Granada Hills’ Big Man Standing Tall in Vegas

Rich Goldberg has seen hundreds of players pass through his American Roundball Corp. basketball program. While he has witnessed his share of talented players, he knows that talent alone is not enough.

The kind of player Goldberg wants to deal with must also be hard-working.

Enter Gary Gray.

Gray, a 6-8 center from Granada Hills High, is a member of ARC’s Ventura team. So far, he has been Ventura’s leading scorer, averaging 16 points a game this week during the Las Vegas Invitational at Nevada Las Vegas.

He added to his average Thursday night, scoring 18 points to lead Ventura to a 85-71 win over the Bahamas. Ventura led, 46-36, at the half and increased it to 66-51 entering the final quarter. Shelton Boykin of San Fernando High scored nine points in the third quarter and finished with 13. Westlake’s Paul Keenan and Dave Heckmann each had six points.

Ventura will play the winner of ARC Los Angeles and Kentucky for fifth place at 2 p.m. today.

In other action, ARC Mid-Valley defeated Kansas City, 89-55, to advance to today’s runner-up division semifinals against Oregon at 12:30 p.m.

ARC San Fernando was eliminated by Seattle in the quarterfinal round of the consolation bracket, 77-71, while ARC Valencia lost a runner-up division game to Indiana, 101-60. Kyndell McDaniels of Kennedy led Valencia with 16 points, while Westlake’s Bill Fassl and Chaminade’s Kevin Black had 11 and 10 points, respectively.

Gray, who will be a senior at Granada Hills this year, has played on an ARC team for three seasons and Goldberg has seen him steadily improve during that time.

“He works on his game all the time,” Goldberg said. “His mobility has increased. His strength has increased. He’s tough to contend with and he’s getting better all the time.”

Gray, a Times’ All-Valley selection last season, has adjusted to the wide-open play of the ARC and is beginning to recognize his potential, Goldberg said.

“He’s gotten to a point where he realizes that he can be a force,” the ARC president said. “If you have the desire and determination to do well and you work hard at it, you are going to succeed. That’s what it takes. It’s nice to see these kids do that.

“We give the kids the opportunity here to come and be showcased. If they take advantage of the opportunity, then the sky’s the limit. And he’s really taken advantage.”

Don Mead, who runs a nationally known scouting service, believes Gray’s ability to balance athletics and academics makes him a top college prospect. Gray has a 3.96 grade point average in high school.

“He’s a power ballplayer,” Mead said. “He’s got good size. He’ll have a good chance of playing at a Division I school.”

In the past, Gray has played in streaks. Ventura Coach Bryan Breslin believes Gray’s game has steadied.

“We’ve played six games in the past eight days,” Breslin said. “Gary’s played five really good games. I think he was overwhelmed by it all last year. He knows he can play with anybody now.”