How Benching transformed Noah Gray into Bay County's most dominant big man
There are times in a young athlete's career when you face a form of adversity that will either bend or break you. Bozeman star center Noah Gray faced adversity early in his high school hoops career but did not let it stand in the way of reaching his ultimate goal.
With the lack of success the team had on the court Gray was able to contribute on varsity his freshman year, but that would soon all change with a slew of incoming transfers that offseason.
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"I went from starting my freshman year to being benched my sophomore year, where I maybe had 34 points all season," Gray said. "I knew I had to step it up so that sophomore summer I did things differently."
Gray attacked the offseason competing on his father's team in several AAU tournaments working on every facet of his game. The work seemed to pay off during his junior year where he averaged 12.3 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game. These numbers were a drastic jump from the 1.8 points and three rebounds Gray averaged a year prior.
"My junior year I was paired with a twin tower Noa McClelland and it helped to have a guy who can go in and out so I would not have heavy minutes," Gray said. "Now in my senior year, I am prepared to take on those heavy minutes."
This past summer Gray took his offseason workouts to another level, training at Gulf Coast State College with assistant coach Jaron Taylor. Gray said Taylor helped develop his game when it came to layups, hooks and everything you would as a big man without a back-up on the bench.
The extra work has paid off with Bozeman flying high with a county's best (17-2) record led by Gray averaging 14 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks per game.
One of the more underrated parts of the big man's game is his command on the court when it comes to calling plays and pointing out the spots where his teammates can slash or dish him the ball. He credits his dad for instilling in him from an early age, that as a big man, he has to be more than just layups and rebounds but be able to read the floor and know where everyone is supposed to be on the court.
"He does everything he is asked to defensively and offensively and is one of the best bigs in the area," Bozeman Boys Basketball coach Matt Granville said. "He is our senior leader, our captain and he gets us into our offense and where we need to be."
With the basketball season winding down and playoffs just on the horizon, Grey is putting out feelers on a potential collegiate basketball opportunity.
"I had my first college call the other day with Pratt Institue (New York) and the coach seemed like a pretty nice guy," Gray said. "I've had some other New York teams, Division-III reach out to me, but just being able to be on a phone call with these coaches means a lot to me."
Banji Bamidele is a sports reporter for the Panama City News Herald. He can be reached at abamidele@gannett.com or through X, formerly known as Twitter, @AdebanjiBamide1.
This article originally appeared on The News Herald: Bozeman Bucks Noah Gray uses Gulf Coast coach to achieve dominance Bay County-panama city panhandle
