This feature originally appeared in the Winter edition of the Cal Sports Quarterly. The Cal Athletics flagship magazine features long-form sports journalism at its finest and provides in-depth coverage of the scholar-athlete experience in Berkeley. Printed copies are mailed four times a year to Bear Backers who give annually at the Bear Club level (currently $600 or more). For more information on how you can receive a printed version of the Cal Sports Quarterly at home, send an email to calbearbackers@berkeley.edu or call (510) 642-2427.
By Miquel Jacobs, Cal Athletic Communications
Some things are just meant to go together.
Rummage through any kitchen and plenty of examples can be found. Peanut butter and jelly. Chips and salsa. Even spaghetti and meatballs.
When Cal women’s basketball head coach Lindsay Gottlieb opens up her team cabinet, she fully welcomes the sight of “Corn Flakes and Milk.” Such an All-American staple, yet you won’t find any other coaches in the Pac-12 happy at their sight when they visit Haas Pavilion.
That’s likely because Gottlieb’s combination of “Corn Flakes and Milk” refers to the dynamic duo of Brittany Boyd and Reshanda Gray. Which is which? That has never been decided. All that everyone associated with the program knows is that no two things have ever gone together in a better way.
“One of my club coaches tweeted Coach G and said, ‘Oh, Corn Flakes and Milk, they just go so perfect together,’” Gray said of the origins of the nickname. “That’s just a name that we’ve developed over the course of time. We embrace the name ‘Corn Flakes and Milk.’ I love Brittany. She is like my sister and best friend. I come to her for anything. It’s just nice to have not only an on-court, but also an off-court relationship.”
The senior All-American duo took two completely different paths to Berkeley. Boyd was the hometown hero, a Bay Area native and star point guard at Berkeley High School. Gray, on the other hand, arrived from Los Angeles and didn’t even pick up a basketball until she was 14 years old.
The two had never officially met before committing to play at Cal, although they had played games against each other over the years. They started to get acquainted via Facebook just after Gottlieb was announced as the head coach prior to their freshman seasons, but they didn’t meet in person until they were on campus for their Summer Bridge program.
Since then, Boyd and Gray have steadily helped the Golden Bear program rise to nationally elite status, a team with a legitimate shot to go deep into the postseason every year. The run to the Final Four and a Pac-12 regular-season championship in 2012-13 solidified that standing.
“It’s been cool to help change the program around with the other great players around us,” Boyd said. “For the most part, the fun that we’ve had is more about the friendship off the court. That’s been very important to me. It’s something that I really appreciate and value. On the court, I feel like it’s been a good three years. We’re planning on this year being even better.”
If the national pundits are right, then this year certainly has the potential to be one of the best yet for the Cal duo and the team as a whole. For the first time, the media has picked the Golden Bears to win the Pac-12 title in its preseason poll. Individually, Boyd and Gray have both been tabbed as preseason All-Americans by a wide range of media outlets, including Athlon Sports, Sporting News, SLAM Magazine and ESPN.
“She understands me and I understand her,” Boyd said of Gray. “We watch each other’s games, and we connect with our passes. I don’t really know why are so in sync. It’s probably because off the court, we are so close and talk about everything.”
Gray echoed the sentiment and believes that with their leadership, the Bears can be poised to make a return trip to the Final Four.
“It’s been amazing playing with Brittany.” Gray said. “I feel like over the course of the last few years we have grown together. I feel like our hard work has paid off a lot for people to notice us, not only on the West Coast but also across the country. But it doesn’t stop there. We have to continue to improve ourselves and lead our team.”
The point guard-post combination is one of the most tried and true pairings in the basketball world. At just about every level, an exceptional floor general teamed with an efficient post player has led to championships.
“What’s neat is the chemistry they have with one another,” Gottlieb said. “You have the point guard that is creative and explosive that likes to pass the ball. Then you have a post player who can catch anything she throws and is a great finisher.”
In the style of such women’s basketball legacy programs as UConn, with Breanna Stewart and Moriah Jefferson, and Tennessee, with Ariel Massengale and Isabelle Harrison, Cal has a guard-post combination that compares favorably to any in the game.
Boyd and Gray have put such a stamp on their play they are garnering significant attention from WNBA scouts.
“It’s two potential first-round draft picks,” Gottlieb said of the Boyd and Gray pairing. “I don’t know that Cal has been in that situation before. It’s a situation where if they were on the men’s side, they could be in the NBA after their sophomore year. It’s kind of neat to have that excitement around those two. The whole senior class is solid and strong, but Brittany and Reshanda are two of the best players in their positions nationally. I hope that people in the area come out to witness that.”
Scouts from teams across the league have already visited Haas Pavilion for a look at the duo, and one national publication lists Gray and Boyd as possible first-round draft picks in this spring’s WNBA Draft. The opportunity to not only make it to the next step but to continue with this progression together is one that excites the California tandem almost as much as the prospects of winning the Pac-12 title.
“That would be amazing to experience, especially with [Reshanda], who is someone that I have been with my entire college experience,” Boyd said. “She has helped me with my success, and I have helped her with hers. To do both be invited to the draft and to continue our careers would be fantastic.”
First things first, the Bears are focused on leading their team to victory through a long season. As special as the first three years at Cal have been, neither wants to take the final year of competing for the Golden Bears for granted.
“What would make this season special is to win a national championship, but you have to take baby steps one at a time,” Gray concluded. “At the end of the day, I just want to be able to say that I left everything out on the court and I didn’t take anything home.”
While Golden Bear fans can get their last fill of Cornflakes and Milk in the Blue and Gold in 2014-15, chances are the combination, whether together or apart, will be playing basketball for quite a while down the road.
Brittany Boyd is the recipient of the Alisa Lewis Memorial Women’s Basketball Scholarship and Reshanda Gray is the recipient of the Payne Family Scholarship.
