# John Gilchrist = steal of the draft...



## HKF (Dec 10, 2002)

The guy has just as much talent as any of the other PG's in this draft ans these quotes are telling to me, about a guy who is hungry to prove people wrong. He's another one of those ball till you fall kind of guys and those are my kind of players.



> Certain people aren't going to approach the game as seriously as other people," said Gilchrist, who emphasized that he did not want to criticize anyone in the program specifically. "That's the thing that made me upset. I would come to practice and be in a zone, 'Okay, let's play.' Certain people are laughing and joking, and they are looking at me like, 'This guy is taking it too serious.' In my opinion, this is my livelihood. When you have guys disrespecting the game, I didn't really appreciate that. A lot of people wanted me to lighten up, but you can't relax, ever.





> I admire guys like Terence Morris and Byron Mouton, Tahj Holden, team guys who really helped the team win," Gilchrist said. "But, me, I have so much more at stake. I couldn't have another sub-par year and fall off the radar completely. Eventually I was going to have to let my talent show; I had to stop holding my talent back.





> On the court, I just wasn't having fun anymore," Gilchrist said. "Everything I did, I felt like everything was coming back on me. If anyone made a mistake, it was, 'John, why did you give him the ball?' I just felt there was too much on me. [Williams] felt I could take it, and I could take it because I kept my mouth closed and didn't say nothing. It got to the point where I thought, 'It is almost over.' I knew it was my last year. They knew it was my last year. No matter what, I wasn't coming back.


So Sweaty messed up and his horrible recruiting was coming back on John. Either way, I hope Isaiah can land him at the No. 30 spot, because man him and Marbury in the backcourt together for maybe 10-15 minutes a night his rookie year would be special.

There is a good chance (provided the situation of course), that Gilchrist ends up the 2nd best PG (tied with Jarrett Jack) in the draft and I expect Deron Williams to be the best one. He's not going to be out of the league in 3 years. He's at least a 10 year pro.


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## Yyzlin (Feb 2, 2003)

Definitely. He's atleast an Antonio Daniels type of player, and I think every team wouldn't mind having one of those.


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## HKF (Dec 10, 2002)

Yyzlin said:


> Definitely. He's atleast an Antonio Daniels type of player, and I think every team wouldn't mind having one of those.


He's more talented. I saw Daniels (after his brother died while playing for Dayton) coming out Bowling Green and he never had the kind of skills that Gilchrist had. NBA scouts thought he did and it would translate, but basketball is the one sport where the competition you play against matters an awful lot. The MAC isn't the ACC.


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## hirschmanz (Jun 3, 2005)

I hope he's still around when the bucks pick at 36


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## MemphisX (Sep 11, 2002)

He should go in the 1st round. Too many good talent evaluating teams at the bottom of the 1st. As long as his interviews and measurements go OK.

Atlanta might get him at #31. Can you imagine him with great finishers like Smith and Williams.


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## HKF (Dec 10, 2002)

MemphisX said:


> He should go in the 1st round. Too many good talent evaluating teams at the bottom of the 1st. As long as his interviews and measurements go OK.
> 
> Atlanta might get him at #31. Can you imagine him with great finishers like Smith and Williams.


If Atlanta gets him or Nate Robinson they should be pretty happy, because they are also high light reel players. Gilchrist has a lot of flair from the playground in his game too. I'm still hoping for John to the Knicks.


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## Debt Collector (Mar 13, 2003)

HKF said:


> If Atlanta gets him or Nate Robinson they should be pretty happy, because they are also high light reel players. Gilchrist has a lot of flair from the playground in his game too. I'm still hoping for John to the Knicks.



word, i mentioned it on the knicks board but i wouldnt mind taking gilchrist at all with the #30. i dont know why nbadraft.net dropped him all the way to the middle of the second round, but when i watched him i thought he had as much nba potential as any of the other ACC PG's. high risk though, i mean there must be some reason why he's rated so low.


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## HKF (Dec 10, 2002)

Debt Collector said:


> word, i mentioned it on the knicks board but i wouldnt mind taking gilchrist at all with the #30. i dont know why nbadraft.net dropped him all the way to the middle of the second round, but when i watched him i thought he had as much nba potential as any of the other ACC PG's. high risk though, i mean there must be some reason why he's rated so low.


