'Where I was meant to be.' How Xavier gave Ohio Hall-of-Famer Amber Gray a 'normal' life

When Amber Gray arrived in Knoxville at the University of Tennessee in 2008, her hopes were sky high.

Gray had plenty of reasons for her lofty expectations before her collegiate basketball career even started. She had just been named Ms. Ohio Basketball as a senior at Lakota West High School, was voted an All-American by multiple outlets and the next step was helping the Lady Volunteers win another national championship under legendary head coach Pat Summit.

Gray was inducted into the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame last month, but her road to being etched among the state's top basketball players and coaches forever was anything but clear-cut.

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After playing in 27 games as a freshman at Tennessee during the 2008-2009 season, Gray injured her shoulder. After surgery to repair it, Gray suffered a brain aneurysm, then a stroke.

It left Gray with doubts if she'd ever walk again, let alone play basketball. Gray juggled the idea of staying in school at Tennessee, which meant finishing her degree and an early retirement from the game.

In the end, that just wasn't an option.

"They never thought I'd live a normal life. To me, a normal life was basketball," Gray said in her induction speech.

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With her basketball career in serious jeopardy, Xavier University was the first to call when she decided to transfer and give the game another shot.

"Coach Kevin McGuff (now at Ohio State) and his staff, they took a huge risk because at that point, nobody knew what I could or could not bring to the court," Gray said. "For coach McGuff, it was whether you play again or not, there's something you can bring to this locker room and bring back to the city of Cincinnati.

"I knew it was inevitable. That's where I was meant to be."

Typical 19-year-old, Division I athletes feel invincible with their entire lives and career ahead of them. Most don't have to fight for their life. Gray relied on her faith, with the mindset of never failing, just falling before getting back up.

"There was never a moment in time where I doubted anything because God had a plan for me," she said. "His plan will get you to where you need to be. There were moments where my only focus was to get back on the court."

Coming back to Cincinnati had its perks. Gray's doctors could easily track down and talk with Xavier's medical staff, plus her family and friends formed a strong circle of support, with Cintas Center as a common meeting place.

In her first home game with the Musketeers on Nov. 26, 2010, Gray scored six points off the bench in Xavier's blowout victory over Troy.

"When doctors are saying you might never walk again, to come back and play basketball, your No. 1 passion, it was very emotional," Gray said. "To look in the stands and see childhood friends or the emotion in my mom's eyes when she saw me back on that court, it was so surreal."

Gray never bothered to worry about if she'd be the same caliber player when she suited up for Xavier. Instead, she was grateful anytime she got to step on the court.

In three seasons at Xavier, Gray averaged eight points and 4.8 rebounds over 79 games. As a senior, she was the Musketeers' leading scorer (11.1 points per game) to go with 6.1 boards and was named all-conference in the Atlantic 10.

"I'm gonna make sure I'm gonna take advantage of every opportunity I have to lace up my shoes," Gray said. "If I wouldn't have torn my shoulder (at Tennessee), I probably would've collapsed on the court from a hit or falling the wrong way. I'm not taking any moment for granted."

It's the same message she's passing along to younger players today.

Gray is an assistant girls basketball coach at Sycamore. She's also the director of youth for Sports City Angels (AAU) and the founder of the WHERE2NEXT Foundation, which "strives to inspire, motivate, and encourage individuals to focus on the next phase of their life because where they're going is more significant than where they've been," according to its website.

"I always knew I wanted to work with the youth in some way," Gray said. "I try to pass along to my kids who I mentor and coach today that, if this is what you love to do, take advantage of every opportunity you have."

She's also hoping to keep Cincinnati as a recruiting hotbed for the nation's top collegiate programs. Ohio's Ms. Basketball and the Ohio Gatorade Girls Basketball Player of the Year have been from Cincinnati, including Gray's younger sister Chance Gray, who is now at Oregon.

"I made a promise to put Cincinnati back on the map. When we were growing up, colleges had to come to Cincinnati to get the best of the best," Gray said. "My only goal is to give back to our youth, give back to our city and our state through basketball."

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: How Xavier women's basketball helped Amber Gray live a 'normal' life