Taj Allen Gray (born March 14, 1984) 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. He was a

player for the

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two Territories became the state of Oklahom ...

Early Years and High school career

Taj played middle school AAU for Wichita Razorback under Coach Steve Winters. They were ranked #1 in Kansas and #5 in the Midwest. Gray attended

Wichita High School East Wichita East High School, known locally as "East", is a public secondary school in Wichita, Kansas, United States. It is operated by Wichita USD 259 school district. The centrally located school's campus and the building's Collegiate Gothic styl ...

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 and 6.4 blocks per game during his senior season.

College career

Junior college

Gray started his collegiate basketball career at

Redlands Community College Redlands Community College (Redlands) is a public community college in El Reno, Oklahoma. Student enrollment is approximately 2,200 per semester. History In 1938, El Reno Junior College, was established by an act of the El Reno Board of Educatio ...

, where he was named second-team NJCAA

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

n 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

instead of signing with

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

, Texas A&M and

Texas Tech Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on , and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the main institution of the five-institution Texas Tech University Sys ...

. In his first year at OU, the

Sooners Sooners is the name given to settlers who entered the Unassigned Lands in what is now the state of Oklahoma before the official start of the Land Rush of 1889. The Unassigned Lands were a part of Indian Territory that, after a lobbying campaign, ...

went 25–8, finished as the Big 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 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 ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twic ...

'' and was named to the Big 12 All-Defensive Team.

Professional career

Although he was projected to be a second-round draft pick, Gray was not selected in the 2006 NBA Draft. He was subsequently invited to play for the Sacramento Kings' summer league team, but was not signed to a contract. On August 10, 2006 Gray announced that he would play for Cholet Basketball, an A League team in the Ligue Nationale de Basketball, the top men's

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

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 Paris Basket Racing, or PBR, was a French professional basketball club from Paris. It was founded in 1922, as the basketball section of the multi-sports club Racing Club de Paris. The team took the name "Paris Basket Racing" in 2000. In 2007, the ...

for one year. Gray signed on to the French team Chorale Roanne for the 2008/2009 season where his averaging 22 ppg 11.2 rpg 3.2 blocks One year later, he signed on CB Murcia, to play in the LEB Oro, the Spanish second league.

References

External links

French LNB profileESPN Player profileOklahoma Sooners ProfileRealGM profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gray, Taj 1984 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in France American expatriate basketball people in Israel American expatriate basketball people in Mexico American expatriate basketball people in Spain Basketball players from Wichita, Kansas American men's basketball players CB Murcia players Cholet Basket players Chorale Roanne Basket players Élan Chalon players Junior college men's basketball players in the United States Oklahoma Sooners men's basketball players Metropolitans 92 players Venados de Mazatlán (basketball) players Centers (basketball) Power forwards (basketball)