 16 seed projection launched by the NCAA Event choice committee simply half-hour earlier than tip-off in opposition to the Tar Heels on Thursday evening. The win ought to solely elevate their probabilities of internet hosting opening weekend video games in March Insanity, which might be the second time the Blue Devils have carried out so in Lawson’s five-year tenure.

With Fournier on the roster, it’s possible that Durham will grow to be an everyday host web site for the following few seasons.