New Orleans, LA--- When you grow up in poverty, not having much in life but the clothes on your back, you do whatever you can to not go through those experiences again. Josh Gray, a native of Lake Charles, Louisiana, a small town that does not have much to offer the youth, had his ups and downs in life and vowed to himself and his younger brothers that they would not continue living this way. With the gift of playing basketball on a high level, Gray is ready to enter the SEC this season and shock the entire NCAA. Right now many people may not know him, but if you dig a little deeper you will see that Gray has put up numbers similar to a basketball video game such as NBA 2K14.
Numbers alone don't describe exactly who Gray is. His love for the game and his determination not to return back to "the block" and not excel in life is what defines him. Gray is a homebody. You won't see him at a club on a Friday night, but will see him at a gym perfecting his craft into the wee hours of the morning. Gray has finally learned the concept that basketball is no longer a hobby, but a way of life. Grasping this concept, Gray is surely bound to become a star.
The Introduction:
The Louisiana native left Lake Charles his sophomore year to finish high school in Houston, Texas. Gray played at such a high level he committed to Texas Tech right out of high school. Not too long after that, a coaching change with the program led Gray to leave Tech and play on the Junior College level at Odessa. After putting up great numbers at both Tech and Odessa, Gray begin to garner national attention as schools such as Louisville and LSU started taking notice of Gray's game. Gray, with the opportunity to come back home to play in front of his friends and family decided to sign with LSU.
"I chose LSU to be closer to my family and friends. {LSU} was my dream school. I don't feel any pressure playing in front of the home crowd. I look at it as a blessing." said Gray in a very confident way when he was asked about playing in front of the home crowd.
He went on to say he would describe his game as "exciting" because he will always play at a high level that will amaze the crowd. Exciting is right. When you look at some of the numbers that Gray put up at Odessa they are unreal. In a total of 14 games Gray had 35 points or more, out of those 14 games 3 of those games he scored 59 points, 61 points and 63 points, according to stats provided by NAJCC. Which caused him to received national attention on Twitter as these games were going on. Gray admitted that every night he went on the court while playing JUCO Ball, he wanted to score 50 points and make it a hard night for whomever that was guarding him. Those numbers show that Gray deserves to play on the D-1 level and will definitely make an impact in the SEC. However, if you are a future opponent of Gray's and didn't do your homework, you will have a problem on your hands.
"I love that (being under the radar) because it humbles me and I'm the underdog so I don't mind {people not knowing how dangerous I am on the court}” said Gray. he went on to say "Me being 6'1, that's pretty small and putting up the numbers throughout my career, even at Texas Tech, if people were really watching me, I put up big numbers everywhere I went" "However, going to the SEC, I know I can't go in the game thinking about getting 50 points. The biggest transition for me will be getting my teammates involved." said Gray
With that being said, it's going to be interesting to see Gray back home in Louisiana, playing for LSU and making a push for the NCAA tourney. One thing that can be said about Gray is he certainly has heart and the confidence to play at any level. He keeps himself humble and stays out of trouble by continuing to work out in the gym and perfecting his craft. Gray even joked that some people find him "boring" because he's not participating in activities most young people do. He's focused on his goal to continue to play at a high level and to eventually go on to become a professional basketball player. People across Louisiana are excited to see this young LSU team make noise in the SEC. If you don't know who Josh Gray is now, you might want to find out because he's bound to become a household name, sooner rather than later.
Numbers alone don't describe exactly who Gray is. His love for the game and his determination not to return back to "the block" and not excel in life is what defines him. Gray is a homebody. You won't see him at a club on a Friday night, but will see him at a gym perfecting his craft into the wee hours of the morning. Gray has finally learned the concept that basketball is no longer a hobby, but a way of life. Grasping this concept, Gray is surely bound to become a star.
The Introduction:
The Louisiana native left Lake Charles his sophomore year to finish high school in Houston, Texas. Gray played at such a high level he committed to Texas Tech right out of high school. Not too long after that, a coaching change with the program led Gray to leave Tech and play on the Junior College level at Odessa. After putting up great numbers at both Tech and Odessa, Gray begin to garner national attention as schools such as Louisville and LSU started taking notice of Gray's game. Gray, with the opportunity to come back home to play in front of his friends and family decided to sign with LSU.
"I chose LSU to be closer to my family and friends. {LSU} was my dream school. I don't feel any pressure playing in front of the home crowd. I look at it as a blessing." said Gray in a very confident way when he was asked about playing in front of the home crowd.
He went on to say he would describe his game as "exciting" because he will always play at a high level that will amaze the crowd. Exciting is right. When you look at some of the numbers that Gray put up at Odessa they are unreal. In a total of 14 games Gray had 35 points or more, out of those 14 games 3 of those games he scored 59 points, 61 points and 63 points, according to stats provided by NAJCC. Which caused him to received national attention on Twitter as these games were going on. Gray admitted that every night he went on the court while playing JUCO Ball, he wanted to score 50 points and make it a hard night for whomever that was guarding him. Those numbers show that Gray deserves to play on the D-1 level and will definitely make an impact in the SEC. However, if you are a future opponent of Gray's and didn't do your homework, you will have a problem on your hands.
"I love that (being under the radar) because it humbles me and I'm the underdog so I don't mind {people not knowing how dangerous I am on the court}” said Gray. he went on to say "Me being 6'1, that's pretty small and putting up the numbers throughout my career, even at Texas Tech, if people were really watching me, I put up big numbers everywhere I went" "However, going to the SEC, I know I can't go in the game thinking about getting 50 points. The biggest transition for me will be getting my teammates involved." said Gray
With that being said, it's going to be interesting to see Gray back home in Louisiana, playing for LSU and making a push for the NCAA tourney. One thing that can be said about Gray is he certainly has heart and the confidence to play at any level. He keeps himself humble and stays out of trouble by continuing to work out in the gym and perfecting his craft. Gray even joked that some people find him "boring" because he's not participating in activities most young people do. He's focused on his goal to continue to play at a high level and to eventually go on to become a professional basketball player. People across Louisiana are excited to see this young LSU team make noise in the SEC. If you don't know who Josh Gray is now, you might want to find out because he's bound to become a household name, sooner rather than later.