Joy Cheek

Classroom

Cheek owns a 2.832 overall grade point average at one of the highest level academic institutions in the nation. She notched a 3.10 grade point average in the fall of 2008 and earned ACC Honor Roll accolades in 2009.

Character

A senior on one of the top women’s basketball teams in the nation, Cheek is very well-liked by all players and is an excellent leader.  She leads both on and off the court.  She picks players up when they are down and celebrates with the others when things are going well.  The coaching staff can count on Cheek to set the right example and lead the right way.  Her character is so outstanding that she was picked over the summer to do an internship at the White House in the Vice President’s office in Economic Policy.  She was there for 14 weeks and basically got a chance to look from the inside-out at the operations of the White House and the federal government. She is one of the most vocal players on the court for Duke.  Cheek was also one of only two Duke student-athletes selected to attend the 2009 NCAA Leadership Conference, but she could not attend after getting the internship with the White House.

Community

Cheek has been very involved in the community since arriving at Duke four years ago.  She has worked with a group of girls at the Emily K Center and performed Read with the Blue Devils where they go to local elementary schools and read to children.  She has also made visits to the Ronald McDonald House and the Durham Soup Kitchen. She works with needy families during Christmas and has spoken at the girls club and helped with the Durham Children’s Hospital.  While an intern at the White House this summer, Cheek and the other interns did a book drive for the local community. She has also spoken at and worked many camps at home and around Duke.

Competition

Over her three years at Duke, Cheek has been a very steady performer as she has played in 101 games while starting 40.  She has career averages of 7.8 points and 4.6 rebounds, but is coming off averaging a career-best 8.5 points and 4.7 rebounds as a junior.  She is expected to be a starter and challenge for All-ACC and All-America honors as a senior for the preseason fourth-ranked Blue Devils.  Over her four years, Cheek has led Duke to 84 victories, three NCAA Tournament appearances and two ACC Championship game appearances.  Duke was a No. 1 seed in the 2009 NCAA Tournament and has finished no lower than third in the ACC each of her three years.