Thomas Joseph “T. J.” Bray

J. Bray is the New Berlin point guard who skipped the scholarship power conferences for Princeton, then spent seven seasons in Europe before retiring at twenty-nine. Born in New Berlin on June 14, 1992, he grew up in the suburb and starred at Catholic Memorial in neighboring Waukesha. As a senior he averaged 17.9 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 6.6 assists, won Wisconsin Mr. Basketball in 2010, and posted a 20-12-5-6 line in the Division 2 state-title game.

Princeton beat out North Dakota and Florida Gulf Coast. He left as first-team All-Ivy with 374 career assists—third in program history since the school began counting them—and a still-standing 13-assist game against Penn State. He is the only Princeton player with three seasons of 100-plus assists since tracking began in 1974–75. Undrafted in 2014, he played in Italy, Belgium, Greece, Germany, and Spain. Bayern Munich put him in the EuroLeague; after missing the first three months of that season with a foot-tendon injury he made the 2019 All-Bundesliga First Team and led the German league in assists. Panathinaikos gave him a Greek League title and a Greek Cup in 2021.

Then he walked away for personal reasons, with reporting of a roughly $100,000 clause if he returned to play in Europe that season, and a public thank-you to his fiancée and the FaceTimes from home. The New Berlin claim is childhood and the Mr. Basketball year; Catholic Memorial supplied the high-school stage next door.