The Huskies were coming off the 2004 National Championship and there was some turnover with Emeka Okafor, Ben Gordon and Talik Brown gone.Gay fit right in with Denham Brown, Josh Boone, Rashad Anderson, Hilton Armstrong, Charlie Villanueva and Marcus Williams.His debut November 20th of 2004 in a win over Buffalo as Rudy scored 8 points in his debut.
The recruiting battle also a bit of a story that gained attention.It came down to UConn & Maryland.the story is interesting as it came down to UConn based on a potential "barnstorming game" with Gay's AAU Buddies, The Beltway Ballers and a check.It was a factor in changing "exhibitions" to Division II and III Teams only. But in his senior season, his 21ppg, 9rpg, 4 blocks per game earned him the Baltimore Sun Co-Player of the Year in 2003-04.Along with McDonald's and Parade All American Honors. Playing on a successful Cecil-Kirk AAU Team at 14 and leading his Eastern Technical HS Team to the state semi's in College Park during his sophomore year.He transferred to Archbishop Spalding for his final two years of HS ball in what was a bit of a controversial move. But it didn't take long for his game to develop. But while there, he played a role in keeping the Huskies atop the Big East and contending for NCAA Championships.Rudy grew up in Baltimore watching his dad perform as the lead singer for the R&B group Ace Spectrum and was the band director for the Stylistics.In fact Rudy didn't start playing basketball until he was 12. Rudy Gay's stay was brief on the UConn Campus in the Mid 2000's.