Chelsea Gray is barely removed from her freshman year, yet at the start of a new season, she will be counted on as the go-to player on her team, both in scoring and leadership.
Following the graduation of three of its top four leading scorers, Duke enters the season with a 12-player roster that features a remarkable nine underclassmen. Gray, a combo guard who posted the third-best scoring average on the team with 8.7 points per game, now inherits the reins of the Blue Devil offense, and head coach Joanne P. McCallie has full confidence in Gray’s chances to succeed.
“I’ve never seen a more creative person on the floor, ever,” McCallie said. “She understands the game.”
Last year, Gray arrived at Duke as a highly-touted recruit headlining a class that calls itself “the Fab Five.” As a senior at St. Mary’s High School in Stockton, Calif., she earned the PARADE Co-National Player of the Year award and was one of five finalists for the Naismith Award, which is given annually to the nation’s top high school player.
In her first year as a Blue Devil, Gray showed many flashes of her star potential. In addition to finishing third in scoring on the team, she recorded the team’s second-best assist and steal totals in her 18 starts, earning a place on the freshman All-ACC team.
“Chelsea has an incredible ability to be a creator, you know, certainly a scorer, but a game-changer,” McCallie said.
For all her accomplishments, Gray was nevertheless severely limited by a nagging ankle injury that lingered for a substantial portion of the season.
“She was injured for most of the year last year,” McCallie said. “I don’t think people realize—this meant no practice. She was playing in games without practice time. What she did and what she accomplished last year was fairly—I would say very extraordinary.”
In spite of the injury, Gray did not let her first experience at the college level go to waste.
“I just had to get through it,” Gray said. “I felt that it could be worse…so I just took it as a blessing and just tried to move forward.”
With such a competitive attitude, Gray took advantage of all her opportunities to play, and she certainly had several occasions to showcase her skills against some of the most talented teams in the country.
Last January against Maryland, she grabbed three steals and scored five points in the final minute to cap off a late Duke victory. In a later contest at then-No. 13 North Carolina, Gray notched her career-high scoring total with a 20-point performance that included four three-pointers. Then, she helped Duke win the ACC tournament championship, averaging 9.3 points, 4.0 assists, and 3.7 rebounds in three tournament games.
“She’s got that experience,” McCallie said. “Chelsea Gray has seen a lot…as a player in her short career.”
In addition to elevating her level of play to compete in the ACC, Gray made the most of her chance to learn from the Blue Devils’ three future WNBA draft picks, especially Duke’s 2010-11 leading scorer Jasmine Thomas.
“Last year, Jasmine Thomas did an excellent job showing great leadership skills,” Gray said. “So I feel like she helped me this year to try to fill this role as a leader.”
Gray has fully embraced her new responsibility so far by utilizing the offseason first to rehabilitate her ankle, then to address the areas of her game that could use improvement.
Over the summer, Gray decided to focus especially on her jump shooting. Looking to learn from her teammate, fellow sophomore guard Tricia Liston, Gray said she spent many nights in the gym practicing her shot with sharpshooter Liston.
Additionally, Gray has set several goals for the upcoming season, especially becoming a better defender. But better defensive play is just one of many areas where Gray expects to contribute.
“I just want to make everybody on the team better, and in turn that helps me get better,” Gray said.
In order to accomplish that goal, Gray has made it a point to get to know all of her teammates off the court.
“I’m close to each and every one of my teammates in different ways,” Gray said. “So I feel like that chemistry off the court helps on the court, to know where each other is going to be.”
Gray has taken every measure to ensure her development as a player and fulfill her new role as a team leader as she enters her second year.
“If she can just stay healthy and get in shape to the level that she wants…I don’t think there’s any limit,” McCallie said.
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