http://www.norwichbulletin.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060629/SPORTS/606290335/1006 Whirlwind draft for Gay UConn star traded to Memphis; Armstrong goes to New Orleans By ARTHUR SHERMAN Norwich Bulletin NEW YORK -- Nearly 45 minutes into this year's NBA Draft, the ESPN cameras turned their attention to Rudy Gay. One of 15 players invited by the league to attended Wednesday's event, the UConn sophomore looked anxious sitting at the table flanked by his family. Already six picks in, Gay was still without a team despite being projected as a possible No. 1 overall pick by some experts and a top three choice by many others. Following the third video display shot of him and hearing the commentators critique his game for all in The Theater at Madison Square Garden and watching on TV to hear, Gay finally flashed a smile after a steady dose of perplexed facial expressions. But his moment would be delayed a little longer, until finally, at 8:22 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, commissioner David Stern called Gay's name with the eighth overall pick belonging to the Houston Rockets. "I think I can speak for everybody when I say, 'When you're sitting at that table, all you want to do is hear your name called,'" said Gay, who was later officially traded to the Memphis Grizzlies, in a dealing of picks reported prior to Houston's selection. "My heart dropped right when they said my name. It's a good feeling no matter where it is." Unlike the previous seven selections, Gay seemed to move through the celebration quicker. He found a direct path to the stage's steps. Gay then unveiled a big smile while posing for pictures as he shook Sterns' hand. A similar level of emotion was shown by UConn teammate Hilton Armstrong. Also one of the players invited by the NBA, Armstrong may have been the first person out of their seat -- his light green shirt and suspenders helped him stand out -- when Gay was selected. "He's like one of my brothers," said Armstrong, a senior, who went 12th overall to the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets. "I've been with him for two years and every day, you see him every day. Even over the summer we keep in contact. To see him get drafted just made me feel good." Although trading up from No. 24 cost the Grizzlies Shane Battier -- Stromile Swift was also shipped from Houston -- they might have gotten one of the draft's steals. An athletic forward at 6-foot-9 with a wingspan better than 7 feet, Gay could translate well to the pro level after two successful seasons in Storrs. He averaged a team-best 15.2 points as a sophomore to go with 4.4 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game. A Second Team AP All-America this past season, he was the Big East rookie of the year in 2004-05. The next step is to prove those seven teams who passed him up wrong. "I was just thinking, hopefully I end up in the right place," Gay said shortly after being selected. "And Houston seems like a place that could be a good fit for me and also Memphis. I'm pretty happy with the pick. Although, competitively, I am kind of mad that I slipped." Reach Arthur Sherman at 425-4250 or asherman@norwichbulletin.com
http://www.courant.com/sports/baske...,0,2656203.story?coll=hc-headlines-basketball Rocket Pick Lands In Memphis June 29, 2006 By DESMOND CONNER, Courant Staff Writer NEW YORK - Who would have thought that on draft day Rudy Gay would be thinking the way Caron Butler was when the Miami Heat took him with the 10th pick in 2002? As Gay walked into the media room to address reporters, it was obvious he had something to say. He shook a reporter's hand and whispered: "I'm going to make every one of the teams pay that passed on me." Butler definitely did it. He signed a $50 million contract with the Washington Wizards this year after being traded twice. The Houston Rockets, already strong at small forward with All-Star Tracy McGrady, took Gay with the eighth pick. But a deal was already in the works to trade him to Memphis for Shane Battier, and Gay, wearing a Rockets cap, heard it as he was going to shake the hand of NBA commissioner David Stern. The Houston Chronicle and Memphis Commercial Appeal reported on their websites that Gay and forward Stromile Swift were sent to Memphis for Battier. The trade was not announced Wednesday. The teams that can expect to see a little more pop in Gay's step this season are the ones he worked out for - Toronto, Chicago, Charlotte, Portland and Minnesota, which picked first, second, third, fourth and sixth, respectively. Gay couldn't see Houston or Memphis from a mile away. "I didn't work out with them at all," Gay said of the Grizzlies. "I guess they saw something the other seven teams didn't see." Gay, sitting with his mother and father Rae and Rudy Sr., his grandmother Mel Austin, his girlfriend Ecko Wray and his agent Lance Young of Octagon, shook his head from the Charlotte pick, Adam Morrison, on down. ESPN had him miked up, and you could hear him saying "Oh, no. Oh, no," while holding his head down. "I was just thinking, hopefully I end up in the right place for me," Gay said. "And Houston seems like a place that could be good for me and also Memphis. I'm pretty happy with the pick although competitively I am kind of mad that I slipped." For much of the past few weeks, it almost seemed a lock that Gay would be heading to Charlotte to play with Emeka Okafor and for Michael Jordan, a part owner. The slide will cost the 6-foot-9 Gay a few bucks. As the No. 8 pick, he'll make $1.8 million this season, a little over $2 million next season and $2.1 million in his third year. If Gay would have gone to Charlotte, he would have made a little over $3 million, then $3.2 million and $3.5 million. Gay tried to put his best face on the night's events but clearly he was disappointed, particularly since the reports he and his agent got were that his workouts were very good.
