It follows his appointment last week, revealed on insidethegames, as the chairman of British Swimming in the build-up to London 2012.

 

The Scot, one of the most influential administrators in British sport, although few have heard of him, plans to leave his role in December to concentrate on his new role.

 

He said: "I applied for it [the job with swimming] because it has always been one of my ambitions to be chair of a major British governing body – not many Scots have done that over the years."

 

A process is already underway to find a replacement for Gray.

 

BPB was set-up by National Lottery distributor UK Sport to try to ensure that Britain's men and women basketball teams reached the required standard to qualify for the 2012 Olympics.

 

Gray feels, quite rightly, he can take some pride in the fact that the men's team, which included Chicago Bulls superstar Luol Deng (pictured), have qualified for the 2009 European Championships in Poland, the first time they have reached that stage since 1981.

 

He said: "Working with basketball has been one of the best experiences of my life.

 

"It was a case of being given a clean sheet of paper and told to create something new.

 

"We had funding but we had to assemble a group of players from scratch.

 

"What the men achieved in two years was beyond our wildest dreams; and the women might not be too far behind."

 

UK Sport will choose a new chairman in close co-operation with British Basketball Federation (BBF).

 

The eventual aim is for BPB is to become part of the BBF sometime next year.