There must be something special about 47 points for Asia Durr.
On her senior night against NC State on Thursday, Durr exploded for 47 points, tying Louisvilleâs single-game scoring record and breaking the ACC record with 11 threes.
The Louisville record she matched? Her own, set last season in an overtime win over Ohio State in Columbus. This time around, though, Durr dropped 47 points in 5 fewer minutes and with 2 fewer attempts.
In truth, her pair of 47-point nights are confirmation of an already well-established fact: Asia Durr is a certified bucket. The lefty guard has been the focus of every scouting report and every opponentâs defensive gameplan for her entire career, and yet she still makes it look easy.
Whatâs most striking about Durrâs senior season so far is how routinely sheâs been able to pick apart the best teams, on the biggest of stages. Forty-seven may not be enough. No. 25 might go for a 50-piece before itâs all said and done.
âNobody ever had to force me to go play [basketball] or go train hard,â Durr tells SLAM. âI’d just always go out there and just do it with fun and with passion and with ease.â
When Durr takes over a game, itâs like sheâs putting her opponent to sleep. Sheâll often exclaim, âNite niteâ as she hits big shot after big shot, putting the game out of reach. She doesnât talk trash or get cocky beyond that. Just, âNite nite.â Weâre done.
When Durr lit up NC State for 47 points, she shot 6-10 from two and 11-17 from three, keeping a straight face through it all. Sheâs deadly like that.
“We hold opponents to 47 points,â Louisville forward Sam Fuehring says. âShe scored what we hold opponents to.”
Last season, Louisville finished No. 1 in the ACC, won the conference tournament and advanced to the Final Four. But the magical season ended in heartbreaking defeatâan OT loss to Mississippi State.
It took nearly two months for Durr to watch the film of Louisvilleâs loss. The 5-10 guard from Douglasville, GA, played all 45 minutes in that game, scoring 18 points on 6-17 shooting.
She decided to make consistencyâconsistent dominanceâa focus of her offseason, which was scary considering how much of a bucket she already was. After taking time off to be with family, Durr got right back in the gym with her long-time trainer Dorian Lee. The results this season have spoken for themselves.
As of Friday, Durr is averaging career-highs in points (21.6), assists (3.2), rebounds (3.4) and steals (1.5). And sheâs been making her presence known when the stakes are the highest. In December, she dropped 32 points in a victory over Kentucky. In January, 24 points and 5 treys in a win against UConn. And of course, the 47 points in a huge conference matchup against top-10 ranked NC State on Thursday.
Now, with March Madness right around the corner, Durr has one final score to settle.
âWe definitely think about [last yearâs Final Four loss] all the time because we wanted more than just the Final Four,â Durr says. âIt was a huge, disappointing thing for us. But we’re trying to bounce back even harder now.”
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Back in 2008, a commercial for the WNBAâs newest expansion team, the Atlanta Dream, posed the question: âEver wonder what happens to girls like this?â
It was 10-year-old Asia Durr. Sheâs playing pickup with boys at the park, doing what she does best. Sheâs crossing them up, dropping no-look passes and raining threesâmaking them look like fools for overlooking her.
The narrator continued: âThey grow up to be women like this.â
The spot jumped to Dream point guard Ivory Latta, who led North Carolina to two straight Final Fours in 2006 and 2007. Durr, who watched a lot of college basketball growing up, looked up to Latta as a kid. âI just fell in love with how she played and how passionate she was, how much of a dominant scorer she was,â Durr says.
Durr being cast for the commercial was almost too perfect to have been a coincidence. Not only did Durrâwho originally wore No. 12 because of Lattaâgo on to lead her team to the Final Four, she has a chance at doing it twice. Like Latta, Durr will be a first-round pick in the WNBA Draftâbut Durr could very well be selected No. 1 overall.
Her dream of following in Lattaâs footsteps took a turn when the number wasnât available on her traveling team. She considered playing in No. 23 instead, but the lists of greatsâLeBron, Jordan, Maya, to name a fewâto don that number was staggering. Faced with no obvious choice, Durr turned to her father for advice.
âMy dad was like, âI think you should wear something that nobody wears because you want to grow in to that number. And when you wear it, you want people to be like, ‘Hey I want to be No. 25 just like her,’â Durr recalls.
So Durr began to wear No. 25 with the intention of inspiring others and forging her own path. If she stopped playing basketball today, she would have already accomplished that goal. The No. 2 scorer in Louisville history, Durr has built a legacy as one of the Cardinals’ all-time greats.
But rest assured, Durr wants more. Sheâs laser-focused on erasing the bitter taste from last seasonâs Final Four defeat. This time around, No. 25 is vowing to make her presence felt throughout every game.
“Just being dominant,â says Durr, on her mentality this year. âHaving my presence known for the whole game. Being very aggressive. Being vocal. Being a great teammate, a great leader.”
Straight up, thatâs some ânite niteâ talk. Opponents be warned.
“Asia is the GOAT, honestly. She’s one of the biggest and [most] impactful people in this program,â Fuehring says. “No one can stop Asia.”
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Ryne Nelson is a Senior Editor at SLAM. Follow him on Twitter @slaman10.
Photos via Adam Creech, UofL; Getty Images.
