DJ Gay bids farewell to San Diego

The SDSU legend and La Jolla Country Day head boys basketball coach was hired by Windward to run its boys program.

DJ Gay, the standout SDSU point guard who led La Jolla Country Day to a Division 1 Championship game appearance in his second season, is headed to Los Angeles.

Private school power Windward announced it had hired Gay, who was the starting point guard on the Aztecs Sweet 16 team in 2011, as head coach of its boys program. Gay replaces Colin Pfaff, who was hired by San Jose Valley Christian.

For Gay, it’s a homecoming of sorts, as he graduated from Sun Valley Poly High before coming to SDSU in 2007.

Gay honed a reputation as one of San Diego’s best young basketball luminaries, first as a trainer under Jordan Lawley and then as a youth basketball coach with the San Diego Bulldogs and California Select basketball programs.

In 2017 he was hired as head coach of Victory Christian, where he won 3 Citrus League titles before being hired at La Jolla Country Day, where he replaced Ryan Meier.

Gay was 32-21 in two seasons with the Torreys, which lost to Carlsbad in the CIF D1 finals.

Gay released this statement bidding farewell to San Diego exclusively to FTH:

Since 2007, San Diego has been my home. From a former player at SDSU to a coach the city has embraced me as their own. When I finished my professional playing career, I saw a need in the youth basketball community in San Diego. For the last 9 years, I have dedicated myself to using the game of basketball to teach kids, not just the basic fundamentals of the game, but using the game to teach life lessons and how to face adversity. I want to thank every family that I have crossed paths with for trusting me and allowing me the opportunity to be a part of their child’s village.

I want to give a special thank you to the La Jolla Country Day School for giving me the opportunity to coach at such a special place. To the Athletic Director Jeff Hutzler, thank you for challenging me to become better in all ways on and off the court. While walking away from some special people and an amazing group of kids at LJCDS is tough, I hope that I have had a positive impact on you all as you have had on me.

Thank you to the Boys and Girls Club of San Dieguito for the opportunity to build and run the San Diego Bulldogs, who have given me the chance to coach thousands of kids within the community. I always wanted to build an everlasting program that provided kids a safe environment to learn the game of basketball, build long lasting relationships and most importantly, life lessons that will last forever. My hope is that the program continues to flourish and have a positive impact on the community.

While the list of people to thank is endless, it all comes back to the city and community that has given me these chances.

Born and raised in Los Angeles, I came to San Diego to find out who I truly was and to develop into the person and coach I am today. Now I have the opportunity to come home to LA, bringing all of the knowledge, experiences and growth that I have enhanced since leaving as an 18 year old.

I am honored to have been selected as the next Boys Basketball Program Lead at Windward. Opportunities like this do not happen often. Thank you to the entire Windward community for allowing me this opportunity. All I know is hard work and consistency.  That is what I will continue to bring as I start this new chapter.

Go Cats!