Justin Gray (basketball)

Justin Gray (born March 31, 1984) is an American former professional basketball player and current head coach of the men's basketball team at Coastal Carolina. He was previously the head coach of Western Carolina from 2021 to 2024, and before that an assistant coach at Winthrop from 2019 to 2021. Gray played professionally overseas from 2006 to 2018.

High school
After playing his first three years at West Charlotte High School, Gray played his final year of high school basketball at Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Virginia, a prep basketball program that has produced NBA players such Kevin Durant and Carmelo Anthony. Gray was ranked by ESPN as the 86th best high school senior for the 2002 class. He was recruited across the nation because of his success at Oak Hill, eventually committing to Wake Forest.

Freshman year
During his first season at Wake Forest, Gray average 12.7 points per game and was named to the ACC All-Freshman team. Gray was also named ACC Freshman of the week once and was named a Fourth-Team All-American Freshman by Sporting News. Wake Forest finished the season with a 25–6 record, an ACC regular-season championship, and fell to Auburn in the Round of 32 in the 2003 NCAA tournament.

Sophomore year
With the addition of freshman Chris Paul, who was also Gray’s roommate, Gray and Paul formed a solid backcourt that became of the best in the ACC. Gray averaged 17.0 points per game and earned First-Team All-ACC honors. Wake Forest finished the season at 21–10 after losing to 1 seed Saint Joseph's in the Sweet Sixteen in the 2004 NCAA tournament.

Junior year
Gray averaged 16.0 points per game his junior year, helping lead Wake Forest, along with Paul and Eric Williams, to a 27–6 record and second-place finish in the ACC. The team entered the 2005 NCAA tournament as a No. 2 seed, but were upset in the second round by No. 7 West Virginia. Gray was named Second-Team All-ACC.

Senior year
After Chris Paul left for the NBA, the burden fell on Gray and Williams. Gray finished his final season at Wake Forest with 18.2 points per game and led the team to the 2006 NIT, where they lost to Minnesota. Wake Forest finished the season with a 17–17 record and 12th place finish in the ACC. Gray was again named Second-Team All-ACC.

Gray finished his Wake Forest career with 1,946 points and 319 three-point field goals. Gray ranks 8th all-time in school history for points scored, was named All-ACC three times, and named to the ACC All-Freshman team.

Professional career
After graduating from Wake Forest, Gray played professionally in 13 different countries, including Greece, China, Germany, and France, while having three stints in the NBA Summer League. He also played for Team Wake The Nation in the 2018 edition of The Basketball Tournament.

Winthrop
After spending the 2018–19 season as Director of Basketball Development at Wake Forest, Gray joined Pat Kelsey's staff at Winthrop as an assistant coach in July 2019. Gray helped Winthrop to a 24–10 record during the 2019–20 season and a 2020 Big South tournament championship before COVID-19 canceled the 2020 NCAA tournament. In the 2020–21 season, Gray helped Winthrop to a 23–2 record and another Big South tournament championship before losing in the first round of the 2021 NCAA tournament to 5 seed Villanova.

Western Carolina
On April 13, 2021, Gray was hired as the 19th head men's basketball coach at Western Carolina.