The story behind Josh Gray and his plastic horse mask

Josh Gray’s eyes lit up when the question came up. The South Carolina center has seemingly waited all day to be asked about it.

“What’s up with the horse head?”

And the answer is something he’s been preparing for since those photos started to surface. 

“Media hasn’t asked me about that at all,” he said, smiling. “I call myself the horse. This started my first year here with Frank Martin but it really elevated last year with people calling me the horse when I had a bunch of big rebounding games.”

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The nickname kicked in during his first year with the Gamecocks after transferring over from LSU. A big-bodied center known for rebounding, then coach Frank Martin began calling him the horse. 

It stuck and Gray ran with it. 

There’s a photo of him at a Five Points restaurant eating a burger while wearing a plastic horse mask. There’s another photo from the team’s media day with Gray wearing the same mask while resting his head on a basketball. 

That’s not to mention the video Gray put out on his Instagram with the thumbnail being his head photoshopped onto a horse. 

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“Horse not in the literal sense. But I’m just a strong, physical dude that can get rebounds,” he said. “It’s just a strong physical presence. That’s just me.” 

And the name is largely apt. 

Gray is coming off one of the better rebounding seasons in the country last year. He averaged 7.9 rebounds in SEC play last year, 3.4 on the offensive glass. 

The 7-footer ranked third nationally in offensive rebound rate (18) and No. 25 in defensive rebound rate (26.3) last season. His block rate (5.5) was good for No. 121 nationally. 

In just SEC games, Gray ranked as the best rebounder in terms of offensive (18.8) and defensive (27.3) rebound rate and was eighth-best in the league in block rate (4.1).

And he’ll try and be a key piece for a South Carolina frontcourt that needs to improve after a very inconsistent 2022-23. 

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“I couldn’t stay in the same place I was,” he said. “Even if I did ascend in a certain way last year I feel like there’s always room for more improvement.” 

He’s added 10 pounds of muscle–listed now at 7-foot, 265 pounds–and will play with a group of forwards who he’s excited about. None more so than freshman Collin Murray-Boyles. 

“Having someone like Boyles is going to help a lot. I call him Boyles. He doesn’t like that, but that’s why I like that. He can play either the four or the five. I would prefer the four so I can play with him. If he’s at the four and I’m at the five, I feel like it’s going to be really tough on teams,” Gray said. 

“If they’re on defense it’s going to be really hard. He’s physical. I’m physical. Then offensively he can pop and I can roll. It’s going to be really tough for people to crack down on me if you got a guy like that in the corner. I feel like our frontcourt is way better than last year.” 

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Gray is one of the few holdovers since Lamont Paris took over. The only other player who was on the 2021 roster with Gray is Jacobi Wright, who will also vie for key minutes next season. 

The rest of the roster came in over the last two seasons with seven new scholarship additions this offseason.

Murray-Boyles comes in as part of a three-man freshman class including Arden Conyers and Morris Ugusuk. BJ Mack, Myles Stute, Stephen Clark and Ta’Lon Cooper all arrive via the transfer portal. 

With so many new faces South Carolina has to find a way to click early. That started over the summer with a foreign trip to the Bahamas and is continuing now. 

“Oh, it’s been terrible,” Gray said, joking. “Honestly, I’m a very closed-off person generally. Me and Jacobi are kind of close cause I’ve had to deal with him for three years. This year? It’s been eye-opening. The Bahamas trip, I got to know and bond with the new teammates and the new freshman and transfers. They’ve been welcomed with open arms. The transition hasn’t been that bad seeing those new faces.” 

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