After three years of women's college basketball, Maryland junior Kristi Toliver understands the confidence that freshmen guards must have entering the Atlantic Coast Conference and the culture shock they experience.

She can relate to North Carolina's Cetera DeGraffenreid and Duke's Jasmine Thomas, two freshmen who are playing critical roles as their teams enter the 2008 ACC Tournament today at the Greensboro Coliseum.

DeGraffenreid starts for the top-seeded Tar Heels, while Thomas is logging serious minutes for the third-seeded Blue Devils.

Both came into college as highly-touted McDonald's All-Americans, believing they could make serious contributions. And they have, although along the way they've encountered some of the perils of life as a freshman -- new responsibilities, loss of confidence and stiffer competition.

As a precocious high school recruit, Toliver believed that starting in college would be a formality, telling Connecticut coach Geno Auriemma as much when he recruited her:

"I told him, 'I thought I could start and play for you since the sixth grade,' " she said. "That's something that I completely believed that I could totally do. But it's one thing to say that and one thing to actually be thrown into it and have to perform under the fire."

As a freshman, Toliver proved herself under pressure, leading the Terrapins to the 2006 national championship. In the final, she nailed an often-replayed 3-pointer over the outstretched arm of Duke's 6-foot-7 center, Alison Bales, sending the game into overtime.

Two years later, the ACC has attracted a new group of effective freshmen guards, such as DeGraffenreid, Thomas, Maryland's Marah Strickland, Boston College's Jaclyn Thoman and Virginia Tech's Andrea Barbour.

Each is looking to take what she learned during the regular season and apply it in postseason play. By this point, they have endured every emotional high and low trying to make a smooth transition from high school to college.

Dena Evans, a former player and owner of the training program Point Guard College, said the road is always rocky for freshmen, even McDonald's All-Americans.

"It's a huge transition," she said. "I don't care how good they are. ... The game is faster. The competition is bigger. The attention is greater. ... The expectations are higher."

Learning the language

In addition to their new academic responsibilities, Evans said, freshmen must learn the foreign language spoken by new coaches. They must study scouting reports and attend many more meetings.

On the court, if they are good enough to see significant game time, they are asked to contribute, lead and take care of teammates.

"It can make your head spin," Evans said.

DeGraffenreid, the daughter of a football coach, has been trained to perform with the poise of a quarterback. That has kept her head from spinning off.

Though she made mistakes, DeGraffenreid charged through the regular season at a blazing speed that pleased coach Sylvia Hatchell and helped stake the second-ranked Tar Heels to a record of 27-2 overall and 14-0 in the ACC.

"I don't think Cetera gets enough credit for what she does for our team as far as pushing the ball up and down the floor and creating the tempo," Hatchell said after the guard guided the Heels to a season-low eight turnovers against N.C. State last week -- the fewest by a UNC women's team in five years.

At 5 feet 6, DeGraffenreid has demonstrated her ballhandling skills while leading the nation's top-scoring offense. Starting in 23 of 29 games, the Cullowhee native has averaged 11.8 points and 3.3 assists, while shooting 43.7 percent from the field and 22.4 percent from 3-point range.

She leads the Tar Heels with 68 steals, and her 1.2 assist-to-turnover ratio was the best among freshmen in the conference.

DeGraffenreid credits the presence of players like seniors Erlana Larkins and LaToya Pringle for reducing her anxiety.

"That makes it a lot easier," she said. "It makes you relax and play your game. If you're not on your game, they're definitely going to be. Somebody's going to be."

Adjusting on defense

If there's an area in which DeGraffenreid has struggled, it is on defense. Sure, her quickness has produced steals, but her difficulty grasping the concept of weak-side defense has coaches yelling "weak side" from the bench.

In high school, she never worried about helping someone else who was beaten by an opposing player. She just worried about the girl she was covering.

Now she's expected to peel off and help. "In college," she said, "you have to help the helper."

Evans said freshmen guards tend to struggle defensively because they alternate between guarding perimeter specialists and slashing scorers. College players also execute screens and offensive schemes more precisely, she said.

"Just about every freshman in the country struggles," Evans said. "There is so much to learn that you can only learn through experience."

In her first season at Duke, Thomas has taken copious mental notes facing the conference's best. She has started 14 of 29 games, and though she no longer starts, she played 30 minutes against Virginia last week.

The thin, 5-9 point guard has never wanted for foot speed. Yet, she soon recognized that players were quicker and stronger at this level. She had to learn how to apply ball pressure without getting beaten off the dribble.

"Be ready for it," the Fairfax, Va., native said of the pace of the college game. "Being aware of quick players and knowing how much space to give them."

Being your own fan

Virginia senior point guard Sharnee Zoll found it easy to get down on herself as a freshman.

"When I came in, it was like, 'She's a freshman, get her,' " Zoll said this season. "In the ACC Tournament, [one] coach said, 'Foul her, she's a freshman, she'll miss.' "

Zoll, who recently became the ACC's all-time leader in assists, fought through self-doubts, something that is difficult for many players. Evans said that the No. 1 concern of guards who attend her programs is the loss of confidence in that first year.

"When you play at that level, basketball becomes like a job," she said. "When it becomes like a job, you start to lose the love."

Evans spends hours discussing the subject with students. She tells players it's all right to be self-critical as long as the players continue to be their own biggest fans.

"You have to remember what you love about the game," she said. "You have to learn not to beat yourself up every day."

That's something Thomas has taken to heart, particularly as she has averaged a modest 7.4 points and 2.3 assists. A 22 percent shooter from 3-point range, she had to remember that she had made her name at Oakton High by driving strong to the basket. That's what she loved doing.

"Slashing and getting to the basket is my first strength," she said. "So once I start to do that first, it opens up my outside shot more."

Doing your homework

To keep the first-year blues at bay, UNC freshman Italee Lucas readjusted her thinking later in the season. At the start, she was pressing to learn everything, thinking too much and moving out of position on the court.

UNC assistant coach Charlotte Smith talked with the Las Vegas native about the importance of not dribbling out of position. It's something they reviewed on film.

"On the court, you can't feel yourself doing something bad," Lucas said. "But when you actually see it, it's like, 'OK, let me get that together.' Film has helped."

More than anything, Evans said, experience teaches freshmen.

After Duke beat No. 4 Rutgers on Dec. 12, Thomas said she felt prepared to handle any situation, having adjusted to the Scarlet Knights' slow halfcourt offense.

The 12th-ranked Blue Devils have played the nation's top five teams and gone through a tough ACC schedule, which has prepared her for the postseason.

"Once you get to the tournament, you really never know who you're going to play," Thomas said. "So if you do play a team that likes to slow the tempo and run a halfcourt game, because I've already been through it, it's not something that will be different for me."