Basketball used to be simple. You had your guards. You had your forwards. And you had your centers.

	Duke's Alana Beard is the preseason ACC Player of the Year.

In this new millennium, you hear about the occasional point-forward, an athlete with the versatility to play point guard or power forward.

Today, you even find a rare center-wing, the 6-foot-3 hybrid of a shot-blocker and 3-point shooter all in the same body.

Most teams have a defensive specialist, a shooting specialist and a rebounding specialist.

But now we appear to need a new job description, because Duke sophomore Alana Beard is an all-of-the-above for the Blue Devils.

"Alana has to do a little bit of everything," Duke coach Gail Goestenkors. said. "But she relishes those kinds of challenges. She'll play point, she'll play wing, she'll play post, and while she's doing her thing, she has to be a leader for us, too.

"We expect she'll play all five positions offensively and I think she's the best defensive player in the country. It's a tough task but she flourishes on expectations."

Last season, the 5-foot-11 Beard spent most of her time playing either a point guard, shooting guard or wing. This year, she will also spend some time as a power forward and center. That's not too much to ask of an underclassmen, is it? As a freshman, not only did she learn how to play all those positions, but she came darn close to mastering them.

Beard easily won ACC Rookie of the Year Honors. Word of mouth on Beard's skills was so high that she was the consensus National Freshman of the Year even though nobody saw her on national television until mid-February.

Goestenkors says Beard will start early in the season at the point, but could then end up just about anywhere on the floor. Such is the versatility of her skills.

"Alana understands the game so well for a younger player," Virginia coach Debbie Ryan said. "She's a huge competitor with that fire in her belly and you can't coach that. You either have it or you don't, and she's definitely got it. She's tough inside and outside with great flexibility and versatility."

Beard can score. She averaged 17 points in the regular season and increased that to 21 per game in the NCAA Tournament. She can also defend. She set a Duke record with 106 steals last season. Versatility? Last year, in one of the nation's toughest conferences, Beard finished first in steals, second in field-goal percentage, third in scoring, fourth in assist/turnover ratio, fifth in assists and sixth in blocked shots.

	Duke's Alana Beard, right, can play any position on the floor.

But don't think she's satisfied with those numbers.

"I just love playing the game. It's all about winning," Beard said. "This year, I have to be able to step in and be a leader on the court. I'm going to have to do everything that I did last year ... just do it better."

That attitude is what worries coaches around the country. With Duke having to replace departed seniors Georgia Schweitzer and Rochelle Parent, some people thought Duke might be down a notch this year. But with Beard developing quickly into a leadership role, that doesn't appear to be the case.

"When Georgia took over the Wake Forest game in last year's ACC tournament (scoring 25 second-half points to guide Duke to an OT win), we just gave her the ball and she carried us," Beard said. "That's what great leaders do, they make the plays and that's what I need to do for us now.

"I depended on others to do it last year and this season I'm the one to lead. Now I have a year of experience to know what to expect."

As a sophomore, Beard has a greater grasp of her talent and an awareness of her influence on others.

"My favorite thing about Alana is her intensity," teammate Sheana Mosch said. "She has it all the time and it's the greatest thing she brings to the team. She's helping the freshman pick things up quickly and we are further ahead of where we were at this time last year. They see how hard she works and plays and her lead is easy to follow."

The motivation comes easy, especially when Beard thinks back to the NCAA Tournament's round of 16 last March, when Jackie Stiles and Southwest Missouri State sent Duke on its summer vacation much earlier than planned.

"I never want to feel that way again," said Beard, with clenched jaw, furrowed brow and tears welling up in her eyes. "It was awful. And even worse was to see my teammates' faces after we lost. My goal is to never let my team feel that way again."

Beard's teammates sense her level of commitment, and freshman Monique Curry admits that the thought of playing alongside Beard was a key factor in her decision to attend Duke.

And despite recent successes, Duke remains hungry.

"We don't think of it as repeating an ACC title or Sweet 16 trip," Goestenkors said. "We think of it as pursuing. We take on an attack mentality. We aren't defending anything that is already ours. We're pursuing something that isn't ours yet. We want to focus on being on the offensive, and Alana leads the way."

Leading the way ... from every position on the floor.

ESPN's Beth Mowins is a regular contributor to ESPN.com's women's college basketball coverage.