Gray-Martin set to hoop it up in Alabama
There will be things Zoey GrayMartin will have to get used to in college...like wearing blue and white.
The LFO senior will donning some unfamiliar colors on the court next season, but the change in hue will be required as the former Lady Warrior signed papers last week to become a Lady Warhawk at Calhoun Community College in Alabama.
“It’s going to be strange making that transition from red and white to blue and white, but it’s something I’ll have to get used to,” she laughed. “It feels good though. I’m just trying to get to that next next level. I’m going to be at that college juco level, but I want to go Division I or Division II after that because I know I have that type of potential.”
Calhoun Community College, located in Decatur, plays in the 21-member strong Alabama Community College Conference, which belongs to the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA).
A total of 14 schools played women’s basketball during the 2023-24 season. The Lady Warhawks finished 17-13 overall and 8-6 in Division I, which also includes Shelton State, Wallace State-Hanceville, Bishop State, Lawson State, Coastal Alabama- South, Southern Union State and Gadsden State.
Calhoun made it to the NJCAA South District Semifinals before falling in overtime to Shelton State (28-5), who advanced to the second round of NJCAA Nationals.
“We’ve played with a lot of guards in the past, but this year I felt like we needed a presence inside and Zoey came into the season ready to go,” LFO head coach Dewayne Watkins told the crowd at the signingceremony. “She started before the season by getting herself in good shape and she was definitely on the other teams’ scouting reports. Every team that we played, they knew about her. A couple of teams tried to double-team her and when they did, we worked them over. Then when they didn’t double team her, she worked them over.
“Starting as a freshman, she gradually worked her way up through the program to this year and became someone that every other team knew they were going to have to stop or they were going to have problems.”
The 6-foot post averaged 5.4 points per game in a mostly guard-oriented offense this past season and collected over five rebounds a game over the past three seasons. In that span, she was a part of three regular season region championship teams, two 6-AAA tournament championship teams and played in three state playoffs with one Elite Eight appearance.
“It just was very comfortable when I went there (to visit),” she said. “I also like the area. It seemed really homey. It’s near Huntsville and Alabama A&M, so it’s a really good community and the coach was very nice. She made me feel like I was at home. She made me feel comfortable and made me feel like I wanted to play there.”
“Her grades are a key part,” Watkins said. “I was sending out information to the colleges and I can’t remember the exact number of how many (schools) were recruiting her, but it was over 20 and it might have been closer to 40. Then they saw her film and said ‘absolutely’. That’s a testament to her hard work.
“(Signing Day) is just the beginning. She has a big upside. Once she leaves Calhoun, I expect her to be one of those that goes on to play Division II or possibly even Division I, depending on what type of work she puts in from here.”
“It’s going to take me working hard and getting in shape, working on shooting the three-ball and just continuing to get better in the classroom,” she said about her basketball future, adding that she plans to studying nursing in order to one day become a labor and delivery nurse.