UC Santa Barbara Signs Gary Gray to Letter of Intent

Gary Gray, who averaged 26.2 points and 14 rebounds and led the Granada Hills High basketball team to the City 3-A title, signed a letter of intent Wednesday with UC Santa Barbara.

Gray, the City 3-A Player of the Year, chose Santa Barbara after considering offers from Minnesota, Washington and Oregon.

“They (the Santa Barbara coaching staff) were very honest with me and I really respect Jerry Pimm as a coach,” Gray said. “There is a chance to play there right away. They graduated two forwards and I should get a chance to contribute my freshman year.”

Gray, 6-9, said it was “a relief” that the recruiting was over. The Santa Barbara coaching staff felt the same way.

“The way he played this season obviously indicates that he has the potential to keep achieving at our level,” said Gaucho assistant coach Ben Howland. “He’s also a good student and the type of person we want in our program. He’s a self-motivated person. He’s starting to lift weights now--we didn’t have to tell him to do that.”

Gray said he will also start running and will play in the Inglewood summer league where he plans to work on refining his outside shooting.