Former East, OU standout Taj Gray leads team to Wichita basketball tournament title
Life has thrown its fair share of obstacles in the way of Taj Gray, the former Wichita East basketball superstar who has returned to his hometown at the age of 37.
But when Gray was at his lowest in his personal life, he knew he could always count on the game he learned to love as a young boy in Wichita. In fact, basketball has been somewhat of a saving grace for Gray recently, even though he hasn’t played professionally since 2018.
After so many years away from the adrenaline of playing in the top leagues in Europe, Gray was back in his happy place this weekend helping lead Team Oklahoma to the championship and $7,500 grand prize of the inaugural Supplement World Off-Season Classic, a 26-team basketball tournament hosted at Wichita Hoops and Friends University.
“I don’t think that love for the game is ever going to go away,” said Gray, who says he still works out every day to stay in game shape with hopes of playing professionally once again. “The basketball court has always been my safe haven. When I’m out there, I don’t have any problems or worries. I can forget about everything I’m going through and just hoop. It’s always going to be my safe place.”
Gray said that since moving back to Wichita, life is beginning to trend up again. He recently got a job as a corrections officer and he’s enjoying his time back in the city with family and friends.
“I’ve had a few rough years in my personal life, but the process and the journey are always the best part,” Gray said. “It’s always good to be back home around some familiar faces. This is home for me. I know the type of people I’m going to be around and I’m in my comfort zone here.”
The 6-foot-8 forward was certainly in his comfort zone competing against current pro’s and some of the top amateur players in Wichita on the floor this weekend.
Playing on a stacked team from the famous Skinz League in Oklahoma City, which featured former TCU player and tournament MVP Chauncey Collins, Gray was the big man in the middle for Team Oklahoma who could use his size and strength down low to bully his way to baskets or use his intelligence and passing ability to find the cutter or open shooter.
No team could handle Team Oklahoma, which finished 5-0, including a double-digit rout of KC Elite in the championship game.
“It was amazing to be able to play in that high-level of a tournament in Wichita,” Gray said. “It was so professional and well-run, (Supplement World) really put on a great event. It was fun to play with those guys and this whole weekend just went right.”
Jeff McAnarney, the Wichita owner of Supplement World, said he had been planning the first high-stakes basketball tournament in Wichita along with his business partner Javier Garcia, who runs a popular local team, Tri Fecta, since May.
In the end, the double-elimination tournament attracted high-level teams not only from Wichita, but also from Oklahoma City, Houston, Nashville, Kansas City and Springfield. Former Shockers like Jamar Howard and Carl Hall played for Tri Fecta and more than $10,000 of prize money was doled out.
“It was so exciting to see it finally come to fruition just like how we had it planned,” said McAnarney, who said he hopes to make it an annual event in August. “Having guys like Taj out there and a couple former Shockers, that was big. We heard a lot of compliments from people throughout the weekend. It just went really smooth and the biggest key to that was having great scorekeepers and great referees.”
For Gray, the tournament proved to be a trip down memory lane because the event brought out Wichita basketball royalty from all generations. He couldn’t walk off the court without a former teammate, a former competitor, a former coach or just a City League basketball fan from the early 2000s stopping him to talk about the glory days.
It’s hard for Gray to believe, but this spring will mark the 20-year anniversary of when he was a high school senior and led the East Blue Aces to the Class 6A state championship in his senior season. Gray averaged 20.9 points and 15.5 rebounds that season.
“It was crazy because I got to see a lot of people I haven’t seen in a really long time and I really enjoyed the conversations,” Gray said. “People bring up those memories and it’s hard to believe they still remember since it was almost 20 years ago now. But I love it. I love that I was able to put out some positive energy in the city and put a smile on their faces and impact people like that. I never thought I would be able to do that by me just playing the game of basketball.”
Of course, he had to re-live his favorite memories from that 2001-02 team that was coached by Ron Allen and led by four seniors in Gray, Brent Freeman, R.J. Allen and Brandon Barrett.
Gray went on to become a junior college All-American for coach Steve Eck at Redlands Community College and an all-Big 12 performer at Oklahoma, but he said the memories he’s most fond of came when he was in Wichita playing for coach Allen.
“It’s hard to pick out just one memory because of everything we were able to accomplish and just all of the relationships I made along the way,” Gray said. “Everything about that season is a special moment to me. Winning state is something you’ll remember forever.
“And coach Allen is the greatest coach I’ve ever had. By far the best because he understood his players, he understood the game and he knows how to get the most out of his guys. He was the ultimate player’s coach and that’s what I think any player would want from his coach. He knew how to put his players in a position to be successful not only on the court, but in life too. I couldn’t ask for anyone better.”
This story was originally published August 16, 2021 at 6:00 AM.
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