Two months ago, third-year guard JJ Gray had to learn how to walk again. In a Dec. 6 contest against Wabash College, Gray was boxing out on the right block when a shot went up from the left block. The shooter’s momentum took him right on top of Gray’s knee.
“My whole knee caved in,” Gray said. “I felt it. … I thought my season was done.”
On the six-hour bus ride back, Gray was unsure if he had played his last game for the Crimson and Gold.
Meanwhile, team trainer Erin Gordon continued to perform tests on Gray’s knee. Gordon was confident the damage was to his MCL, not his ACL.
“I had trouble believing I could get back to where I was in such a short amount of time,” Gray said.
With it being early December, the team had just over two months left in their season.
Gray was diagnosed with a grade 2 tear of his MCL. Shortly after, he found himself in the training room beginning rehab.
“I couldn’t walk,” Gray said. “I was sitting in the training room and Erin [Gordon] was literally teaching me how to walk again. She has hurdles out and she’s teaching me how to lift my knee.”
Even in that state, Gray turned to Gordon and told her he still had a milestone he wanted to reach.
“A goal of mine is to hit 1,000 [points] this year,” Gray said to Gordon. “At the time, I was like 150 points away, and it just didn’t seem possible. I was struggling to walk midseason.”
Gordon instilled belief in Gray; she told him he was going to get there.
On top of his physical rehab, Gray’s time off the court allowed him to tap into the mental side of the game. At the recommendation of College fourth-year guard Zach Bronson, Gray read The Inner Game of Tennis.
“[The author] puts it as self one and self two,” Gray explained. “Self one is the person that actually does it. Self two is the one who criticizes you. … It’s helped me stay consistent for sure.”
A grade 2 tear typically heals in four to six weeks with treatment; Gray was able to return in five.
Upon returning, Gray struggled in his first two games before exploding for 23 points on 10-of-18 from the floor in his third game against Wittenberg University.
“An underrated part of coming back from injuries is giving yourself some grace and understanding that you’re not going to be back to who you were right away,” Gray said. “I think I did a decent job at that. I had a lot of people in my circle help me.”
As the season progressed, Gray continued to find his stride. A four-game average of nearly 19 points following the Wittenberg game brought Gray closer to his goal.
Heading into the Feb. 7 matchup against DePauw University, Gray knew he was close to his mark. A few days prior, a teammate had told him he was around 40 points from the threshold.
The Yeomen dropped a tough contest in overtime, 75–66, but Gray’s phone was blowing up after the contest.
“My sister called me three times,” Gray said. “She’s at work; I’m thinking this is an emergency. She’s an ER nurse. I’m like, ‘What’s going on?’ Then I get spam texts from my family congratulating me on 1,000 [points].”
Gray, along with the rest of his teammates, coaches, and training staff found out he crossed into the 1,000-point club after the game.
Moments later, Gray sought out Gordon and the two shared a big hug. Gordon then told Gray she wanted to buy the game ball for him.
“I was like, ‘Dude, you don’t need to buy the [ball]. I don’t need a game ball,’” Gray recalled.
Gordon then walked up to a DePauw athletic administrator to let them know of Gray’s accomplishment and asked to purchase the ball.
“I’m sitting there, like, ‘Do not buy the game ball for me,’” Gray said jokingly. “Those balls are so expensive.”
Shortly after, DePauw’s Head Coach threw the ball at Gray, free of charge. In lieu of purchasing the game ball, Gordon supplied the team with a celebratory cookie cake the following day.
With 4:29 remaining in the second half against DePauw, Gray sank a layup to become the 28th player in the history of the men’s basketball program to eclipse the 1,000-point mark.
“It was really cool,” Head Men’s Basketball Coach Shiva Senthil wrote to the Review. “One of my favorite parts of coaching at this level is you get to see kids develop from when they are juniors and seniors in high school into grown men. … Coaching JJ and seeing his maturation as a person and player has been one of the joys of my coaching career.”
A 2025 Second-Team All-Conference pick, 2024 Newcomer of the Year, and Region 7 Co-Rookie of the Year, JJ Gray has etched his name even deeper into the Oberlin history books with this milestone.
In a year marred by injuries, Gray showcased remarkable resilience. It is a reflection of the consistency he has continued to showcase on the court in his three seasons.
In the midst of becoming opposing defenses’ focal point, Gray’s scoring average has never dipped below 14.8 points per game.
“JJ has been paramount to our success here,” Senthil wrote. “Since JJ has gotten here, we have yet to have a losing season. This not only speaks to his on-court ability, but his ability as a leader. He is an incredible hard worker, someone who is fully bought into the culture and someone [who] truly cares about the success of the program.”
Even after his career scoring broke into four digits and despite accumulating numerous accolades along the way, Gray still remembers his first basket.
In his first career game, Gray knocked down his first shot against Adrian College, a 15-footer from the right elbow.
“I was driving right, spun back inside and sidestepped to the middle,” Gray recalled.
From his first career basket to his 376th career basket, Gray’s consistency and motivation never faltered.
“Nothing worthwhile is linear,” Gray said. “That made the [1,000] points that much sweeter.”