Supposedly he's bi-polar and has attitude issues, but as you can see, he's no dummy. He's here to play ball and this is his livelihood. Now you give a guy with a lot of talent, something to prove and a chip on his shoulder and you'll see him do work.

I always said that he's a more athletic version of Sam Cassell (just a more talented version to be honest), but some might not see it. Since he hasn't had any off-court issues with violence or police blotters, I don't care about character issues, because those are the only ones that matter IMO.

If you aren't getting in trouble with the law and you've got talent I'd work with you to be successful. I still contend that the debacle at Maryland had more to do with Gary Williams' recruiting than John Gilchrist.


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## Drewbs (Feb 16, 2004)

Gilchrist has always been a talented player. He had some hype around him 2 seasons ago, but he just dropped this past season on account of his attitude problems.


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## gelf123 (Jun 4, 2005)

agreed


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## Yyzlin (Feb 2, 2003)

HKF said:


> He's more talented. I saw Daniels (after his brother died while playing for Dayton) coming out Bowling Green and he never had the kind of skills that Gilchrist had. NBA scouts thought he did and it would translate, but basketball is the one sport where the competition you play against matters an awful lot. The MAC isn't the ACC.


I did say that he's _atleast_Antonio Daniels. He has the potential to be something even greater, as long as he keeps working on his game especially shooting. Talent alone doesn't dictate performance.


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## lanigan34 (Dec 27, 2002)

I understand it is an average draft for PG's but Jarrett Jack or Gilchrist as the second best PG in the draft? What are your thoughts about Raymond Felton? I think he is right up there with Deron Wiliiams right now.


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## HKF (Dec 10, 2002)

lanigan34 said:


> I understand it is an average draft for PG's but Jarrett Jack or Gilchrist as the second best PG in the draft? What are your thoughts about Raymond Felton? I think he is right up there with Deron Wiliiams right now.


I like Felton as well, but his size is going to be a problem. I have to take into account that guys who are smaller than 6'2, struggle in the pros and tend to be more injury prone. However, if Felton is given the ball and they say, okay run, run, run... he'll be an effective PG distributing the rock of one of the best offenses in basketball (whichever team it is). 

If he's asked to play halfcourt exclusively, you ruin his talent. He's very Nash, Ridnour and Kidd-like, in terms of pushing the tempo. I'd like to see Charlotte or Toronto draft him personally.


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## sheefo13 (Jul 13, 2002)

Well his attitude doesnt help him much..... The guy had problems with his college coach, which is one of the best in the game today, can you imagine what would happen what will happen in the nba?


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## Scinos (Jun 10, 2003)

I liked Gilchrist in last years draft, he reminded me a bit of a young GP, with his intensity. I don't think the Knicks and Gilchrist are a very good fit though. They've got a bunch of guys who don't seem to 'take it seriously'. Tim Thomas, JC (on defense), Sweetney (terrible conditioning) et al. :no:


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## Carbo04 (Apr 15, 2005)

Gilchrist will be a steal. He doesn't really have an attitude problem. He's like McCants. He wants to win so much, and wants to please everyone on the court so much it sometimes makes their behavior questionable.


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## AirBonner (May 28, 2005)

John Gilchrist = Rafer Alston. Great skills, great drive, good athleticism, good highlights, poor decision making, selfish game, questionable attitude.


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## Debt Collector (Mar 13, 2003)

Scinos said:


> I liked Gilchrist in last years draft, he reminded me a bit of a young GP, with his intensity. I don't think the Knicks and Gilchrist are a very good fit though. They've got a bunch of guys who don't seem to 'take it seriously'. Tim Thomas, JC (on defense), Sweetney (terrible conditioning) et al. :no:


granted those are all concerns, but i dont think its something that the right coach can't protect a young player from. the <u>right</u> coach.


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## Diable (Apr 26, 2005)

last year Gilchrist probably would have been a lottery
pick or very close to it,but he was basically poisonous this
season.He had problems with his teammates and his coaches.In fact he was probably the best college player in
the country for three days in march 2004,but he did less
than nothing this season.

It's unlikely that anyone will risk taking him in the first round because they might end up saddled with a guaranteed three year deal.He would not be much of a gamble in the second round as you aren't likely to be passing on a player that could make much of an impact.

The questions abound with Gilchrist.One has his
game regressed as much as it appears to have based on
his recent performance.Is he mentally stable?Can he fit in with your organization and not destabilize it.If he's just an
a$$hole that hasn't kept other people out of the league,
but he may be too big of one to be the floor leader of a 
successful team.

