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Former UConn forward Rudy Gay to play in Jim Calhoun charity game, receive Role Model award

Rudy Gay

Rudy Gay will be among the former Connecticut players in town for Jim Calhoun’s charity game this upcoming week, but he will also be getting another honor, according to Dom Amore of the Hartford Courant.

Gay is set to receive the Middlesex County Chamber of Commerce’s “Role Model of the Year” award for his work in the community.

Among the work he has done in the Memphis area and across the country is a Christmas toy drive for children from single-parent households, a fundraiser for the Stax Music Academy, and a literacy awareness campaign.

He starred for two seasons at Connecticut from 2004-06, averaging 13.6 points per game and 5.9 rebounds. The 6-9 native of Baltimore, Md., went on to be drafted 8th overall by the Houston Rockets, but was traded to the Memphis Grizzlies, where he has spent the duration of his career to this point.

Gay competed with the United States at the 2010 FIBA World Championship, a team that won gold for the US for the first time since 1994.

Calhoun’s charity game, which Gay will take part in this year, has been an annual hit, featuring past Connecticut stars, including Ray Allen, Emeka Okafor, Ben Gordon, Caron Butler, and Richard Hamilton.

This year’s game will take place Saturday, August 4, at 7:30 PM.

Daniel Martin is a writer and editor at JohnnyJungle.com, covering St. John’s. You can find him on Twitter:@DanielJMartin_