May 24, 2007
LAS VEGAS - India Chaney, Jasmine Nelson, Karla Gergelová, Raquel Jupiter and Shannon Oberg have all signed National Letters of Intent to play for the UNLV women's basketball team starting in the fall of 2007-08, head coach Regina Miller announced on Thursday. In addition to their three-player class signed in the fall, that brings the Lady Rebels' recruiting class up to a total of eight for the upcoming season.
Chaney and Nelson are teammates from McDonough 35 High in New Orleans. Chaney is a 5-10 guard and four-year starter for the Roneagles. A three time All-Metro and All-District selection, she has also been named second-team all-state the past two years while also picking up District MVP twice. Chaney led the team to a No. 2 state ranking her last two years, and to a state championship runner-up finish both years as well. Her senior year she was second in the state in scoring with 22 points per game, and added 8.0 rpg and 5.0 apg while helping McDonough 35 to a 31-9 overall record.
"India will compliment our backcourt with quickness and explosiveness," said Miller. "She is a very skilled guard that will make an impact on both ends of the court."
Nelson, a 6-3 forward, played her first two years at Kennedy High, where she was a two-year starter and twice named all-district and team MVP before the school was closed after the Katrina Hurricane. She played her final two years at McDonough, where she earned both Metro Area Large School Player of the Year and District Player of the Year honors. She was also a two-time first team all-state selection, while also earning all-metro and all-district honors. Her senior year she finished averaging 17 points, 11 rebounds and eight blocks a game.
"Jasmine has the potential to bring an immediate impact to our post play with her offensive skills, and her defensive ability to block and change shots in the paint."
Gergelová is the Lady Rebels' second international recruit for the upcoming season, as she is a native of Zlin in the Czech Republic. A 6-1 guard/forward, she has played on the Czech Republic national junior team since 2002, and was one of 14 players on the Czech team that finished fourth in the 2006 European Championship Under-18 Championships in Tenerife, Spain. Gergelová also plays for Gambrinus Sika Brno, which competes in the Youth Extra-League, the best junior under-18 league in the Czech Republic, and she led Gambrinus Brno to the Czech Republic Championship in 2004, 2005 and 2006.
"Karla comes with a lot of international experience, having played against some of the top competition in Europe," said Miller. "She had good size, and the ability to score from the perimeter as well as in the paint. Karla is also a physical player, who I expect to help us on the boards."
Raquel Jupiter is a junior college transfer from El Camino Community College. A 6-1 forward, she averaged 13.9 points, 10.9 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks this past season while earning first team All-South Coast Conference honors for the second straight year. A native of Los Angeles, Jupiter played at Hawthorne High, where she earned first team all-area honors her senior season and was a three-time team MVP as well.
"Raquel is a strong competitor that is very deceptive for her size and has a great knack for rebounding," said Miller. "She has good shooting range from 12-15 feet that will provide us another offensive threat facing the basket. I also anticipate that she will play a key role in our pressure defense."
Oberg, a 6-0 guard from Islip, N.Y., will be a junior at UNLV after playing her first two years at Daytona Beach Community College, where she was a first team All-Mid Florida Conference selection both seasons. This past season, she led DBCC in three-pointers made with 45, and averaged 10.3 points and 6.7 rebounds per game while leading the team to a No. 10 ranking in the state. Prior to DBCC, Oberg was a four-year starter for St. John the Baptist High in West Islip while playing for her father Ted Oberg. She helped St. John's to two straight Long Island league championships, and was a three time CHSAA All-League and All-Long Island selection, and averaged 13.7 points, 8.4 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 4.2 steals her senior season.
"Shannon will add size to our perimeter game. She has good three-point range, which will provide us with another threat from behind the arc," said Miller. "Along with Raquel, she will help give our recruiting class some college experience and leadership, which should help out with what will be a very young team this coming fall."
UNLV returns four starters and six players for the 2007-08 season. The Lady Rebels signed three players in the fall of 2006, Erica Helms (Antioch, Calif.), Kalie Scanlon (West Salem, Ore.), and Fanni Tirtiaux (Brussels, Belgium). Another addition for the Lady Rebels is former Gonzaga guard Dominique Harris, who will be eligible to play in the fall after sitting out the 2006-07 season per NCAA transfer rules.