I think it's unlikely that his problems with Gary Williams were strictly Gary's fault.He certainly would have played Gilchrist if it would have helped the Terrapins win.You have to ask a lot of questions about a guy with
so much talent who does absolutely less than nothing to
help his team win.


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## rocketeer (Oct 7, 2002)

lanigan34 said:


> I understand it is an average draft for PG's but Jarrett Jack or Gilchrist as the second best PG in the draft? What are your thoughts about Raymond Felton? I think he is right up there with Deron Wiliiams right now.


average draft for pgs?

there very easily could be(and should be) four pgs taken in the top 10 picks. i wouldn't consider that average. and then you have gilcrest and nate robinson who could go late 1st or early 2nd.


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## sipclip (Jan 21, 2005)

I think he could be a great fit with the clips who have a ton of hard workers in Brand, Maggs, Simmons, Kaman and Liv.


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## Premier (Oct 30, 2003)

Luther Head will be the steal of the draft, but other than that, I agree. I don't know why John Gilchrist fell all the way down to the middle of the second-round. He was originally projected to go in the middle to late first-round and his ultimate collegiate season wasn't _too_ bad (enough to warrant him moving down _that _many spots).


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## MarioChalmers (Mar 26, 2004)

John Gilchrist is up there with Julius Hodge and Luther Head as potential second round steals. Yeah I agree with everything you said HKF, hopefully the attitude problem isn't as bad as most scouts think.


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## HKF (Dec 10, 2002)

Premier said:


> Luther Head will be the steal of the draft, but other than that, I agree. I don't know why John Gilchrist fell all the way down to the middle of the second-round. He was originally projected to go in the middle to late first-round and his ultimate collegiate season wasn't _too_ bad (enough to warrant him moving down _that _many spots).


Head is another player that relative to his draft position will more than likely be a steal. Simply because he has skills, but he's 6'3 with above average athleticism (catching alleyoops off on leg and such). I hope the Lakers draft him with one of their 2nd round picks.


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## MemphisX (Sep 11, 2002)

HKF said:


> Head is another player that relative to his draft position will more than likely be a steal. Simply because he has skills, but he's 6'3 with above average athleticism (catching alleyoops off on leg and such). I hope the Lakers draft him with one of their 2nd round picks.



This one I can't figure out. He should be a 1st rounder but it seems combo guard is a curse, regardless of the fact that every playoff team except Memphis has one coming off the bench and contributing at least.

Heat Damon Jones, Dwayne Wade, Keyon Dooling
Pistons Billups, Hunter
Celtics West
Bulls Gordon, Hinrich
Wizards Arenas, hughes, Dixon
Pacers Fred Jones, Eddie Gill
Sixers AI, Willie Green
Nets Travis Best

Suns Joe Johnson
Spurs Brent Barry
Sonics Antonio Daniels
Dallas Jason Terry, Marquis Daniels
Houston Bobby Sura, Mike James
SacTown Bobby Jackson
Denver Andre Miller


This draft is very, very deep. Teams with good scouts are going to make a killing in this draft. Other teams will get swindled players with fake potential.


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## HKF (Dec 10, 2002)

Combo guards are usually bad things when they have to start and don't have the requisite size to do so. Larry Hughes and Joe Johnson are combo guards, but they are 6'5 and 6'8 respectively. Ben Gordon is 6'2, so he's going to have to transition to the PG spot sooner rather than later. 

Head is the essential 3rd guard that most good teams have on their roster. He plays D, he plays well off the ball, he's athletic, he plays hurt (he was hurting those last weeks of the season) and he has good bball IQ (in terms of shot selection). I love him as 2nd round pick. If he were picked late in the first round, I wouldn't have a problem with, simply because he's a gamer.


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## The Mad Viking (Jun 12, 2003)

Combo Guard threadjack...

Remember when Philly had LB as coach, and had AI and Larry Hughes...

Man, I bet they'd love to have Larry now...

Two combo guards starting works fine, as long as one of them is big enough to guard the opposing SG.

end threadjack.

John Gilchrist, I use to be very high on him. Absolutely definitely NBA talented, and is NOT a selfish player in terms of wanting to score. 

