Gilchrist on Cavs summer team

[Mac]

Link Here

 

[ChicagoCavFan]

Gilchrist to Spend Summer With Cavs

By Eric Prisbell
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, June 30, 2005; Page E04

John Gilchrist celebrated his 21st birthday yesterday knowing he at least will have an opportunity to play in the NBA.

The former Maryland point guard, who went undrafted on Tuesday, has accepted an invitation to play with the Cleveland Cavaliers in their Las Vegas summer league, his agent, Joel Bell, said yesterday.




"I do not doubt that he is an NBA player, and a good NBA player," Bell said. "I believed that a month ago, and I believe that now."

Bell described Gilchrist, who spent draft night with his family in Virginia Beach, as having "good spirits," even though he was passed over for less heralded guards in the second round, including Duke's Daniel Ewing, Marquette's Travis Diener and high school senior Louis Williams.

"He's puzzled, and almost to the point where it's laughable" that he was not chosen, Bell said. "He has the attitude, 'Okay, this is crazy, let's go show them.' "

Gilchrist performed well enough in Chicago's pre-draft camp earlier this month to be selected among the first 10 picks in the second round, a source familiar with the NBA's discussions involving Gilchrist said Monday. But Gilchrist's off-court issues, including his poor relationship with Maryland Coach Gary Williams, severely hampered his status, the source said.

Had Gilchrist turned pro following his sophomore season, in which he was named MVP of the 2004 ACC tournament, he likely would have been chosen, perhaps even in the first round. But Gilchrist said last month that he did not regret returning to school for his junior year because he did not feel at the time he was ready for the grind of an 82-game NBA schedule. Gilchrist said he knew at the beginning of his junior year that he would leave school following the season.

At least five NBA teams called Bell during the draft expressing interest in inviting Gilchrist to their summer league. Bell said he spoke to Cavaliers Coach Mike Brown and General Manager Danny Ferry after the draft. Gilchrist, who will report to Cleveland on Sunday, accepted the Cavaliers' invitation, Bell said, because they showed the most interest and afforded the player the best chance to make an NBA regular season roster.

The Cavaliers are expected to purge much of their roster to create salary cap room that would allow them to sign high-caliber free agents to complement star LeBron James. They are expected to renounce the rights to guards Jeff McInnis and Dajuan Wagner, according to the Akron Beacon Journal, and they currently have only seven players under contract.

Last month, Gilchrist said he would be willing to initially play overseas if he were not drafted, saying that he still would be able to support his infant daughter and longtime girlfriend. But he expected to eventually have an NBA career that lasted many years.

Gilchrist acknowledged last month that NBA personnel asked him mostly about his relationship with Williams, not about his game.

"There is nothing they can really ask about my game," Gilchrist said at the time. "They know I can play. All they can really ask me about is Gary."

 

[ChicagoCavFan]

I was wondering - the Chicago paper talked about a kid they signed right away from Conference USA (forget the name) - I guess he was Player of the Year...a 6'5" kid. I was hoping we had some guys signed up. Good news.

 

[E-Light]

Eddie badsen?

 

[Glen Infante]

CBBI was hyping this kid up to me.

John Gilchrist

Birthdate: 6/29/84
NBA Position: Point Guard
College: Maryland
Class: Junior
Ht: 6-2
Wt: 201
Hometown: Newport News, VA
High School: Salem

NBA Comparison: Rod Strickland

Strengths: Gilchrist is a manchild at the point. His body is so physically strong and mature for a college player he sometimes simply over powers other guards. His intensity is so great at times it borders out of control, which gets him into trouble some times. He gets to the hole and finishes as well as any point guard in the country. Defensively he has the potential to be a Gary Payton like stopper. He has improved his shooting and can hit the open shot. Displayed amazing will power in the ACC tournament, leading Maryland to upset victories over Wake Forest and Duke, and in the process earned Tournament MVP.
Weaknesses: Attitude was the major question out of high school. For Gilchrist to become a complete point guard he needs to learn how to be a leader. As a leader he needs to get his teammates to play for him, and be encouraging when they aren't playing well. Too often his body language will make you want to puke. If a teammate drops a pass or doesn't catch one of his passes, he will visibly get down on his teammates when he really needs to channel his emotions in a positive way. Many NBA scouts love his potential for being a starter in the league but they all question his leadership and ability to become a positive influence on his teammates. If he can overcome his this mental aspect of the game the sky is the limit for this ball handling wizard. Not overly explosive, but that isn't a necessity at the point.

-Aran Smith 9/20/04

http://www.nbadraft.net/profiles/johngilchrist.asp

 

[ChicagoCavFan]

Eddie badsen?

I think that's it E.

Nice read Infante. Hopefully he checks his ego when camp starts (I can see it carrying over in the summer league, when he may be a man among boys).

I wonder what would happen if we get Sarunas as well - these two may kill each other.

 

[Glen Infante]

Yeah, put those two together with Marty's Millionare ego and we may have some issues... :chuckles:

I like what I've read so far about Gilchrist. He seems to not have any skilled weaknesses. He can defend, he can run plays, and he can score. What more can you ask?

Hopefully if he does get signed, Eric Snow will put him in his place.

 

[LyXo]

I agree with Inf. Eric Snow would be the perfect mentor for Gilchrist, should we sign him. Snow should become instant friends with Mike Brown, meaning he'll be team captain and will demand respect. Gilchrist will have to realize that he has lot to learn because he was not drafted, there was a reason behind that and he needs to figure that out. And, being next to LeBron, he has absolutely no right to be the headmaster of the team like he was in college.

 

[TruBuckeye22]

nice addition to the summer league roster, hopefully him not getting drafted will help him grow up a bit and the Cavaliers will have something. Basdin would also be a good guy to give a look to.

 

[King]

If he can improve his attitude, he could be a really good player. He sounds like a very talented and skilled player. It will be interesting to see how he performs.

 

[TrueCavsFan23]

hes very very solid and he was clutch too in maryland.the only problem was they said his attitude...i could see us keeping him if he plays good.

 

[Karma]

I guess you coan take his attitude with a positive spin. The kid wants to win. He gets pissed when things dont go right. Now if we can channell those frustrations onto the opposition instead of team mates and officials we wont have a McInnis on our hands.

 

[CBBI]

The kid's only real weakness is that he's a total knucklehead right now. Bad attitude. I think he's going to make the team without question.

Hopefully he plays with a chip on his shoulder because he didn't get drafted.

 

[NarlCavs]

Gilchrist is a great pickup. He was probably the best player to not get drafted. There are the attitude questions but this is a low risk move. If he's a problem than you let him go with no hit on the cap.
I think he'll mature after not getting drafted. He also showed a more positive attitude in the pre draft camp. I also trust Ferry and Brown in bringing him in. They're both stressing character so they have to feel Gilchrist will be fine.
There's no doubt Gilchrist has the talent. He even has a chance to be the PG of the future.

 

[PIP]

he had some big games against the better pg's in the country...... played to his competion level ..