At some point, I'll write my personal ode to Steven Gray's career at Gonzag but, unfortunately, that day is not today. With that being said, tonight will be Steven's last game at the McCarthey Athletic Center and I think it is only right that we take some time to share some thoughts on his career.
I have no doubt in my mind that Gray's career will be remembered for a very long time. In fact, I'd be willing to wager that Gonzaga won't see a player like Gray come through the program for a very, very long time. His career on and off the court has been remarkable. Steven has lit up the scoreboard for the Zags, taken to the stage as an actor, and made a summer trip to Africa to do service work. He's been a modern day renaissance man and has honestly done more off the court in his college career than most other students do...and he's done it with all the time constraints that come with playing division one basketball. His four years at Gonzaga have been so remarkable that it would be unfair to judge him simply from what we see on the stat sheet.
Since this is a basketball blog, however, I have to share my favorite moment of Steven on the court. For me, this has to be his performance against Connecticut in 2008. It was the Battle in Seattle and Gonzaga entered ranked seventh and Connecticut was absolutely loaded and ranked second in the country. In what I consider one of the best games I have ever seen live, the Zags fell in overtime 88-83. Gray was remarkable. While three Zags fouled out and Jeremy Pargo battled cramps, Gray was a force. He was 10-16 from the field and had seven boards, four assists, two steals, and no turnovers. It was the first time I truly saw Steven dominate a game as a slasher and he truly became a complete offensive player during that season.
That's my favorite on court memory of Steven Gray...what's yours?