University of Connecticut Athletics
Rudy Gay Declares For 2006 NBA Draft
4/17/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
STORRS, Conn. (April 17, 2006)- University of Connecticut sophomore All-American Rudy Gay (Baltimore, Md.) announced Monday that he will forego his final two seasons of eligibility at UConn and make himself available for the 2006 NBA Draft.
Gay made the announcement during a press conference at Gampel Pavilion where he was joined by UConn head coach Jim Calhoun, as well as teammates, family and friends.
“My family and I, along with Coach Calhoun, have put a lot of time and thought into this and we think that this is the right step,” said Gay. “It was a tough decision. It took a lot of time and a lot of thought, but … as a player, I think I can play at that level.”
“After watching [Rudy] grow and knowing what kind of kid that he is and man that he will become, I think the decision is difficult, but I think that it is the right decision, clearly and definitively,” said Calhoun.” This opportunity appears to be too good to pass up and I have no question that Rudy will fulfill the promise those people that draft him have in him."
“It’s very sad to see him leave, as a person,” Calhoun continued, “but I am thrilled that he’s going on to the next phase of his life as he grows and grows and I think becomes one of the best players in the NBA.”
Gay is the tenth UConn player to declare early for the NBA Draft, including junior Josh Boone, who entered the draft on April 7 but has not hired an agent. Previous early entrants include: Donyell Marshall (1994 after junior season), Ray Allen (1996 after junior season), Richard Hamilton (1999 after junior season), Khalid El-Amin (2000 after junior season), Caron Butler (2002 after sophomore season), Ben Gordon (2004 after junior season), Emeka Okafor (2004 after junior season) and Charlie Villanueva (2005 after sophomore season). All but one of those players (El-Amin) was an NBA Draft Lottery selection and continues to perform in the NBA currently.
Gay appeared in 64 games in the last two seasons, scoring 870 points, an average of 13.6 per contest. As a sophomore in 2005-06, Gay was a consensus All-American selection, the sixth player in UConn history to earn consensus All-American recognition. He earned First Team honors from the NABC and the Rupp Award, and was one of four finalists for the Naismith National Player of the Year award. He earned Second Team All-America selection by the Associated Press, USBWA and ESPN.com. He was named to the All-BIG EAST, All-NABC and All-USBWA First Teams. He also earned a spot on the 2006 NCAA Washington, D.C. Regional All-Tournament team. He led the Huskies in scoring at 15.2 points per game and also averaged 6.4 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.8 steals and 1.6 blocks per contest.
As a freshman in 2004-05, Rudy was named the National Freshman of the Year by the Sporting News and was the BIG EAST Rookie of the Year. He came to UConn as a consensus First Team High School All-American from Archbishop Spalding in Severn, Md.
