In his time in Cookeville, Tennessee Tech assistant men’s basketball coach Blake Gray has helped see the Golden Eagles overcome obstacles and make a push for a historic program feat as Tech reached the Ohio Valley Conference championship game and had a chance for the game-winning shot.
His rapport with the staff and the Golden Eagle student-athletes helped put head coach John Pelphrey’s team in a position for success, making Gray’s promotion to associate head coach a well-earned one.
“We appreciate Blake’s daily approach to leadership,” Pelphrey said. “He is constantly ‘looking for work’ and ways he can serve our student-athletes, our staff as well as others in the athletic department. As with any profession, a program’s culture is built on relationships, which creates trust and earns respect among the group. Blake has done that for us over the last five years, which is why we are excited to name him our Associate Head Coach. Blake has earned this position and title.”
Gray said, “I’m really humbled and excited for the opportunity. We’re all just ready to get to work.”
With summer in full swing, the Tech men’s basketball program is already hard at work for the 2024-25 campaign.
“We have a really good group of guys and just finished another week of workouts,” Gray said. “They’re already getting better, they’re already gelling and we still have other guys to add to the fold. I’m looking forward to it.”
Pelphrey said: “Now, as basketball season is rapidly approaching, it is a ‘reasonable expectation’ for myself, our staff and our team to continue to learn and get better. We believe our culture of Leadership, Books, Ball and Professionalism will put the student-athletes and the program in the best position to take advantage of all opportunities and meet all challenges in the 2024-25 men’s college basketball season. Looking forward to seeing you in the Hoop, Golden Eagle Nation!”
Gray is about to enter his fourth season as an assistant coach for the Golden Eagle program after he was promoted in July 2021. He spent his first two seasons in Cookeville as Tech’s director of basketball operations.
Before coming to Cookeville, Gray was on the staff at Alabama for four seasons – the latter three with Pelphrey, who was the associate head coach with the Crimson Tide from 2016 to 2019. His last two seasons in Tuscaloosa saw Gray serve as director of player development, promoted from his graduate manager post.
Gray earned his bachelor’s and two master’s degrees from Alabama – a bachelor’s in accounting in 2014, a master’s in sports management in 2015 and a master’s in marketing analytics in 2017.
There is a dynamic contrast between the 2022-23 season and the 2023-24 slate. Coming off one of the program’s best seasons in recent memory – and standing just a toenail’s length away from breaking the program’s NCAA Tournament drought – injuries were a tough obstacle to overcome.
However, there’s always a silver lining – the opportunity was there to develop some of the younger members of the Tech roster, providing invaluable experience in a shifting collegiate landscape.
“We have certainly been through a lot and there have been a lot of positives,” Gray said. “Two years ago, we made it to the (OVC) championship game and had a shot at the buzzer to win it. Last year presented itself with a lot of different challenges, specifically from an injury standpoint. A lot of young guys played and I really think that’s going to benefit us this year, because we do return eight guys and they got invaluable experience last year. In this day and age, eight is a good amount, plus the six newcomers we have. I’m really looking forward to getting this started.”
With a stable staff under Pelphrey’s direction, the group has been able to build the foundation for the program’s success and it’s a strength that comes from the bonds and relationships.
“In order for that to take place, there’s a lot of time invested,” Gray said. “We’ve all worked together for a long time – I’ve worked with Coach Pelphrey for nine years, Coach Fain for 13 now, Coach Steele – for four years but was with him at Alabama when he was a player, and Coach King for three consecutive years, so there’s a lot of sustained relationships. That’s good – we know each other, and it helps us all get on the same page really quickly as opposed to having a lot of new faces each year. There’s power in continuity.”
With a talented squad back up to 100 percent and the knowledge of what they’re capable of, the Golden Eagles are primed to be a contender.
“100 percent and we still have a couple of guys from that team,” Gray said. “The way college athletics is now, there’s so much turnover year to year that everyone’s kind of starting from the ground floor every single year, trying to piece this thing together and build it up. College basketball season is a 10-month sprint from June to April and we’re in the first leg of that. We’re excited to keep this thing moving.”
While the landscape continues to change in the sport and college athletics in general, Gray welcomes the chances it presents to grow and learn.
“Each season is going to present its own challenges, but it’s also going to present opportunities. The staff, the players – as competitors, we relish those opportunities. We may have faced some of the challenges before and that presents an opportunity to show how we’ve learned from it and how we’ve adapted. The new challenges bring on new learning experiences, which is also exciting.”
https://www.ttusports.com/sports/mbkb/2024-25/releases/20240719ift0hy
