Rudy had started receiving recruiting letters from colleges when he was a freshman in high school. A personal memorable game during high school was a game where Rudy almost had a quadruple double with 37 points, 12 rebounds, 10 blocks and 8 assists. area Player of the Year Award, and played for the 2004 USA Basketball Junior National Select Team at the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) Final Four. He was named to the McDonalds All-American Team, received Washington D.C. He went from being a top 100 player to a top 10 player, and was the number one rated player at the Nike All-American Camp that summer.ĭuring his senior year at Archbishop he led his team to the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association State Championship. During the summer between his junior and senior years of high school, Rudy attended some national basketball camps where at 6’ 9” he was multi- talented, hitting three-pointers from NBA distance, had a variety of spin moves, and could put on a show that was awesome to watch. While at Archbishop Spalding, Rudy finished his two years with 1,181 points, the third-highest total in school history. Rudy went to Eastern Technical High School in Baltimore, Maryland for two years then transferred to Archbishop Spalding High School in Severn, Maryland for more competitive athletics and academics.
As a kid, Rudy met UConn teammate Josh Boone, also from Baltimore, Maryland, at the Cecil Kirk Center. His AAU coach was Anthony Lewis, a legendary basketball coach from Baltimore, who taught Rudy a lot about basketball. Rudy’s cousin played on an AAU (Athletic Amateur Union) team at the Cecil Kirk Recreational Center where Rudy joined him. Rudy remembered growing up in a family where everyone played basketball-his sisters, his brother, his cousins. I had the opportunity to talk to Rudy in March 2008, as he reflected on his basketball experiences.
Rudy was selected eighth overall pick in the 2006 NBA draft by the Houston Rockets, and immediately traded to the Memphis Grizzlies, where he continues to play. He was one of four finalists for the Naismith National Player of the Year Award, and was named First Team All-American by the NABC (National Association of Basketball Coaches) and the Rupp Award. During his sophomore year, Rudy was the teams leading scorer with 15.2 points per game while among players stacked with NBA (National Basketball Association) prospects on its roster. Rudy Gay was a Forward for the UConn Huskies from 2004 – 2006.