{"id":151500,"date":"2019-02-21T08:30:30","date_gmt":"2019-02-21T13:30:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nothingbutnylon.com\/?p=151500"},"modified":"2021-10-13T16:54:27","modified_gmt":"2021-10-13T20:54:27","slug":"ronnie-degray-iii-uses-past-to-prepare-for-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nothingbutnylon.com\/ronnie-degray-iii-uses-past-to-prepare-for-future\/","title":{"rendered":"Ronnie DeGray III Uses Family Past to Prepare for Future"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
When Ronnie DeGray III lived in Finland at age 2, it was because of basketball.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When he moved in Hungary at 3, it was because of basketball.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When he packed up for Spain at 4, it was because of\nbasketball.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When he circled back to Finland at 5, it was because of\nbasketball.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And when he said goodbye to his home in Parker, Colorado,\nfor Woodstock, Connecticut, at 17, it was because of basketball. But this time,\nit was for himself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sparking a Passion<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
His father, Ronnie DeGray Jr., played collegiately at\nColorado from 1996-1998 before a six-year professional career that took him to\nBosnia & Herzegovina, Taiwan, Finland, Hungary, Spain and Finland again. During\nthe season, along with him came his son, and in Finland he was introduced to\nthe hardwood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHe was around the age of 2,\u201d said DeGray Jr. \u201cIt was him seeing me play professionally overseas and him wanting to come on the court.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
That was 2002. Now fast forward to 2018, and Ronnie DeGray III is no longer the toddler wandering around the floor aimlessly lugging a ball twice the size of his head. The class of 2019 small forward is entertaining offers from a collection of schools, including Montana, UTSA, South Dakota, Cal Poly and Denver, while finishing his high school career at Woodstock Academy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
DeGray III moved more than 1,700 miles away from home to\ntransfer from Chaparral High School in Parker, all for a better shot at playing\nmajor college basketball like his father and other members of his family. His\nuncle, Reggie DeGray, played at Louisiana Lafayette from 1998-2001, and his\nolder two sisters, Ronjanae and Raeyana, are seniors on Arkansas Little-Rock\u2019s\nteam.<\/p>\n\n\n\nRonnie DeGray III attempts a jumper for his new team, Woodstock Academy. The senior transferred to the Connecticut high school early this school year from his home in Parker, Colorado. Photo courtesy of Henry Nguyen.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
For many teenagers, going away to college is their first\ntime parting from the familiar confines. DeGray III elected to take the plunge\na year early, but spending some of his youngest years across the pond removed\nthe stigma of leaving home. He has experienced the obstacles of being somewhere\nnew.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMaking friends as a young child (was difficult),\u201d DeGray III explained. \u201cSome kids didn\u2019t speak English yet or they weren\u2019t really learning it. I didn\u2019t have a lot of friends.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
DeGray III had to learn independence, but he also saw what\nlife and people outside of America can be like, a lesson many Americans, let\nalone children, aren\u2019t afforded. The effects of what he learned in his\nchildhood are still felt now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI feel it does help understanding different cultures, not judging other people for not being American and how different their culture is to ours,\u201d he said. \u201cI feel that still comes into play today, especially with where I go to school in Woodstock. We have lots of people from Vietnam, China, Thailand, Italy, all over. You get to know different things about them.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
DeGray Jr. said it was also valuable for his son to see some\nof the advantages allowed in American life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMe playing in countries where your hot water is only on for certain amounts of time during the day, you can\u2019t have your lights on 24\/7, just the basic things in life that we take for granted here in America are so appreciated overseas,\u201d DeGray Jr. said. \u201cBeing able to see that at such a young age, I think it was a humbling experience for him. He\u2019s a very laid-back type of kid, very reserved. He appreciates the little things in life that he saw other people didn\u2019t have.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
Following the DeGray Footsteps<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
From his time outside of America, DeGray III also watched how hard his father worked on his basketball career, something that inspired him to continue that as he grew up. When DeGray Jr. was finishing up high school, he wasn\u2019t satisfied with his college offers. Rather than settle, he went to the junior college route, improved his game, became a power-conference player at Colorado<\/a> and propelled himself into a professional career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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