The natural comparion of this year’s squad is with St. Mary's last state championship run with Jacki Gemelos in charge. Gemelos, the No. 2 ranked prospect in the 2006 class and a sophomore at USC, was one of the most prolific scorers ever. This year’s Rams may not have Gemelos, but they are a deeper team and have two budding stars in Chelsea Gray and Afure Jemerigbe.

“Chelsea just matured physically over the last year,” Gonsalves said of his top-flight point guard. “She’s not even the same player. She’s on the Jackie Gemelos trail right now, I really believe that, if she continues to grow, I mean they’re different players but she passes the ball just like Jackie and she’s got that kind of ability.”

Gray is the niece of Alexis Gray-Lawson, the star point guard for the Cal Bears and the Pac-10 Freshman of the Year in 2006.

“Chelsea and Jacki are similar in a couple of ways; they are both big point guards who can score, but most importantly they lift the players around them,” said Mark Anger, the director of East Bay Xplosion, where both played their club ball. “In addition they both share a feel for the game which you rarely find in a player. They both have the court vision, to deliver the ball in openings which other players don’t even see. I used to tell girls who were just starting to play with Jacki keep your hands up, you never know when you are going to get the ball; it is the same way with Chelsea. They are big game players who want the ball in their hands when the game is on the line.”

“Afure reminds me more of another California player of the year I coached a few years back,” Gonsalves said of his dynamic scoring guard, “Dominque Banks, but at 5-foot-11. Dominique was like 5-6.”

Jemerigbe is an explosive player who can get to the basket at will as well as elevate over the post defenders to finish.

“Afure is one of those players that plays better in big games,” Gonsalves said. “She just steps up. She’s got the ability, she’s so athletic, (and) she can play at a very high level.”

“Jacki was one of those I couldn’t tell her not to shoot because she was just too good,” Gonsalves added. “She could score on anybody. But these girls here, they just find their teammates a little bit more. It’s a more well-rounded squad. It’s the most athletic team we’ve ever had.”

Together with Gray they form a tremendous backcourt and they also have a terrific supporting cast with senior Courtney French, a UC-Davis commit, as the constant presence the youngsters can look up to.

The overriding theme for this team is chemistry. With a team loaded with primarily sophomores there is the potential for disarray but this is special group.

Rankings Buzz
The Minnesota state rankings were released Feb. 12, by the Minnesota Basketball News. The state’s highest classification, 4A, has the same No. 1 this week with Centennial (22-0) still undefeated. The entire top ten remains unchanged with week. Minneapolis South (22-1) is No. 2 and led by Tayler Hill, the junior class’s No. 12 ranked player according to HoopGurlz.com. Eastview (22-1) is No. 3 and Minnesota-bound forward Jacki Voigt has Park of Cottage Grove (20-2) at No. 4. Hopkins (21-2) stays at No. 5 with St. Paul Central (19-3) led by the duo of Kiara Buford, a Minnesota signee, and Georgiedda Jones, a Marquette signee, at No. 6. Finishing out the 4A rankings are St. Cloud Tech (22-1), Chaska (17-6), Richfield (20-3) and Robbinsdale Armstrong (19-3).

Notes
Tierra Rogers returned to the court for the first time on Feb. 8, scoring a game-high 17 points during a 87-36 playoff victory over St. Francis (Mountain View, Calif.). The Sacred Heart Cathedral (San Francisco, Calif.) junior took a break following the shooting death of her father, Terray Rogers, at halftime of Sacred Heart’s Jan. 12, game against Archbishop Mitty. Sacred Heart continues their undefeated season winning their last two games with Rogers heading into Thursday’s WCAL League Playoffs game against Archbishop Mitty. Rogers scored 10 points in Tuesday’s quarterfinal victory. … Khaalidah Miller of Douglass High School (Atlanta, Ga.) scored 29 points and teammate Morgan Jennings chipped in 17 leading to a 84-70 victory over Lithonia in regional playoffs. Douglass advances to play Redan (Stone Mountain, Ga.) this weekend. … Diamond Henderson and Jasmine Blain combined to score 62 points for North Cobb (Kennesaw, Ga.) in its 87-75 regional victory over Kennesaw Mountain (Kennesaw, Ga.).