THE RAY FAMILY IS A DYNASTY AT TERRY HIGH SCHOOL.
Senior guard Gerry Ray is the last Ray to put on the red and black of the Rangers.
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Gerry’s father, Ricky Jr., and mother, Tammy, graduated from Terry. Ricky Jr. was a football star for the Rangers.
Gerry’s older brothers, Ricky III (Class of 2018) and Cody (Class of 2021), hooped for the Rangers. All, like Gerry, were point guards. His older sisters, Brittany Clayborn, Breasia Clayborn and Patra Ray, all played basketball for Terry, and graduated before Ricky III in 2018.
“Now it’s just me,” Gerry said. “My older brothers always wanted me to be the dog in the family; they expected more from me since I’d seen them play. They wanted me to be better than they were and just have fun with it.”
Growing up, Gerry said it was tough competing against his older siblings. They’d play basketball in the street, where he’d oftentimes leave games with more scrapes and bruises than buckets scored.
“I couldn’t beat them even if I tried,” he said. “I used to play up in AAU, playing with my brothers’ teams. I never played or practiced with my age group. It was always against older players. When I did play my regular age group, the game came easy to me.”
Gerry is ready to put a strong finishing touch on the Ray legacy at Terry.
He is a four-year varsity letterman. Gerry was a 24-5A all-district first-team selection last year, averaging a team-high 17.2 points per game and a district-high four steals per game, while shooting 36 percent on 3s.
“It feels good to be the last, and I want to end it off good,” Gerry said. “I don’t want to have regrets. I want to get it done this year.”
One of the things Gerry wants to get done is making the playoffs. The Rangers have not made the postseason since they made the Regional Quarterfinals in Ricky III's senior year.
“My coach tells me if I want to do that, I need to push that one more step,” Gerry said. “Looking back, I haven’t been doing that. That’s something I want to do this year. Give that extra effort, take that extra step. Be that leader I haven’t been. “I’m going to enjoy every moment and enjoy doing the little things.”