Rudy Gay on buildg playgrounds his hometown of Baltimore

Contents:

• NBA VETERAN RUDY GAY GIV BACK TO THE PLACE WHERE IT ALL STARTED
• AS LONG NBA REER NTU, BALTIMORE NATIVE RUDY GAY WORKS ON TRANSN GAME ON AND OFF THE URT
• RUDYGAY
• WH SPURS TEAMMAT TOW, RUDY GAY OPENS BASKETBALL GYM TOWSON: ‘IT’S A CHANCE FOR ME TO HAVE A FOUNDATN HERE’
• NBA VETERAN RUDY GAY BUYS ON A BASKETBALL-THEMED GYM FOR BALTIMORE
• NBA PLAYER AND BALTIMORE NATIVE RUDY GAY OPENS GYM CY
• REPORT: RUDY GAY WAIVED BY OKC THUNR
• RUDY GAY ON BUILDG PLAYGROUNDS HIS HOMETOWN OF BALTIMORE
• RUDY GAY’S BASKETBALL TRAG CENTER TO BE LOTED OFF JOPPA ROAD, PLANS NOVEMBER SOFT OPENG
• NBA PLAYER RUDY GAY OPENG A BASKETBALL-FOCED TRAG GYM BALTIMORE

NBA VETERAN RUDY GAY GIV BACK TO THE PLACE WHERE IT ALL STARTED

And Rudy Gay, the Baltimore native and 13-year pro basketball veteran due for a new ntract, sat on a red plastic chair an air-ndned classroom on the tony mp of Park School, the century-old private pre-krgarten through 12th-gra tablishment the suburban Pikville hills jt north of the cy le. The iPhone Gay cradled his right hand illumated wh text-msag. (Gay’s been givg him been there, done that advice on how to rever om a torn Achill’ tendon.

“It’s proof that if you do the right thgs, great thgs n happen, ” Gay said, and that msage is really at the heart of why he’s back home today, about to head to the bleachers to watch two teams—one, the Baltimore-based Orange Life club, led by Frerick Douglass High ach Tyree Bizzelle, and the other om Philalphia— play for a trophy wh his name on . Now 32 years old, Gay is almost two s removed om his own high school days when he donned a uniform reprentg Essex’s Eastern Tech and, after a somewhat ntroversial transfer, Archbishop Spaldg Severn. From there, he notably starred at the Universy of Connecticut, where he was a natnal player of the year falist as a sophomore and left school early to bee the eighth overall pick the 2006 NBA Draft.

AS LONG NBA REER NTU, BALTIMORE NATIVE RUDY GAY WORKS ON TRANSN GAME ON AND OFF THE URT

But Gay hasn’t fotten his roots. The son of Rae, a longtime director of a Head Start program the cy, and father Rudy Sr., a landsper, Gay is behd a seri of public and not-so-public charable iativ that reflect his most personaly, as well as his own story. ) The event brought together teams reprentg Gay’s alma mater, Archbishop Spaldg, his old AAU club team, Cecil Kirk, as well as other groups om Baltimore, Philalphia, Connecticut, and North Carola for hours upon hours of gam.

“The biggt thg is givg kids the opportuny to be seen that might not necsarily be seen, or might not have the bt avenu to do so, ” Gay says. That sire is rooted his own path, cludg the type of mentorship his former AAU ach, Anthony Lewis, provid him durg what’s only a more nfoundg recg procs today, and Gay’s uful cisn to head to Spaldg after two years playg varsy basketball at Eastern as a hman and sophomore.

RUDYGAY

“That was huge for me, ” Gay said. Now a bonafi star, for several years, Gay has done other behd-the-scen work through his pennt nonprof foundatn, named the Flight 22 Foundatn, wh a nod to Gay’s jersey number, 22.

Most of the volunteers on hand Sunday were related, like his mom, sister and s, who put the fishg touch on giveaway bags for the participatg teams as Gay sat for an terview, or they were close iends.

And datg back to his time playg for the Memphis Grizzl, Gay gave $22, 222 each of his last three seasons to St. Sometime later this year, Gay also plans to open an door basketball facily Towson njunctn wh California-based fns pany PickUp USA.

