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ILLUSTRATED VOLUME 25, ISSUE 3 39 f fall — Gray came along, too — then mulled it over for a few months. "She really didn't really pressure me," Oden said of Gray, "but she said, 'If you go to Purdue, we're going to have so much fun.' " Fun, and lots of winning, they hope. The pair has proven to be a dy- namic combination, having suc- cess on the AAU scene for FBC Southeast Elite, even though they've often played up an age group. It's hard to slow them down, says FBC coach Brian Harmon, be- cause they are interchangeable. Although Gray's more of a point guard, she can score, as well; and Oden, even though she's probably better off the ball, can also bring it up the court. "They combo well," Harmon said. "… They're the kind of play- ers you like, that can understand how to make the players around them better. What I always have liked about both of them is that they can really put the ball in the basket, from the arc, both have a mid-range game and both like get- ting to the basket, so they have a unique style of play where they have nice moves. And have real fun personalities." The chemistry is evident. Both players, and their coach, say that Gray and Oden have a strong sense of where each is on the court, a camaraderie built after hours upon hours of playing together. "We can pretty much predict what each other is do- ing and we kind of know when to pass and when we're going to drive," Oden said. "We kind of just shade each other's moves sometimes." It also extends into their communication. Both say they're comfortable telling the other what needs to be done, an openness fostered by their desire to win and their friendship. "With Dominique, I can tell her her strengths and weak- nesses from Point A all the way to Z, and she can tell me mine," Gray said. "We have no prob- lem telling each other what we have to do better, or what we did well, or what we need to work on, because we've known each other so long." Oden can break down Gray's game, as well, pointing out what she does well on the court and in her style of leadership. "She's a really great point guard, good at getting to the basket and taking open shots," Oden said. "Sometimes I hes- itate on taking a three-point- er, even though I can take it. She's always like, 'You need to stop hesitating Dominique,' so we encourage each other. I en- courage her to drive more and pull up and she encourages me to shoot threes." Gray likes Oden's tenacity. "She never gives up," Gray said. "There's countless games where Dominique would be sick or hurt; I remember one game that she broke her an- Gray liked Purdue for years before she commit- ted immediately after receiving an offer in the fall of 2013. "They're north-south players. They get by you really effectively. You have to pick your poison; you can't back off of them, because they really can shoot the ball." AAU coach Brian Harmon on Purdue commitments Miracle Gray and Dominique Oden