Jack Gray (basketball)

Jack Gray
Gray from the 1947 Cactus
Biographical details
Born(1911-05-12)May 12, 1911
Van Zandt County, Texas, U.S.
DiedMarch 7, 1992(1992-03-07) (aged 80)
Austin, Texas, U.S.
Playing career
1932–1935Texas
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1936–1942Texas
1945–1951Texas
Head coaching record
Overall194–97
Tournaments2–3 (NCAA)
0–1 (NIT)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
3 SWC regular season (1939, 1947, 1951)
NCAA Final Four (1947)
Awards
Consensus All-American (1935)

Jack Gray (May 12, 1911 – March 7, 1992)[1] was an American college basketball player and coach at the University of Texas.

Early life

Andrew Jackson Stuart Gray was born May 12, 1911, to Dr. Robert L. Gray (1876-1926) and Minnie R. Stuart (1883-1914). After his father’s death, he lived with Dr. Dewey Leonidas Sanders, the husband of his father’s late sister. [2] Gray played basketball and football at Wills Point High School and North Texas Agricultural College in Arlington, Texas (now the University of Texas at Arlington). [3] [4] He was voted Most Competent Man at NTAC. [5]

University of Texas

Gray played for the Texas Longhorns men's basketball team from 1933 to 1935. As a player, he set a Southwest Conference record with 32 points in 1933 [6] which stood for 16 years. Gray was a First-Team All-American guard in 1935[7] and was All-SWC all three years of his varsity career. He was known for his one-handed "push" shot, a precursor of the jump shot.[8]

With one year of coaching experience, Gray took over the coaching job at age 25.[9] In his first six years as coach beginning in 1937, he led the Longhorns to five winning seasons[10] and led the Longhorns to their first Elite Eight in the first NCAA tournament in 1939. After returning from World War II, Gray led the Longhorns to their first Final Four in the 1947 NCAA tournament. He coached Basketball Hall of Famer Slater Martin from 1944 to 1949.

Gray got his team in the National Invitation Tournament in 1948, their first AP Poll ranking (#20 in 1949).

Gray ranks third all-time in Longhorns basketball history in wins with 194 victories to 97 losses and had a final Southwest Conference record of 89–55. He was head coach for 12 years, which as of 2011, ranked as the second-longest basketball coaching term at University of Texas.[11]

Gray was Inducted into the Longhorn Hall of Honor in 1960 [12] and the Texas Sports Hall of Fame in 1964.[13]

Head coaching record

Record table
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Texas Longhorns (Southwest Conference) (1936–1942)
1936–37 Texas 13–105–7T–5th
1937–38 Texas 11–115–75th
1938–39 Texas 19–610–21stNCAA Regional Fourth Place
1939–40 Texas 18–58–42nd
1940–41 Texas 14–107–53rd
1941–42 Texas 14–95–75th
Texas Longhorns (Southwest Conference) (1945–1951)
1945–46 Texas 16–77–53rd
1946–47 Texas 26–212–01stNCAA Third Place
1947–48 Texas 20–59–32ndNIT Quarterfinal
1948–49 Texas 17–77–54th
1949–50 Texas 13–116–6T–4th
1950–51 Texas 13–148–4T–1st
Texas: 194–97 (.667)89–55 (.618)
Total:194–97 (.667)

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

See also

References

  1. ↑ Jack Gray, 81, former head coach Fort Worth Star Telegram. March 8, 1992
  2. ↑ Mrs. Robt. Gray Dies
  3. ↑ Junior Aggies Cagers Who won 8 Games in 10 Starts
  4. ↑ Prospects Bright for Junior Ag Grid Team
  5. ↑ Win Popularly Contest
  6. ↑ Top 100 Moments in Texas Men's Basketball History Archived July 31, 2013, at the Wayback Machine texassports.com a CBS Sports college network]
  7. ↑ Jack Gray, 81, former head coach Fort Worth Star Telegram. March 8, 1992
  8. ↑ Top 100 Moments in Texas Men's Basketball History Archived July 31, 2013, at the Wayback Machine texassports.com a CBS Sports college network]
  9. ↑ Top 100 Moments in Texas Men's Basketball History Archived July 31, 2013, at the Wayback Machine texassports.com a CBS Sports college network]
  10. ↑ Top 100 Moments in Texas Men's Basketball History Archived July 31, 2013, at the Wayback Machine texassports.com a CBS Sports college network]
  11. ↑ Texas Basketball Timeline Archived January 1, 2007, at the Wayback Machine Texas Statesman November 15, 2005
  12. ↑ Longhorns Hall of Honor]
  13. ↑ Texas Sports Hall of Fame.
This page is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.