MGCCC’S Justin Ray signs with Texas Southern

MGCCC men’s basketball coach Wendell Weathers (left) and Justin Ray.

(from left to right): Warren Ray, Justin Ray, and Ju’Kaylen Ray as Justin signs with Texas Southern University.

Next season SWAC basketball fans will get to see firsthand the talents of Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College sophomore point guard Justin Ray. The 5’9” Gulfport native signed a basketball scholarship with Texas Southern University Thursday and hopes to see playing time as soon as he shows up on Campus near Houston.

“It was a long, hard process, but choosing Texas Southern means I can play immediately,” Ray said. “I’ve only got two more years left to play and I want to make the best of them.”

Justin Ray averaged 24 points per game in 2008-09.

Ray, a NJCAA Second-Team All-American, averaged 24 points per game (7th in the nation) in 2008-09 and helped lead the Bulldogs to their first Region 23 title and trip to the NJCAA National Tournament since 1993. During the 2009 Region 23 Tournament, he scored 85 points in three games as the Bulldogs defeated archrival Pearl River, Itawamba, and Holmes to win the title.

“The coaches at Texas Southern said they’ll give me the green light to shoot when I’m the floor,” Ray added. “But when I get there I’ll probably distribute the ball a lot until they figure out how they want me to play.”