Ex-Devils thrive with Mystics

Duke's Jasmine Thomas spent the first half of summer break as a marketing intern for the Washington Mystics.

Working for the WNBA franchise located in Washington, D.C., offered the rising senior a chance to study the two professional careers she plans to hold in the future.

She hopes to be drafted as a WNBA professional basketball player, then later work in the areas of marketing and event planning.

Thomas, a 5-foot-9 guard from Fairfax, Va., is on the preseason Wade Trophy watch list for national college player of the year, taking her one step closer to breaking into the league. Serving as a marketing intern, where she assisted with social media campaigns and in-game activities, placed her one step closer to a promising off-the-court career.

"It was stressful," she said of the internship, "but fun to see what goes on while you're in the locker room or while you're in a timeout and you hear all the screaming but you don't know what it is."

It also was a thrill to interact with former Duke players Alana Beard, Monique Currie and Lindsey Harding, who play for the Mystics.

The three professionals, who each made an indelible mark on the Blue Devils' program, advised Thomas to remain aggressive and hard-working.

"[Lindsey] was just telling me what team she thought would need a point guard, how valuable a combo-guard is and how that gives me a better chance," Thomas said. "Just to hear something like that come from her, and come from someone who plays, it was a good feeling to know that my name is out there and people are talking about it. That's definitely what I want to do after college."

Beard, Currie and Harding recently had more to say as the Mystics prepare for the first round of the WNBA playoffs:

Alana Beard

Team: Washington Mystics

Born: Shreveport, La.

At Duke: 2001 to 2004

College honor: 2004 national player of the year

Professional profile: Selected to the WNBA All-Star Game four times since being drafted second overall by the Mystics in 2004. Sat out this season while recovering from an ankle injury. In 2009, she averaged 15.9 ppg and ranked third in the league with 2.32 steals. Last international team she played for was in Poland.

Q: How has your game changed since leaving Duke?

A: I've seen the biggest difference in my game in my personality. Understanding that from every loss you gain some type of experience. I've always been a versatile player. I've just sharpened some things as far as ball-handling, 3-point shooting, 15-footers and just understanding the game a little bit more than I did in college.

Q: Where are you in your rehabilitation process?

A: I'm three months post-surgery. I had surgery April 20. It is a posterior tibial tendon tear, which is the same recovery as an Achilles rupture. So I have six more months to go - in all it's a nine-month recovery.

Monique Currie

Team: Washington Mystics

Born: Washington, D.C.

At Duke: 2002 to 2006

College honor: Two-time Kodak/WBCA All-American

Professional profile: Chosen to the WNBA all-rookie team after being drafted third overall by the Charlotte Sting in 2006. Drafted by the Chicago Sky in the league's dispersal draft in 2007 when Sting disbanded. Traded to Mystics in 2007. This season is averaging 14.1 ppg and 5.0 rpg. In the offseason, she played for team in Orenburg, Russia.

Q: How would you describe your current basketball game?

A: It's just developed. As a pro, I'm more of a pro player, meaning you learn to take what defenses give you. People scout people well, so they take away what you're comfortable with. So you have to add different things to your game.

Q: How is playing in the WNBA different from what you imagined as a college senior?

A: I'm blessed and very grateful to be in the league. It's always been a dream of mine. But I must say it's a lot different than college in that with travel we fly commercial air. In college, we flew private. Just small things like that. But I get paid to do what I love. I'm playing at home in D.C., so that's an added bonus. It's different, but it is everything I expected playing against the best players in the world.

Q: What's the Duke influence on this team?

A: Hard work is not a stranger to us. It's something that we learned in college and something that has carried over to the league. We're always proud to be Blue Devils. It's hard playing with these Maryland Terrapins [Crystal Langhorne and Marissa Coleman]. They flaunt Maryland every chance they get. We don't back down.

Lindsey Harding

Team: Washington Mystics

Born: Mobile, Ala.

At Duke: 2002 to 2007

College honor: 2007 Naismith national player of the year

Professional profile: Chosen to the 2007 WNBA all-rookie team after being drafted first overall by the Phoenix Mercury and traded to the Minnesota Lynx. Tore the anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee as a rookie. Traded to the Mystics in 2009. Earned the starting point-guard job and started all 34 games in 2009, averaging a league-leading 35.1 minutes per game. This season, she's averaging 12.2 ppg, 3.10 rebounds and 4.0 apg. Has played overseas in Turkey.

Q: What has changed about your game?

A: It's hard to say because it's different teams, different roles, different systems from Duke. My first year, you have Alana, Mo, Iciss Tillis. You feed them the ball all the time, then to me having to be one of the primary scorers of the team in the end. Here in the WNBA, I'm trying to figure it out - one game I need to score 20, sometimes I don't need to score any, sometimes I just need to find people. The difference is just figuring out each game what I need to do. As a whole, I've become a little better scorer but more of a well-rounded player.

Q: What have you learned about yourself in the WNBA that you didn't know leaving college?

A: You come to college and you're at the bottom. I wasn't this big McDonald's All-American. I was at the bottom, and I had to prove my way and get to the top. You get your jersey retired, player of the year and you're at the top. You come to this league and it doesn't mean anything, and you're at the bottom again. I'm having to prove myself again.