The fact is, you can be TOO competitive. Gilchrist has psychological liabilities. Its very hard when a player cannot forgive his teammate's mistakes. It's impossible when a PG can't forgive his teammate's mistakes. Even allstars miss open looks off great feeds that should have been assists. Gilchrist takes that stuff personally. I don't think it is a maturity thing, I think it is the way he is wired. That is why he will go in the second round.

He may be the steal of the draft, or he may crash and burn and be out of basketball. I hope he gets the right situation. Less pressure on him personally will probably help. Teammates who execute well will certainly help.

I wish him well.


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## HKF (Dec 10, 2002)

I think it's because Gilchrist played with non-competitive losers at Maryland. He should have never went there.


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## Scinos (Jun 10, 2003)

HKF said:


> I think it's because Gilchrist played with non-competitive losers at Maryland. He should have never went there.


Even so, I think Mad Viking has a point. Most players wouldn't react in the same way as Gilchrist, he takes it way too personally. Guys like Danny Fortson and Ron Artest seem to have that same kind of personality trait. Those are the kind of guys that are liable to explode at any minute, and never seem to get along well with coaches. It's a legit concern, I think.


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## HKF (Dec 10, 2002)

Sorry Scinos, Gilchrist isn't an Artest. Even so, I'd still rather ride with a guy like Ron Artest, because sometimes the risk is worth the reward IMO.


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## cpawfan (Jun 20, 2004)

Scinos said:


> Even so, I think Mad Viking has a point. Most players wouldn't react in the same way as Gilchrist, he takes it way too personally. Guys like Danny Fortson and Ron Artest seem to have that same kind of personality trait. Those are the kind of guys that are liable to explode at any minute, and never seem to get along well with coaches. It's a legit concern, I think.


That is a trait that Danny picked up in the NBA then.


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## Timmons (May 25, 2005)

HKF said:


> The guy has just as much talent as any of the other PG's in this draft ans these quotes are telling to me, about a guy who is hungry to prove people wrong. He's another one of those ball till you fall kind of guys and those are my kind of players.


Watching him at Maryland I fell in love with his game. He is a basketball player that brings heart and he doesn't know how to lose. 

I think he will make a difference for whoever takes him. Like everyone else he has work to do, but he could be a steal.


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## hirschmanz (Jun 3, 2005)

thetobin73 said:


> I think he will make a difference for whoever takes him. Like everyone else he has work to do, but he could be a steal.


which brings up the question... at what point does he become a steal?
obviously, if the bucks take him #1 he's not a steal, but if he is taken last it is. where do you draw the line?


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## Scinos (Jun 10, 2003)

HKF said:


> Sorry Scinos, Gilchrist isn't an Artest. Even so, I'd still rather ride with a guy like Ron Artest, because sometimes the risk is worth the reward IMO.


Ok. I can see Gilchrist going two ways (good, or bad), it just depends on whether it is his attitude, or was due to the situational factors at Maryland. I hope it's the latter as you believe. 



cpawfan said:


> That is a trait that Danny picked up in the NBA then.


This is going off topic, but...

I'm not sure if he had it at Cincinnati. But I seem to remember Danny and Art Long (another Sonic) getting into a lot of trouble for being intoxicated and punching a police horse while they were there. 

In any event, he most certainly has it now. Did you see the game against Sacramento where he threw the chair towards the crowd after being called for a foul ? He also yelled at McMillan, and left the team bench and refused to play the second half on another occasion. :no:


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## cpawfan (Jun 20, 2004)

Scinos said:


> I'm not sure if he had it at Cincinnati. But I seem to remember Danny and Art Long (another Sonic) getting into a lot of trouble for being intoxicated and punching a police horse while they were there.
> 
> In any event, he most certainly has it now. Did you see the game against Sacramento where he threw the chair towards the crowd after being called for a foul ? He also yelled at McMillan, and left the team bench and refused to play the second half on another occasion. :no:


ahhh, the good old punching a police horse story. Art is the one that supposedly touched the horse, while Danny was just intoxicated


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## AirBonner (May 28, 2005)

Scinos said:


> I'm not sure if he had it at Cincinnati. But I seem to remember Danny and Art Long (another Sonic) getting into a lot of trouble for being intoxicated and punching a police horse while they were there.


