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Alison Bales Question & Answer Session
12/30/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 30, 2004
Sophomore Alison Bales sat down with GoDuke.com over the Christmas holiday. Bales has come on strong in her second year with the Blue Devils. The Dayton, Ohio product has started the last 10 of 13 contests and is leading the ACC in blocks per game with a 4.3 average. The 6-7 center is the tallest player to wear a Duke uniform and is averaging 7.2 points and 6.8 rebounds.
GoDuke.com: How was your six-day break for the Christmas holiday?
Alison Bales: It was great. I had a good time visiting my grandparents and family in Indianapolis.
GoDuke.com: Did you see a lot of family you hadn't seen in a while?
Alison Bales: Yes, I had seen them since last Christmas. I saw my brothers and sister, parents, my grandparents and most of my aunts and uncles from my mom's side of the family.
GoDuke.com: What is your favorite gift you got for Christmas?
Alison Bales: Not a favorite yet, my mom are still working on it.
GoDuke.com: Do you have a favorite Christmas memory growing up?
Alison Bales: I wouldn't say there is one specific one, but growing up we would always go to my mom's mother's house on Christmas. She always had a huge meal, all kinds of holiday stuff and excellent food. After that we would open all the presents in her garage, which was set up like a large living room. She always had the tree set up with presents overflowing around the tree. She would also have one of my uncle's dress up as Santa. We would always have to wait in the basement until he was situated in the chair. Then, we would go up and see Santa.
GoDuke.com: Talking about the basketball season so far, how much fun are you having as a sophomore?
Alison Bales: I am enjoying this season a lot because I understand everything and know how everything works with a year under my belt. I know what to expect. I am also not injured and that makes it more fun because you work hard in practice and see results. It is a good feeling. The season has been really fun. The team is great and we are having a lot of fun together.
GoDuke.com: It seems like the team is having a lot of fun out on the court and has good chemistry. Do you think this is true?
Alison Bales: Yes, I think our team is the type that has fun while we are playing and we can also have fun while we are not playing. At team meals and at the hotel we are not in our own rooms waiting for the next practice or meal to go to. We are usually in someone's room watching a move or talking. It just makes this experience a lot more fun when you and your teammates are such good friends.
GoDuke.com: You worked very hard over the summer and the fall to get stronger and get in better shape. How did you accomplish this?
Alison Bales: Well, my knee was quite a problem last year so I wanted to make sure that was better. All the doctors told me I needed to get stronger. Then, I found out that I had to have ankle surgery during the first session of summer school. I was pretty upset about that because I thought I would only be out for two weeks and ended up being out for 10 weeks. I got to lift weights a lot during this time and I was able to make a ton of progress with my leg and arm strength. I worked with our strength and conditioning coach, William Stephens, about every day. He is unbelievable. I squatted twice a week and did a lot of arm workouts. As soon as I started running, I was able to get in pretty good shape. I only missed one preseason practice which was nice also.
GoDuke.com: Was going from High School to college a hard transition for you? What was the hardest part?
Alison Bales: You are a student-athlete and academics are most important. As far as time goes, a ton of your time goes towards basketball. You just have to work in your studying and just get that balance, which was one of the hardest things for me. The basketball part of it was overwhelming at first, but you just needed to get used to it. As far as on the court, it is just a lot more physical game. In high school, it was easy for me to play in high school with my height. Everyone in college is just as good as you and each team has someone 6-4 or 6-5.
GoDuke.com: Against Notre Dame, Duke got up in the second half and ended up losing the game. Since then, the team has won nine straight. What did ya'll learn from that game?
Alison Bales: We are a pretty young team, after losing four seniors last year. It was one of our first games and we were still learning a lot about our team. Our rotation was still not set and we were without Chante Black. We were trying to find out who we were and we learned a lot about ourselves in that game. Notre Dame is a great team and I give them a lot of credit also.
GoDuke.com: Do you know what you want to major in?
Alison Bales: I haven't declared, but I am planning on Cultural Anthropology. I am also interested Biological Anthropology also.
GoDuke.com: Did you play any other sports growing up besides basketball?
Alison Bales: My whole family played every sport while growing up in our back yard. I think basketball was always my focus. I played volleyball in middle school and high school up until my senior year of high school.
GoDuke.com: What do you like to do besides playing basketball?
Alison Bales: I like to hang out with my teammates. They are my best friends at Duke. I like to kick back and watch movies.
GoDuke.com: What are the advantages and disadvantages of being 6-7?
Alison Bales: I would like to say there are all advantages, but of course there are some disadvantages. If anyone would like to make pants that are longer and shoes that are a little bigger that would be great. For me, I cannot be shorter so I have to look at it that I will be this tall for the rest of my life. My mom told me a story when I was in kindergarden a doctor had suggested that I take birth control to try to stunt my growth. I was really tall my entire life and never had a growth spurt. My mom had said no of course not about trying to stunt my growth. Of course you get the stares at the mall, but that is pretty much funny. Everyone thinks you play basketball and I am glad we do.
GoDuke.com: Are you the tallest person in your family?
Alison Bales: I am the tallest person in my family, but I think my brothers will pass me as they are getting very tall right now. My dad is 6-4 and my mom is 5-11.
Favorites:Type of basketball shoe: Nike Gym to play in: Cameron Indoor Stadium and my elementary school gym, Henley Hall. My dad does some work there and I enjoy going to shoot there. TV Show: ER, Friends, Sex & the City CD: My favorites are the ones my friends burned for me Movie: The Parent Trap, Dirty Dancing and Grease (all from a while back) Actor/Actress: Julia Roberts Professional team: none Professional athlete: Marion Jones Class at Duke: Anthropology of Sports, which was the history of American Sports Place at Duke: My dorm room or my teammate's apartments
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