And, sure, she's that.

But the Duke sophomore forward is also something more.

She has a silky smooth shot, a 3-point range and possesses more than few guard-like moves.

Cheek has blossomed from being a defensive role player to a starter and was a pivotal part of Duke's ACC Tournament run.

The third-seeded Blue Devils (23-9) open the NCAA Tournament at 7 p.m. today with No. 14 Murray State (24-7) at Maryland's Comcast Center.

"Joy works really hard," Duke coach Joanne P. McCallie said. "We just always want her aggressive and attacking. She's very physical and we appreciate that because we need that -- we need some banging and some hitting, which she'll do.

"I love how she's grown her game. She's got such a beautiful shot. We want her to step out and hit that 3, work the high post and be creative. ... Joy's just gotten better almost every practice and every game."

In Gail Goestenkors' last season, Cheek primarily got in as relief for Alison Bales and Careem Gay. She wasn't asked to provide much offense and often deferred to one of her more experienced teammates while on offense. She averaged 5.3 points.

But when McCallie came in, it was a fresh start for everyone and a chance to build another identity. McCallie values a tough, physical inside game more than Goestenkors did, so Cheek's ability to bang caught the new coach's attention.

Cheek, standing at 6 feet 1, has a bulkier frame than the lithe Black and Gay, and she's more athletic that the 6-7 Bales was. With Cheek's emergence, Duke's post play is more full-rounded than it has been in years.

This year, Cheek is third on the team in scoring and averages 9.8 points and 5.3 rebounds.

"She gives us so much energy," said senior guard Wanisha Smith. "She makes big plays. She's plays big. She's a strong presence inside and she's versatile. She can hit the 3 and then go inside and post somebody up that's probably bigger than her."

McCallie also encourages her to take the 3 -- she's made 11 of 26 this year -- while she only made four 3-pointers as a freshman.

Cheek said while she wanted to contribute, her freshman year was mostly about learning how to play in the ACC. This year, she specifically wanted to improve her scoring, rebounding and leadership. Each year, Cheek said, she should make a big improvement.

Consistency will probably be what she works on next season. Cheek's had some terrific success this season but she hasn't sustained it.

"My foul trouble has limited me a lot in some games," Cheek said. "I tend to sometime think or focus and say 'OK, I'm down, I need to pick it back up.' I need to have that focus period. That probably contributes to it."

How important is that mind-set? In the three games before the ACC Tournament, Cheek combined didn't break double digits. In the first two games of the tournament, after getting worried Florida State could knock out her team, she had 11 and 16 -- the latter coming against post-heavy Maryland -- and earned second-team all-tournament honors.

If the NCAA Tournament isn't enough, Cheek's got extra incentive to play well today. Both of her parents are from the Washington area and she got teammates to cough up an extra 12 tickets. There's a former AAU teammate, her mentor and others coming to cheer on Cheek and the Blue Devils.