LMAO


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## Kmasonbx (Apr 7, 2003)

I've talked to people from DC about Gilchrist and they say he's a huge headcase, which is the reason he's in the draft. Gary Williams basically told him to go pro because he didn't want to deal with him next season, and nobody seems to think Williams was at fault. A guy I was talking to from DC said Gilchrist needs 12 coaches to act right. So even if he is as talent as anyother PG in the draft the other point guards don't have the issues that he does.


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## DaFuture (Nov 5, 2002)

HKF you have no idea, what your talking about when you say Maryland, had subpar recruiting, the year they got JG they had a top 5 recruiting class and in 2003 the same, the problem with the classes was some players didnt develop like they should, it happens, its not like GW has made a habit of not devolping players, and this group of players has a lot of motivational issues, unfortunately Gilchrist included. You are right John does does have a passion for this game, unlike anything I have ever seen. The kid would walk to class with a basketball in his hand and if he ever broke dribble he would stop and rebuke his hands for losing concentration. That my friend is not normal. Take it from someone who knows the Maryland program very well, Gilchrist is a cancer(maybe thats the wrong word, he is mentally unstable) , every possible step was made to allow him to succeed but his ego and personality just would not work. I will concede that a large part of that had to do with the fact that John and Gary are very similar people. I think he will be a solid pro but a lot of it will depend on whether or not he will get mental help. If you would like more info on what really happened this year at MD pm me.


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## HKF (Dec 10, 2002)

Well for two straight days, Gilchrist has been a star in scrimmage and in his first game. I love him as a pro and regardless of if he cares too much, I'll ride with guys like this. Again, when guys care that much, they usually end up great.


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## DaFuture (Nov 5, 2002)

HKF that means nothing o one is arguing his talent but he is very difficult to work with dating back to high school. That article in the WP doesnt even begin to chronicle the problems he had. Gilchrist had not a single friend on this MD other than Nik Caner Medley and it showed those two would love to play two five. In fact he hated quite a few of his teammates. I dont think thats the mentality you want from a point gaurd. He instigated a player-coach fight in the locker room, I wont go into specifics but lets just say Gary is about as fond of John as he is of Xree Hipp nad his 1995 team.


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## Jermaniac Fan (Jul 27, 2003)

from www.nbadraft.net


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## The Mad Viking (Jun 12, 2003)

No offence, but I'm pretty sure everyone at this forum is very familiar with the content at NBADraft.net.


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## ItalianStallion (Jun 8, 2005)

i think Gilchrist will be an incredible steal. could very well end up causing trouble because of his attitude though


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## ralaw (Feb 24, 2005)

ItalianStallion said:


> i think Gilchrist will be an incredible steal. could very well end up causing trouble because of his attitude though


Where is this attitude coming from? I know and have been around (grew up in the same area) John Gilchrist and I have never seen this attitude. Granted he does want to win and is a little confident but thats about it. Maybe its just the facial expressions and emotions. Unless he has gotten a big head since highschool.


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## jmk (Jun 30, 2002)

HKF, the quotes you posted initially show just the type of problem John has. It's me, me, me. You'd think he would learn backing up a PG like Steve Blake for a year. The guys he talked about; Morris, Mouton, etc. Those guys were big team players. They weren't thinking at all about themself. Just like Juanny, Steve, and Lonny. John wants to win, but he cares too much about himself instead of the team. His sophomore season: spectacular. That ACC Tournament performance was one of the greatest things I've ever seen. His teammates at Maryland were far from untalented losers. Last season, Gilchrist wasn't even the best player on the team. Chris McCray was. Let's just say it was best that JG and UMD split ways.

That being said, Gilchrist could be special. I said in another thread, he needs to go to a place with strong, team-oriented people. I think he would be a horrible fit on the Knicks. That could end his career right there. The perfect place for him, in my opinion, is New Jersey. Learning the position from the best in the game and learning the attitude from Jason Kidd, Richard Jefferson, etc. That would be best for him. I'd really like for the Nets to take him with the #43 pick if he's there.


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## BBALLSCIENCES (Oct 16, 2004)

On ESPNU they showed the final two games from the Chicago Draft Camp and Gilchrist was easily the best player there. He was in control setting up his teammmates, leading them to victory. He looked like a leader out there, didn't get too high or too low, just kept his poker face on. Will Bynum also impressed, but he isn't too good of a passer as he often penetrated too deep or missed the open man. Deiner looked mediocre at best, didn't do much of anything. He just kept tossing up short jumper after short jumper.


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