HAZELWOOD: Gray's humor matched his intensity, which led to results

No matter the subject, the conversation always contained a lesson. Steve Gray never quit coaching. Reflecting on the tenure of the boys' basketball coach for the last 21 years at Norwalk, that's what stands out most. Gray announced his retirement from coaching on March 22 — eight years to the day the Truckers won the Division II state championship in 2014. Of course, to say he never quit coaching isn't meant just as a basketball statement. Over the years, I sometimes found myself on the receiving end of Gray's well-known banter. And as I look back, a lesson was included. In January 2012, heading to a Truckers' home game against Port Clinton, I was caught in a pop-up snowstorm coming back from Sandusky. I walked into the gym right at the opening tip. After quickly taking my seat at the scorer's table, Gray barked my name so loudly, away from the action on the floor, that even one of the officials — and, of course, everyone sitting at the table — stopped and looked over. He simply pointed at his wrist to an imaginary watch. I was late — and had been caught. Be on time. Or last season, during a brief stoppage in play in a home game against Perkins, sitting about five feet behind the Norwalk bench, I was reading something on my phone. I looked up just in time to see a half-full bottle of water thrown my way. Fortunately, I caught the toss. As Gray likes to point out, at least he had the decency to tighten the cap first. But the coach glanced my way and caught me not watching the game. Always pay attention. Oftentimes I'm asked why I sit on the bleachers at NHS home games. Even with room at the scorer's table, I take my seat a row or two behind the home bench. And every game, Gray would walk over just before the game started to tell me something related to the game. And yes, usually sarcasm was involved. Sometimes, his chat would be a random observation about an opponent from a game I had recently staffed. But usually and, humorous or not, he included a tip of information. Even said in humor, it went back to always being prepared. Stand-up comedyOver the years, Gray's humor during games is what eventually made him personable for many fans. When the Truckers first took off as a team during the amazing four-year run from 2011-14, Gray often did post-game radio interviews with former WLKR sports director Scott Truxell. Waiting my turn nearby for an interview, Gray always made sure to offer a parting shot on the airwaves. "I have to go talk to Mr. Hazelwood … I don't know why, he never writes what I say, anyway." With that, he'd walk over, leaving to Truxell the task of explaining to radio listeners that the remark was a joke — and me shaking my head. On a recent trip to Clyde, assistant coach Nick Lee didn't have a pen. Gray simply took mine from my hand and handed the pen to Lee, quipping, "he doesn't need it, he doesn't write anything down right." Gray's wife, Sue, once arrived late to a game in Huron, a week before Christmas. Her husband was well aware she'd been shopping. As play continued, he asked her how much money she'd spent, since she arrived so late. Sue shooed him away back to the action on the floor. The game stopped and he came right back. "No really, how much did you spend?" Another one of his favorites was to revel in conversation on nights where my deadline was pushing it. This past season at a Norwalk girls' game, a Perkins player had been fouled, down a point, with no time on the clock. Sitting nearby, Gray calmly predicted the player would make the first shot, but miss the second, thus forcing overtime — and creating a headache for deadline writing. When that exact scenario played out, Gray simply smiled, stood up and walked away. And of course, he took great delight in the famous six-overtime district semifinal boys' game between Margaretta and Huron played at NHS in 2018. Worth noting is that at the end of the fourth overtime, Sue didn't believe him when he called to explain why he was going to be much later returning home. I had to verify over the phone that it was indeed the case. During the 2018 football season, my co-worker, Erin Caldwell, arrived at NHS to take a photo of Brandon Haraway. The photo was intended to be a dual football-basketball illustration. When I asked her about the shoot, Erin said it had gone well — although Brandon had been "photo-bombed" in the background by his basketball coach throughout the process. The humor was always an interesting contrast to Gray's coaching style, however. When floor action got intense, so did Gray. He was loud, he got in the face of his players, and he'd let the best of the seven 1,000-point scorers he coached — among others — really have it, loud and clear. More than a few times his intensity was taken the wrong way, leading to some acrimony, public outcry and battles. But what