Billikenswin Posted February 9, 2014 Share Posted February 9, 2014 I attended the first two games of the private/public event at Whitfield yesterday and watched Oakville beat Whitfield in overtime. Some observations: Oakville came out strong with Gillman hitting a long three clean and then a mid range jumper and two free throws. Whitfield had a big soph named Rucker who looked to be about 6'6' and 220. He was pushing and shoving on Gillman all day but in the early times, the refs were not calling anything and then they called two ticky tack fouls on Gillman and he sat most of the second quarter. That allowed Whitfield to get back in the game and it was close at halftime. In the second half Whitfield hit almost every shot they threw up from three and they took a six point lead despite some effective play from Gillman, including some nice rebound put backs. Oakville tied it at the buzzer of regulation with a wild 3 and then dominated in overtime as Gillman took over. He ended with 31 points and probably about 10 rebounds and 3 blocks although only the point total is official. Overall analysis of Gillman--he has guards who are not adept at feeding the post and they love to shoot so he will never get big stats on scoring although he could obviously score 25-30 a game if he had better guards. His offensive skills are impressive, particularly his shooting touch. He has a beautiful release and he is a great free throw shooter. He could be every bit as good as Loe as a big man who can hit the three and he is very good with both hands in the low block and he uses his left naturally in tight. He is a good passer generally but he made a couple of careless ones and young kids are inclined to do. His defensive skills need work although he can block shots and alter others. He will need to move his feet better but that is true of virtually ever player his size I see play in high school. The $64,000 question is can he put on weight and muscle enough to handle the wars inside in D1 basketball. He is thin and pretty agressive--although not as agressive as Jolly as indicated in his play in the game I watched on the internet. If he can grow bigger and tougher I think he could be a heck of a player because he has maybe the best shooting touch and release I have seen for a 6'11" center iin high school. I would have no qualms putting him in late in a game next year if we thought the other team would foul because he will be exellent from the line. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dwayne's_World Posted February 9, 2014 Share Posted February 9, 2014 Manning can probably give Gillman and Jolly some tips for putting on weight next year. Maybe the three of them can have big man workout sessions or something Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billikenswin Posted February 9, 2014 Author Share Posted February 9, 2014 Manning can probably give Gillman and Jolly some tips for putting on weight next year. Maybe the three of them can have big man workout sessions or something As I was watching I was thinking that if Manning had Gillman's offensive game and shooting touch he could be all A10 next year! Manning is strong as a bull and he will throw Gillman around in practice with Jolly less strong than Manning but more so than Gillman. If they could all work out and really hit the weights and Manning can have a Conklin summer then I think we have a positive future for the 5 spot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bills By 40 Posted February 10, 2014 Share Posted February 10, 2014 Future is looking good if you ask me. On top of being able to succeed on the court, I can promise you that Gillman is a great student. Through my own experience and personal accounts from others, I'm telling you now he's going to be a perfect fit at SLU. BC/KC caliber student. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizziken Posted February 10, 2014 Share Posted February 10, 2014 Thanks for the report! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JettFlight5 Posted February 10, 2014 Share Posted February 10, 2014 Future is looking good if you ask me. On top of being able to succeed on the court, I can promise you that Gillman is a great student. Through my own experience and personal accounts from others, I'm telling you now he's going to be a perfect fit at SLU. BC/KC caliber student. That is high praise. Always nice to bring in kids where you think, "this kid's going to have his head on straight". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LABilliken Posted February 10, 2014 Share Posted February 10, 2014 Good to read that about Gillman. I haven't seen much video but have found a few good highlights for Jolly. He looks like he can really shoot so to hear Loe comparisons on Gillman is really encouraging! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billikenswin Posted February 10, 2014 Author Share Posted February 10, 2014 Good to read that about Gillman. I haven't seen much video but have found a few good highlights for Jolly. He looks like he can really shoot so to hear Loe comparisons on Gillman is really encouraging! It seems pretty clear that the staff is determined to continue to have big men who can shoot from deep and be effective in a high low setup. I think that makes a lot of sense. If these two guys get stronger we will have a nice tandem of 5 men. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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