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19 centralight winter'14 From good to great Bracey and Bradford were high school teammates, and they played AAU ball with Green for years before coming to Mount Pleasant. They meshed with Tamm, who earned her keep with a remarkable work ethic and a team-fi rst attitude. And while the group was clearly talented, that will take a team only so far. It needs intangibles to go from good to great. "Over the years, we grew as friends off the court, which helped us a lot on the court," Bracey says. "Because Jess and Crystal and I played together before – from when we were like 10 up until now – yes, we have a strong bond. And when we came in with Kerb and we got to know her, it's like we're four sisters out there. "It helps a lot on the court. Because we know each other, we know diff erent things that others are going to do, looks. Like when somebody's going back-door, it's just a look. We know it." Traits like that come only with familiarity, an outgrowth of countless hours on the gym fl oor together, in the weight room and on the never-ending litany of road trips that are a fact of life in college athletics. It also comes from traveling abroad together and in partaking in team- organized leadership exercises orchestrated by Guevara, who knows that a collection of talent is one thing, a team is quite another. "Coach G has not only helped us grow on the court, she's helped us grow as young women through diff erent things that have nothing to do with basketball," Bracey says. "Traveling the world, manners, conducting ourselves a certain way, all that stuff ." An added dimension The senior group added another piece to the puzzle last season when Lorreal Jones transferred in from St. Louis. The Detroit native could not dress for games last season under NCAA transfer rules, but she practiced daily and found her niche. "It was hard at times," Jones says. "But it was fulfi lling to watch the team grow and to collaborate with the team and the players, even if it was just in practice." Being a relative newcomer, Jones has a unique perspective on what sets the group apart. "They are all great players, some of the best I've ever played with," she says. "When I see them, I see the potential of what we can be together. We have a power dynamic." It's taken a great deal of cultivation on Guevara's part to get this group where it is today. You don't last as long in the coaching game as Guevara has without a visceral feel for players. "We always have a good time and laugh, but she knows when we need to buckle down and be serious," Tamm says. "She cares about you more as a person than as a player. She pushes you, and she's not afraid to tell you how it is, which is what you need. "I just have the utmost respect for her as a person and as a coach." A coach on and off the court Bradford, who Guevara says is the best player she has ever coached, echoes Tamm's sentiments. "On and off the court I have matured tremendously," Bradford says. "I've come very, very far. I don't think at any other university I would have matured the way I have matured here. "I've had a coach who didn't just worry about me as an athlete, she worried about me being a young lady and she worried about me being a student. I couldn't be happier." Motivation unquestionably burns hot. "This class came in with a lot of confi dence in their ability," Guevara says. "These kids knew how to win, and that was their expectation. They expected to be champions. "To see what we do with this season – what is this class going to be remembered for? Usually it's a single player who is a program changer. This is a class of program changers." • Jas'Mine Bracey Jessica Green