Gregory Floyd Jr. (born May 10, 1999) is an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player who last played for the

Los Angeles Ballers The Los Angeles Ballers were a professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California. The team competed in the Junior Basketball Association (JBA), a league created for high school and junior college players as an alternative to the Nation ...

of the

Junior Basketball Association The Junior Basketball Association (JBA) was an American basketball league that intended to be an alternative to the NCAA by allowing high school and junior college players to immediately play professionally. The league was first announced in Dec ...

(JBA). He played for three different schools at the high school level, emerging as a four-star

recruit __NOTOC__ Recruit can refer to: Military * Military recruitment * Recruit training, in the military * ''Rekrut'' (English: Recruit), a military recruit or low rank in German-speaking countries * Seaman recruit Books *''Le Réquisitionnaire'' (En ...

and one of the top-ranked prospects in

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

while at

Desert Pines High School Desert Pines High School is a public high school in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States, and is a part of the Clark County School District. The school which opened in 1999, also houses the Academy of Information Technology and the Academy of Communi ...

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

. Despite receiving several

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of College athletics, intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major ...

offers, he was considered academically ineligible after his grades plummeted due to the death of his sister, continuing his career at Antelope Valley College before moving to the JBA.

High school career

Floyd began his high school years at

Ed W. Clark High School Ed W. Clark High School is a nine-month public high school in Las Vegas, Nevada, that is part of the Clark County School District. It opened in 1965. History The campus was designed by architects Zick & Sharp, and constructed by the Del E. We ...

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

, earning few minutes as a freshman, but helping his team win the Division I-A state title. On January 19, 2014, he scored a season-high 10 points against

Western High School Western High School may refer: Schools in the United States *Western High School (Anaheim, California) – Anaheim, California * Western High School (Illinois) – Barry, Illinois * Western High School (Florida) – Davie, Florida * Western High S ...

. Floyd continued to see limited playing time in his sophomore season with Clark, causing him to transfer to

in Las Vegas. However, he was ruled ineligible to play for his new school in his second year. He rapidly rose in profile leading up to and during his junior season at Desert Pines. At the Pangos Spring Spectacular in April 2015, with his Las Vegas Knicks travel team, Floyd averaged 15.5 points, 10.3 rebounds and 5.2 assists, prompting offers from various colleges, including Seton Hall and

USC USC most often refers to: * University of South Carolina, a public research university ** University of South Carolina System, the main university and its satellite campuses **South Carolina Gamecocks, the school athletic program * University of ...

. He held initial offers from several mid-major programs. In July, recruiting website

Rivals.com Rivals.com is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting in the United States. The network was started in 1998 and employs more than 300 personnel. History Rivals.com was founded in 1998 by Jim Heckma ...

included Floyd among eight "breakout players" at the Under Armour All-America Camp. For the 2015–16 season, the ''

Las Vegas Sun The ''Las Vegas Sun'' is one of the Las Vegas Valley's two daily Subscription business model, subscription newspapers. It is owned by the Greenspun family and is affiliated with Greenspun Media Group. The paper published afternoons on weekdays ...

'' considered Desert Pines, led by Floyd, as the favorite to win the Division I-A state championship. By the beginning of his junior season, Floyd held over 20

scholarship A scholarship is a form of financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, diversity and inclusion, athletic skill, and financial need. Scholarsh ...

offers, despite his meager experience at the varsity level. He scored 25 points and grabbed 13 rebounds on December 15, 2015, in a win over Sunrise Mountain High School. By February 2016, he was averaging 15 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 assists, gaining offers from Georgia,

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

, and

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. On September 7, 2016, rated a four-star

, Floyd committed to play

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

Long Beach State California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) is a public research university in Long Beach, California. The 322-acre campus is the second largest of the 23-school California State University system (CSU) and one of the largest universities i ...

. In June 2016, it was announced that Floyd would reclassify to the class of 2018 and transfer to Middlebrooks Academy in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. After that season concluded, he received scholarship offers from

programs

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

and Cal State Bakersfield before committing to join

program

. However, he lost his NCAA Division I scholarship offers when his grades plummeted following the death of his sister.

College career

In his freshman season of college, Floyd played at Antelope Valley College in Lancaster, California, competing in the

California Community College Athletic Association The California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) is a sports association of community colleges in the U.S. state of California. It oversees 108 athletic programs throughout the state. The organization was formed in 1929 as the Calif ...

(CCCAA). On December 2, 2017, in the first round of the Gregg Anderson Memorial Tournament, he posted 32 points against

El Camino College El Camino College (Elco or ECC) is a two-year public community college located in the unincorporated area of Los Angeles County known as Alondra Park.Los Angeles Ballers The Los Angeles Ballers were a professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California. The team competed in the Junior Basketball Association (JBA), a league created for high school and junior college players as an alternative to the Nation ...

of the

(JBA). In his professional debut alongside the league, Floyd recorded 34 points and a game-high 17 rebounds in a 134–124 win over the

New York Ballers The New York Ballers were a basketball team based in New York City, New York. The team competed in the Junior Basketball Association (JBA), a league created for high school and junior college players as an alternative to the National Collegiate Ath ...

. Three days later, he recorded 31 points and a league record high 33 rebounds in a 150–145 win over the

Seattle Ballers The Seattle Ballers were a basketball team based in Seattle, Washington. The team competed in the Junior Basketball Association (JBA), a league created for high school and junior college players as an alternative to the National Collegiate Athle ...

. On July 11, 2018, Floyd had 32 points and 19 rebounds in a high-scoring, 171–140 game against the Philadelphia Ballers. He was later named to the West roster for the JBA All-Star Game. He recorded 8 points and 8 rebounds to help top-seeded Los Angeles defeat the Seattle Ballers in the championship game. After the JBA season, Floyd was named to the JBA USA Team, which would play 28

exhibition game An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...

s against various European and Asian professional teams from September to December 2018. In his opening game versus Danish team

Svendborg Rabbits Svendborg Rabbits is a Danish professional basketball team, from Svendborg. The club currently plays in the Basketligaen, the top division of basketball in Denmark. The home ground of the club is the Svendborg Idrætscenter, nicknamed the ''Kaninh ...

, he collected 7 points and 7 rebounds and scored the game-winning basket with 0.3 second left in regulation. After three games as part of the overseas tour, he was released from the JBA on October 3, 2018, along with teammates Cameron Clark and JaMicheal Morgan.

Personal life

Floyd has stated that he draws inspiration on the

court from his sister Monique Gittens, who died on December 8, 2014, at age 24. He said, "I don't really let it bring me down during the game; I use it as motivation, to do it for her. Play for her and play for my family."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Floyd, Greg Jr. Living people 1999 births American men's basketball players Antelope Valley Marauders men's basketball players Junior Basketball Association players Power forwards Small forwards Basketball players from Las Vegas 21st-century African-American sportspeople