also stood out during those times was that Gray never changed. He always kept coaching the same way, through every up or down moment. And that's not as common as one might think in those situations. More than laughsAll joking aside though, a handful of other stories are worth sharing. The coaching style that was often hard on players? I cannot count how many times Gray called me on his drive home from NHS — after we had just spoken 30-plus minutes earlier. And the conversation would usually go like this: "I was really hard on him, please say this about him — I forgot to say something earlier." When Jacob McKenzie suffered a serious neck injury in the summer of 2008, great concern and support were shown by many. After McKenzie had neck surgery, just one Norwalk coach was on hand to be with him: Steve Gray. During my episode of serious stomach surgery nearly three years ago, Gray was the first from NHS to reach out. Of course, he also needled me and said there were better options if I really needed a week off. Junior basketball player Braedyn Demuth finished his last cancer treatment in Akron in December. Gray was all-in on recognizing Braedyn's special moment in public. Gray called me twice beforehand, making sure the event was covered on my end. When the Truckers hosted unbeaten and state-ranked Western Reserve on Feb. 12, it was by far the biggest crowd of the season — with a lot of leftover trash in the bleachers on both sides. Long after I left the gym, both Steve and Sue were helping the NHS maintenance staff clean up the trash. While I would love to tell you that's the common, decent thing to do in that situation — the truth is, it's not. After that evening, I sensed Gray's retirement announcement might be coming. I said nothing about it, but from that point forward, I made sure I didn't miss another NHS game. The easy decision on March 4 would be to stay here in Norwalk and watch two successful area teams, Western Reserve and Willard, play in a district semifinal. Instead, I shifted some arrangements so I could be in Ashland for the Truckers' district semifinal game vs. Huron — just in case that was the end for Steve Gray. After the loss and season's end, Gray said he planned to attend the state championships (March 18-20) in Dayton and consider his future after a relaxing weekend with friends. When his name came up on my phone the morning after the championships on March 21, I instinctively knew. It was the end of an era. In closing, just one "favorite story" about Steve Gray is too hard to name. However, one from that magical March 2014 run is at the top. In the foyer at Norwalk High, Gray stood to my left as we watched the state send-off with the faculty and student body. As his players walked past us behind the marching band in the hallways, Gray turned to me and asked, 'Can I tell you something?' Well-trained at that point to expect a sarcastic comment, I played along and said yes. He leaned over, away from the noise, and stated, "we're going to win tomorrow." Taken aback, I said, "yeah?" — to which Gray doubled down, nodding, "I'll be shocked if we don't win." With that, he walked away toward his team. I stood there stunned for a moment, digesting his version of a private Joe Namath guarantee. That night, all the way to Columbus, I speculated about what he knew or had picked up on. The prediction was very out of character for Gray — especially since this was the biggest game to that point in both Norwalk history and his coaching career. As we know, the Truckers surged past Dayton Thurgood Marshall midway through the second half in a 72-64 win in the state semifinals. Two days later, NHS led from start to finish in a 65-58 win over defending champion Columbus Bishop Watterson to claim the state title. What sparked his startling prediction? In the years since, he has said he knew Marshall would full-court press the Truckers — and he had two All-Ohio players who he knew would easily break it. To me, it was more than that. He was a coach who, at the start of that season, was uncomfortable giving up full control of the offense to his players — to let a talented team play freely. Instead, by making the hardest decision of his coaching career, Gray got comfortable enough to believe his Norwalk kids were capable of beating teams from Lima, Dayton and Columbus. In backing off somewhat, he and his coaching staff had instilled a level of confidence and belief that led the Truckers to either tie or lead in all but six of the 64 minutes at state. That same confidence was also why Norwalk returned to the regional tournament, won four straight sectional titles, and advanced to three consecutive district title games for the first time in program history between 2019 and 2022. The end result was also one of the greatest coaching tenures in the history of Norwalk athletics. All because Steve Gray never stopped coaching.