Originally published March 22, 2004 BALTIMORE SUN PLAYERS OF THE YEAR Rudy Gay Archbishop Spalding, senior Few players have burst onto the national stage in just one summer as the 6-foot-9 Gay did. Gay's showing at national camps resulted in his stock rising from a top-100 player to a top-10 player. He also received the prestige of being named a McDonald's All-American. An All-Metro pick as a junior, Gay grew two inches and put on 15 pounds in the offseason. He also fined-tuned his high flying act and signed with Connecticut before the start of the season. The result was a senior season in which the multi-talented forward with long arms and an exceptional wing span averaged 21.2 points, 9.2 rebounds and 3.9 blocks. Gay played above the rim, but he also can launch three-pointers from NBA distance or hit short jumpers off his variety of spin moves. Fans turned out in big numbers to see Gay put on a show and they rarely were disappointed. Gay won the Jerry Savage Player of the Year award for the Baltimore Catholic League regular season and led the No. 2 Cavaliers (29-8) to the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference tournament title over then-No. 1 Cardinal Gibbons, 64-45. In the MIAA final, Gay, who was named to the Alhambra all-tournament team, scored 29 points, 14 coming on seven spectacular dunks, grabbed 10 rebounds and had three steals in front of a record crowd at Gilman. Gay finished his two years at Spalding with 1,181 points, the third-highest total in school history. Including his first two years at Eastern Tech, Gay had 1,588 career points. His ability to block shots or make opponents alter them, coupled with having the quickness of a guard, led a Cavaliers defense that was 22-1 when holding teams under 60 points. Gay will play in the McDonald's All-American game March 31 in Oklahoma City, Okla., as well as the Jordan Capital Classic April 17 at Comcast Center.