Giveback for Gray fundraiser exceeds $13,000

The giveback was a great success. The Norwalk High School boys' and girls' basketball programs, along with the school's athletic boosters, hosted a "Giveback for Gray" memorial game to honor the late Steve Gray on Feb. 6 at NHS. The Truckers entertained Bellevue in a varsity doubleheader, with the boys taking on the Redmen first, followed by the girls in the second game. Gray, a revered figure at Norwalk and the all-time wins leader (312) in boys basketball, where he coached for 21 seasons from 2002 to 2022, died suddenly on Dec. 28, 2025, at the age of 69. Throughout the night, t-shirts were sold with Gray's likeness, and there were 50-50 raffles and bake sales by donation. All the proceeds went to the recently established Steve Gray Memorial Scholarship Fund. In between games, Norwalk High School athletic director Josh Schlotterer announced to the large crowd that more than $13,000 had already been raised for the fun. That included a $500 check from Bellevue High School, raised by its student council through a gift basket raffle. NHS teacher Nick Lee, a longtime assistant coach under Gray, also briefly shared a few words as Gray's wife, Sue, and daughters Elise, Kelsey, and Kailyn, and other family members listened near center court. "The first thing I think about is the banner up there (on the wall)," Lee said. "We were so excited when 1962 was finally joined by 2011 … 49 years wiped away. Then it just kept going, and the numbers kept going up on the banners, and the state championship — all that stuff was great." Lee noted that Gray stood for a lot more than his nearly 500 coaching victories, which included 312 at Norwalk and the state championship in 2014. "He was a better person than a coach. He talked about accountability, and I know there are a few players up there who were joking earlier that they didn't always like it, but I know they appreciate it now," Lee said. "We were setting them up for life, and with this scholarship money, that is setting kids up for life, too. That's what coaching and education are all about." After announcing the impressive total money raised, Schlotterer then surprised the family by revealing the basketball gym at NHS will be renamed "Gray's Garage" in his honor. Current NHS boys head coach Adam Kreischer played for Gray at Lexington, and his coach brought him to Norwalk in the fall of 2001 as an assistant on his first coaching staff. He took over as the head coach for Gray following his retirement in 2022. "It was great to be able to honor Coach Gray tonight," Kreischer said. "I'm so excited that his legacy will live on here in this gym. It's obviously a shame he didn't get to see it, but it's great that when people come to Norwalk, or whether it's talked about on the radio or said in passing or a story, people are forever coming to Gray's Garage." Bellevue boys head coach Ed Rich is in his 11th season at the school. He went head-to-head against Gray's Norwalk teams for seven years, which also included a tournament matchup. While admitting his teams were a tough matchup, Rich fondly recalled his interactions with Gray following his team's 74-32 win on Friday. "Every time we would play, and I would call out one of his plays, he would look over lovingly and say, 'You SOB,'" Rich said. "And I just loved it, and that's the kind of guy he was. As the years went on, I really started shaping my program according to his. "We always envied how Norwalk played defense. No matter how many points they scored, they always got after it on defense. It was great having him around to bounce things off him. But just a lot of good memories with Steve." Current NHS girls head coach Kyle Brubaker also spent five years on Gray's staff from 2018 to 2022. "It meant a lot to be able to do this," Brubaker said. "When I started coaching under Steve, I did not know him whatsoever. I was recommended to him, and we had one phone call, and the next thing I know, I'm his freshman coach for five years. "And in these last two years as the head girls coach, we kept those coaching conversations going. To honor him tonight in the way that it was done is bigger than basketball." When Norwalk visited Bellevue — the defending Division IV state champions — on Jan. 2, Brubaker's team got roughed up in a 65-13 loss. With a packed house, the Truckers put up a much more competitive game Friday in a 46-33 loss to the Lady Red, who had defeated every other league opponent by an average of 42 points. "I think our effort tonight is something he would have been proud of, which makes me extra proud of the girls as well," Brubaker said. An OHSBCA Hall of Famer, Gray led his teams to 481 wins in 34 seasons at four different schools but made his biggest impact on and off the court in Norwalk. Gray's teams went 312-188 in his 21 seasons at Norwalk. During that time, the Truckers won six league championships, 12 sectional championships, and three district titles to go with a regional title and the Division II state championship from a 29-1 season in 2014.