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Rebecca Gray dropped off her paperwork Friday and made it official.
The former Miss Basketball from Scott County is joining Kentucky’s basketball team, Coach Matthew Mitchell confirmed late Friday night. The two met Thursday, a little more than a week after Gray was granted her release by North Carolina, where she played her freshman year.
“She knew where she wanted to go and she wanted to come to Kentucky and get back to her family,” Mitchell said. “And we knew we wanted her here. It was an easy process.”
Per NCAA transfer rules, the 5-foot-10 shooting guard will sit out next season and have three years of eligibility remaining at UK.
When contacted last week, Gray said she was excited about the prospect of coming back home where friends and family can see her play. She also was excited about the prospect of playing for Mitchell, whom Gray got to know early in her recruiting process when he was an assistant under Mickie DeMoss.
The feeling is mutual, Mitchell said.
“I always liked her a lot when she was a younger player and I loved watching her play,” Mitchell said. “I was disappointed when she went to North Carolina.”
In her one season with the Tar Heels, Gray played in 30 games and averaged 15.3 minutes and 5.2 points per game. The guard shot 44.1 percent from the field and 39.1 percent from three-point range.
Gray’s joining UK is great for the program, he said.
“She’s a good player and that’s what we need,” Mitchell said. “We need to continue to add talent to our team. She’s a very good scorer. She can score in a variety of ways. She really has a chance to be great for us.”
Getting a player with local ties is nice, too.
“It’s going to create a lot of excitement for people here locally,” Mitchell said. “She’s one of the best players to come out of Central Kentucky in a lot of years. It’s real positive on a lot of fronts.”
In her six seasons at Scott County, Gray scored 2,907 points, which places her atop the school’s scoring list for boys and girls.
She also had 706 rebounds, 380 steals and 493 assists in her career. In her senior season, the guard averaged 25.6 points, 6.3 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 4.2 steals while hitting 88.9 percent of her free throws.
