Gray takes over at Rain

New B.C. Rain coach Derrick Gray will make his varsity coaching debut this season, but he's got a pretty impressive resume.

Gray spent 2009 as an assistant coach at LeFlore and helped the Rattlers win the Class 5A state title. In 2007, he served as an assistant with the LeFlore boys as the Rattlers won the 2007 6A title.

And he also previously served as the junior varsity coach at Vigor, where he went 40-4 and won a county title.

This season, he has five starters back — from a team that went 0-21 — and also has 6-foot-2 freshman Ericka Jefferson.

Gray said he expects his team to "be playing the entire season as an underdog, (but) they have developed the will to win."

-- INJURY BUG: LeFlore center Shanece McKinney expects to be ready to go for the Rattlers' season opener, despite a nagging shoulder injury.

McKinney said she initially injured her right, shooting shoulder in April and aggravated it in August while playing AAU basketball. She's been rehabbing throughout the fall and said she expects to be ready for her senior season.

"I should be good to go," she said.

A 6-foot-4 center, McKinney recently committed to LSU. She is considered one of the nation's elite prospects in the Class of 2010.

Recruiters will continue to arrive at LeFlore, with junior point guard Gabrielle Williams getting interest from Florida, Florida State and Auburn.

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