WH SPURS TEAMMAT TOW, RUDY GAY OPENS BASKETBALL GYM TOWSON: ‘IT’S A CHANCE FOR ME TO HAVE A FOUNDATN HERE’

Gay stands up and, man, he is tall. The kid looked over to the stands to see if maybe Gay was watchg. Washgton — Rudy Gay has never looked the part of an NBA each of his four stops what is now a 14-year reer, the 6-foot-8 forward om Baltimore has been a mol cizen, a player who has been high productn and low ’s why, wh Gay approachg the age of 31 and g back om a potentially reer-endg jury three years ago, the man nng one of the league’s most succsful anchis wanted Gay be part of s Anton Spurs ach Gregg Popovich said that all NBA ach want players like Gay their locker rooms, drawg up plays for them to sre rather than schemg fens to stop them.

”So Popovich, who is also the team’s print and general manager, signed Gay before the 2017-18 season, as Gay was tryg to e back om a torn Achill tendon suffered midway through the prev season the time, the Spurs were searchg to fd new learship to replace the triumvirate that had won four of the anchise’s five NBA tl over a 12-year Dunn had retired two years earlier after a 19-year reer.

And Tony Parker was about to start his 17th year San Anton before fishg his reer last season the Spurs had brought LaMarc Aldridge 2015-16 and still had 2014 NBA Fals Most Valuable Player Kawhi Leonard at the time, Popovich thought Gay would be the perfect plement to what had the makgs of another Big Three.

NBA VETERAN RUDY GAY BUYS ON A BASKETBALL-THEMED GYM FOR BALTIMORE

[ Wh Spurs teammat tow, Rudy Gay opens basketball gym Towson: ‘It’s a chance for me to have a foundatn here’]Yet has never really worked.

Leonard, who suffered a ser ankle jury Game 1 of the 2017 Wtern Conference fals agast the Goln State Warrrs, was siled for most of Gay’s first season San Anton and was eventually trad to the Toronto Aldridge and DeMar DeRozan, who was trad for Leonard, ntue to put up solid numbers, Gay stggled at tim after g off the said the transn to a new team and a new role is somethg that is fally takg hold.

NBA PLAYER AND BALTIMORE NATIVE RUDY GAY OPENS GYM CY

”Gay is still a productive offensive player, given that before Saturday night’s game, he was averagg 10.

Popovich’s strg of 22 straight playoff appearance is beg serly his offensive game has not pletely returned sce the jury, Gay has found a new role. It’s not jt about what he do on the urt, but what happens durg practice and the locker Anton Spurs player and Baltimore native Rudy Gay and his wife Ecko Wray Gay along wh some of his teammat vised the Pickup USA Fns gym Towson on November 19 before s grand openg.

REPORT: RUDY GAY WAIVED BY OKC THUNR

The gym, specializg basketball trag, is a jo venture of Gay's and his partners. Lam)“I have a different rponsibily, ” Gay said.

”Popovich, who has seen several of his former stars make a siar transn durg his quarter-century tenure wh the Spurs, believ that Gay has done a great job terms of meetg expectatns. ”Third-year guard Bryn Forb said that havg Gay as a teammate has helped his own transn to the league. ”Compoundg the adjtment was the fact that Gay was the procs of g back om what is often a reer-alterg jury.

Gay said took “about a year” to feel fortable that his Achill was 100%.

RUDY GAY ON BUILDG PLAYGROUNDS HIS HOMETOWN OF BALTIMORE

“It’s more mental than anythg, ” Gay said on the team’s stop Washgton. ”Gay said he has talked wh Wizards pot guard John Wall, who tore his Achill an off-urt accint while out wh a knee jury.

RUDY GAY’S BASKETBALL TRAG CENTER TO BE LOTED OFF JOPPA ROAD, PLANS NOVEMBER SOFT OPENG

"When you go through that jury, the act of havg that jury always lgers your md, ” Gay said.

NBA PLAYER RUDY GAY OPENG A BASKETBALL-FOCED TRAG GYM BALTIMORE

”As Gay begs what is undoubtedly the home stretch of his reer — unls he turns to the send g of the seemgly agels Vce Carter — he is begng to thk about his basketball afterlife. “Obvly, I’m dog this now, but ’s only a matter of time that you’ll be able to play basketball for a livg, ” he Augt of 2018, nearly a after he started his own foundatn based Baltimore lled Flight 22, Gay helped lnch more than two dozen entreprenrship programs for the cy’s high school stunts a partnership wh EverFi, a Washgton-based tnal technology pany.