- Taj Gray
Taj Gray (born
March 14 1984 inWichita, Kansas ) was a basketball player for theUniversity of Oklahoma .High School Career
Gray attended
Wichita High School East and as a senior led his team to the Kansas Class 6A state title, earning tournament MVP honors. He was also named Kansas High School Player of the Year after averaging 20.9 points and 15.5 rebounds per game during his senior season.College career
Junior College
Gray started his collegiate basketball career at
Redlands Community College , where he was named second-team NJCAAAll American as a freshman and first-team All American as a sophomore, finishing runner-up in the NJCAA Player of the Year balloting. Averaging 18.1 points, 10.8 rebounds and 3.3 block per game, he led Redlands to a 35-2 overall record and a national runner-up finish. In addition, he led the NJCAA Tournament with 12.3 rebounds per game and was named to the all-tourney team.Oklahoma
A sought after junior college recruit, Gray transferred to the
University of Oklahoma instead of signing with Arkansas, Kansas, Texas A&M and Texas Tech. [ [http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/player/profile?playerId=22157 ESPN - Taj Gray Stats, News, Photos - Oklahoma Sooners ] ] In his first year at OU, the Sooners went 25-8, finished as theBig 12 co-champions and advanced to the second round of the 2005 NCAA Tournament. Gray averaged team-highs of 14.6 points and 8.2 rebounds per game, while posting a league second-best 12 double-doubles. Gray was named a first-team All-Big 12 selection by league coaches and was named Big 12 Newcomer of the Year.Gray was named named Big 12 Preseason Player of the Year before the start of his senior season and averaged 14.2 points, 7.7 rebounds and 1.6 blocked shots per games which were all team highs. He was named a first-team All-Big 12 pick by "
Sports Illustrated " and was named to the Big 12 All-Defensive Team.Professional career
Although he was projected to be a second-round draft pick, [ [http://www.columbiatribune.com/2006/Jun/20060628Spor003.asp Few early locks across Big 12 ] ] Gray was not selected in the
2006 NBA Draft . He was subsequently invited to play for theSacramento Kings ' summer league team, but was not signed to a contract. [ [http://www.kotv.com/news/?107041 NewsOn6.com - Tulsa, OK - News, Weather, Video and Sports - KOTV.com | News ] ]On August 10, 2006 Gray announced that he would play for
Cholet Basket ball, an A League team in theLigue Nationale de Basketball , the top men's French professional basketball league. [http://www.kansas.com/mld/kansas/sports/15248907.htm]One year later, after a very good season in Cholet, he announced that he would play for
Paris Basket Racing for one year.Gray signed on to the french team Chorale de Roanne for the 2008/2009 season.
References
External links
* [http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/player/profile?playerId=22157 ESPN Player profile]
* [http://www.soonersports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_LANG=C&SPID=192&SPORT_TAB_SEL=02&DB_OEM_ID=300&SPSID=2515&ATCLID=66976&Q_SEASON=2005 Oklahoma Sooners Profile]
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