Adamec: news on Jackie Gemelos

[Blakeon18]

Remember her? Carl tweets congratulations to Jackie for signing a training camp contract
with the NY Liberty. Hope she plays great and makes the team. Odds...not so good probably....but good
luck and good health to her.

She has had a devasting run of ACL tears....a west coast version of Shea.
I remember that she gave a verbal to Geno at some point....and wound up staying
somewhere out west. I vaguely recall an occasional comparison [in some ways]
to Dee. For sure she was one talented kid.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Jackie was a commit as a 15 year-old sophomore, the youngest ever for Geno. He may have since modified his approach. I recall an article in which Jayne Appel mentioned staying closer to home. She was friends with Jackie, who played at powerhouse St. Mary's in Stockton, and may have affected her decision. In any event, Jackie changed her mind and went to USC. I believe she had a knee injury in high school and more in college. She was at USC either 5 or 6 years. I believe she has played a little in the WNBA, but is a shadow of her former self. She was a combo of Diana Taurasi, Kelsey Plum, and Pete Maravich. As with Brittany Hunter, her injuries caused one of the brightest careers to be cut well short.

Five knee injuries!

Jacki Gemelos - Wikipedia

Jacki Gemelos' High School Stats

 

[AdamOwe]

This ESPN story "Trojans await MRI on Gemelos' knee" published Dec18, 2011 provides some background [here].

 

[Aluminny69]

A similar story: Nicole Kaczmarski

 

[Vowelguy]

Famously Geno cursed her out when she de-verbaled (un-verbaled?). It was fodder for Geno critics. Jackie had relayed the story saying "I knew it was coming, and had to just take it."

I believe, though I could be mis-remembering, the reason for her staying west was to be with her boyfriend -- though that was not public knowledge at the time. But given that context, I can understand why Geno was p.o.'d. A 16 year old making a decision about her future based on her then-boyfriend is not generally a great idea.

 

[Vowelguy]

Gemelos Leaves Uconn In Lurch

 

[Orangutan]

I believe, though I could be mis-remembering, the reason for her staying west was to be with her boyfriend -- though that was not public knowledge at the time.

People change, so you never know but that doesn't exactly sound right to me, especially given that she is an out lesbian (source - It's 2016, And Coaches Still Don't Feel Comfortable Coming Out in Women's College Basketball | VICE Sports)

Anyhow, she has a great story and seems to well-liked by her teammates. Alas, she's not quite good enough to earn major WNBA PT.

 

[j66kicker]

Gemelos Leaves UConn In Lurch

Love it...

"I have the utmost respect for Coach Auriemma. He wasn't happy at all when I told him. I don't want to get into everything that was said, but he basically said that I should pray to God that I never play against his team."

 

[Vowelguy]

People change, so you never know but that doesn't exactly sound right to me

A board veteran such as @HuskyNan will probably know the scoop. Back in the day there was a premium board ($$) where rumors got discussed. I didn't pay so I wasnt privy to those posts but I know Jacki was a topic. I thought years later someone said that it was a boyfriend, but I could be wrong.

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

People change, so you never know but that doesn't exactly sound right to me, especially given that she is an out lesbian (source - It's 2016, And Coaches Still Don't Feel Comfortable Coming Out in Women's College Basketball | VICE Sports)

Anyhow, she has a great story and seems to well-liked by her teammates. Alas, she's not quite good enough to earn major WNBA PT.

Not to go completely "off-topic" but that article doesn't seem right to me. Vanderbilt's web site acknowledged former coach Melanie Balcomb (last coached 2016) and new coach Stephanie White's same sex spouses (which defines "out" to me); for that matter Berube's bio also contains that info on the Tufts web site. And there are some other examples.

So the article's claim that Azzi is / was the only "out" WBB coach just doesn't ring true.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

I held off 'til j66kicker let it hang out. Sad about her injury string, but I bear her no glad tidings or good wishes. Tease the Huskies, get bit.

 

[DaddyChoc]

A board veteran such as @HuskyNan will probably know the scoop. Back in the day there was a premium board ($$) where rumors got discussed. I didn't pay so I wasnt privy to those posts but I know Jacki was a topic. I thought years later someone said that it was a boyfriend, but I could be wrong.

isn't it ok that she has a boyfriend at 15/16.... and as she got older "she switched" to women only. That sounds reasonable to me

 

[willtalk]

The "boy friend" as a reason through possible sounds less probable. What I heard was the one everyone else did. She was uncomfortable with the move so far from California and her family. Jackie was so focused on basketball it is unlikely she even had the time to be concerned with a boyfriend. The reason she chose USC over other West Coast teams was she really liked the coach. While it is possible that the boyfriend was a secret thing from her parents and others close to her considering all the other factors then and now it seems rather unlikely.

 

[HuskyFan1125]

Was she one of the post 911 recruits. I seem to remember that several stayed on the west coast after this happened. She may have not been one of them. Nikki Blue maybe?

 

[Vowelguy]

Was she one of the post 911 recruits. I seem to remember that several stayed on the west coast after this happened. She may have not been one of them. Nikki Blue maybe?

Nikki Blue was the one. Her class had a signing period of November 2001, so 911 was still fresh.
Gemelos verballed and rescinded years later.

 

[Orangutan]

isn't it ok that she has a boyfriend at 15/16.... and as she got older "she switched" to women only. That sounds reasonable to me

Certainly possible that she had a boyfriend or a "boyfriend" at the time, yes.

 

[UConnCat]

There certainly was talk of a boyfriend when Gemelos de-committed, though maybe it was more fear of homesickness than anything else.

The thing that ticked Geno off was not necessarily that she de-committed, though I'm sure he was unhappy about that, but that he and his staff were aware of rumors that she wanted to back out and they repeatedly asked her if the rumors were true. She reassured Geno that she wanted to come to UConn and then in August before her senior year she told him she didn't. There was no time for a recruiting plan B at that point. I also recall that her older sister was either planning to move to Connecticut to be nearby or had already done so.