Geoffrey Gray: Under Appreciated and Under Recruited
The story of how the face of the Emerson Lions men’s basketball team, Geoff Gray, went from Newton South High School’s 5-foot-4, 105-pound point guard to one of the top players in the toughest Division 3 conference in the NCAA, the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference.
It’s “bigger than ball.”
Full name: Geoffrey “Geoff” Gray
Hometown: Newton, Massachusetts
Date of Birth: May 5th, 1997 (20 years old)
High School: Newton South
College: Emerson College in Boston, MA
Grade/Graduation Year: Senior, Class of 2019
Major: Marketing
Early Life
Growing up just outside the greatest sports city in the world made it hard for Geoff Gray not to fall in love with the sports culture. He would fall victim in elementary school to sports.
“I would watch every Celtics game,” Gray said. “No matter the time or how many games they lost (Paul) Pierce played with so much heart, passion, and toughness. It was incredible.”
The love was so obvious that it brought a close family friend to script an email to the owner of the Celtics expressing Gray’s admiration for the All-Star. They were rewarded with two courtside tickets to the game, a memory Gray still carries with him to this day.
Paul Pierce was always was a player that Gray looked up to growing up outside Boston. He imagined himself being Pierce.
“I would grab my ball, walk down the street to my neighbors since they had a hoop and just play there for hours,” Gray said. “Three hours. Five hours. Hell sometimes even seven hours. I would imagine hitting Paul Pierce buzzer buzzer beaters while announcing the game like Mike Gorman (Boston Celtics play-by-play announcer at the time).”
From here, a young Gray would only grow fonder of the game.
“I couldn’t be happier that I have stuck with it for all of these years,” Gray said.
High School
Freshman year didn’t go exactly as Gray planned, but he still managed to shape himself into the player he is today. He would experience a setback during his freshman year that would teach him a ton about who he is as a person.
“It still gets to me… the knee injuries,” Gray said. “I feel they played a huge role in preventing me from really becoming the player I always knew I could be.”
Being a four-year starter and captain of his team for two of those years, Gray felt he had a decent resume heading into his senior campaign, but college scouts didn’t seem to agree.
“I was always under the radar and never really got the respect I felt I deserved,” Gray said. “However, I chose to use this as motivation. It gave me a chip on my shoulder.”
Gray kept getting turned away by college coaches, time after time again. However, this didn’t get him down, as it only fueled him to make those coaches regret not going after him when he was in high school.
The summer before his senior year was when his work ethic would really begin to set in. He was beginning to spend more time lifting, working on agility, and dribbling more than ever before. Coming off a Dual County League MVP his junior season, things were beginning to look up. However, another obstacle arose.
After all the knee injuries he had suffered, Gray found out he would need surgery if he ever wanted to get back to 100 percent. He underwent surgery after the season. He would miss over five months to recover and a decision on where he would be playing the next four years was on the horizon.
It was down to three schools — all of which were Division 3 schools.
“[It was down to] Emerson, Endicott, and Williams,” Gray said. “Emerson was the only one in the NEWMAC that recruited me and Coach [Bill] Curley and Coach [Jack] Barrett took a chance on me that not many other coaches wanted to do, despite my injury history.”
Looking back on his high school days obviously takes a toll on Gray, but he would overcome the injuries and the doubt. The chip on his shoulder fueled his big expectations.
“When I left for college, I was on a mission,” Gray said. “I was going to prove to everyone that I’d go down as one of the best [Division 3 basketball] players in the country.”
College
Gray would break onto the scene just weeks after his arrival onto Emerson’s Boylston campus, making it known he was here to stay.
Being the young freshman he was, Curley would only start him in 10 games, but he would appear in 27 games, playing 450 minutes. The numbers weren’t stellar, but he would still manage to score 115 points, secure 86 rebounds, dish out 39 assists, and swipe 19 steals for the playoff-bound and senior-heavy Lions.
The team would finish fourth in the NEWMAC and become the first team in Emerson College history to win in the playoffs. Although he didn’t have the season he wanted, Geoff still managed to establish his name on the campus.
Former captain John Geary said it best, emphasizing his dedication.
“Geoff has always been a great teammate,” Geary said. “Even when he came in as a freshman, he consistently was one of the most dedicated guys on the team.”
Sophomore year served as what seemed to be a coming out party for Gray.
He would be in the starting lineup for the Lions on 24 occasions as the team’s point guard in all but one game, resulting in 824 minutes. He would record 450 points, 85 dimes, 205 boards, and 26 steals, leading to an appearance on the All-NEWMAC Second Team.
Junnior (freshman at the time) Ben Holding had only good things to say about his captain.
“You could tell right away he was a hard worker,” Holding said. “Whether it be in the weight room or always getting shots up in the Bobby Brown gym. He was always grinding. I knew from the jump he was someone that always wants to win.”
Sophomore Jack O’Connor transferred in second semester in 2016 but still had praise off the court for the combo guard.
“Geoff is a really good guy that everyone gets along with,” O’Connor said. “That is part of the reason he is such a great leader.”
The Lions would make the playoffs as the 5-seed but would get bounced in the first round. However, the NEWMAC was now well aware of the “kid from Newton.”
During his junior season it seemed as though Gray was on another level. The numbers would speak for themselves.
He would start in every single game during his Junior campaign and play pretty much every minute finishing second in the NEWMAC with 878. He would improve every statistic, finishing top-5 in the conference in pretty much everything with 527 points, 234 rebounds, and 103 assists. This came all while shooting 49.5 percent from the floor, 37.5 percent from deep, and 81.9 percent from the charity strike. This would easily earn the now-captain a spot on the First Team All-NEWMAC squad.
Despite the personal success for Gray, the Lions finished the season 10–15 overall and sixth in the NEWMAC standings, falling just short of the playoffs. Gray and his teammates knew there was still work to be a done.
“Next season we’re looking for some people to step up in bigger roles,” Ben Holding said. “As for Geoff, if he keeps dedicating as much time as he did last season I don’t see why he can’t come into next season even better.”
Gray realizes that even though it may be tough to swallow, next season will be the last time he laces up his shoes as an Emerson Lion.
“I had a good juinor year,” Gray said. “I thank my coaches and teammates for that, but that’s not going to stop me from trying to achieve the one thing I’ve wanted since I have stepped foot on this campus, and that’s winning a NEWMAC Title.”
This year serves as Gray’s farewell tour and he is off to a great start.
The senior guard is averaging 21.2 points a night, to go along with 9 boards and 3 assists thru the teams first 10 games.
The Lions currently sit at sixth place in the NEWMAC standings but don’t start conference play until January 2nd when they travel to Coast Guard.
The season is still young but Gray realizes this is his last chance claiming, “This year is different for me. I came here to win and this is my last shot. We have a great squad this year with a ton of great talent coming in, but we can’t talk anymore it’s time to prove something and contend for a NEWMAC championship. We have the talent, we can do something special and it would mean everything to me to go out with a BANG!”
As far as the future, Gray hopes to pursue a career in basketball overseas. specifically in Israel due to his Jewish heritage. Nothing is certain yet, but he believes that it is very likely he will receive an offer. “My coaches have been very helpful in getting me looks from people out there and putting my name on the map. One thing is for certain I’m not giving up this game until I have to.”
