Amico: No Gray Area for former Oklahoma Standout

[Arby's Roast Beef]

Former Oklahoma big man Taj Gray will sign with a team in France, according to a story in the Wichita Eagle.



I'm not sure why, but the fact Gray wasn't drafted really bugs me.



Gray was one of the most well-rounded big men in college basketball last season. He was a senior who understood the game and played with tons of passion. Die-hard Oklahoma basketball fans referred to him as "a poor man's Wayman Tisdale." Die-hard NBA fans will remember Tisdale as the No. 2 overall pick in the 1985 draft -- at a time when the league was much deeper in terms of talent.



Anyway, Gray played for Sacramento's summer team, which was about the worst place for him to try out. The Kings already have forwards Shareef Abdur-Rahim and Kenny Thomas.Gray plays the same position and style as those guys, so he didn't really have a chance.



But here is what Gray can bring to the NBA: Some nice moves around the basket, a soft shooting touch that's reliable up to 17 feet, and a willingness to get physical. He's intelligent and loves the game.



The part that bothers me most is the fact I e-mailed five NBA scouts and three general managers, and only one could come up with a decent explanation as to why Gray wasn't drafted. And it's almost disturbing.



"Taj is probably a victim of the recent trend toward drafting European and (foreign-born) players," the scout wrote.



He added, "I can guarantee you not one (foreign) big man drafted past the 40th pick will help a team next season more than a guy like Gray could."



[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]So why not draft him?

[/FONT][FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]http://www.probasketballnews.com/amico_blog.html[/FONT]
[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif][/FONT]
[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Yeah, unfortunate that Justin Williams and Louis Amundson got the spots over Gray, but Gray should be able to help out another NBA team rather than go to France...


[/FONT]

 

[Jechtsphere]

Not unfortunate because they were better.

 

[Bricklayer]

I wonder. Didn't show a whole bunch in summer league. And is small. That line about us being the worst place to try out is B.S. since we were very blatantly trying out any and all semi-talented undrafted bigs we could get our hands on during summer league. Taj just got outperformed by Williams and Admundson.

As is, he's another non-prolific 6'7" PF who might have to learn to play some SF...and that's just a size that has sunk many a college All-Star's career in the pros. Was worth taking a look at in summer league, and I'm sure he'll be back to play on somebody's summer entry next year, but there's no guarantee he'll ever be able to make it in the NBA.

 

[wow22]

this article is pathetic.. i dont know if i should laugh or cry..

 

[Kings113]

Well, Gray wasn't going to make the team anyway if he got an invite to camp. Williams and Amundson won the chances, and at least one of them will make the team. I think both will though. Figured Gray would be able to get in a camp with another team though. Gray was indeed a victim of going undrafted because of the explosion of European bigs in the 2nd round. Just like Williams and Amundson were, just that it didn't work out well for Gray in our camp.

Hopefully he finds a fitting spot somewhere in the league someday.