A couple of Mechelle pieces to start of the (east coast) New Year:

Zellous transforms from relative unknown to one of game's best

"Nobody was after Shavonte," said coach Agnus Berenato, who left Georgia Tech to take over at Pitt in 2003. "But we were horrendous my first year here; we had six wins. So we were looking for anything."

Olivier gets fresh start at UNLV

She was back in Los Angeles last week during the brief holiday break. Her daughter still attends UCLA, and Olivier admits she misses some things about her former program and about living in L.A. But she says she's very happy to be at UNLV, where she played her final two seasons of college basketball.

"I love it," she said. "I put my heart and soul into my work, and I love going into practice and seeing the players' faces -- that they're excited to see me."