Have you seen him play? Michael Gilchrist is amazing to watch, and I’ve only seen two of his games so far. He’s averaging 21 points, 8 rebounds, a steal and a block per game, and he’s only getting better. One of the things I like about Gilchrist is that he has no fear. No fear of big games, no fear of big players no fear of big obstacles to overcome.
I watched Gilchrist play against Duke commit Austin Rivers (Winter Park), and Rivers held his own. I watched Gilchrist play against 2012 forward Shabazz Muhammad (Bishop Gorman), and Muhammad held his own. But Gilchrist has something Rivers and Muhammad don’t have – an all-star supporting cast. Rivers and Muhammad may be putting up bigger numbers than Gilchrist, but their supporting casts are… somewhat less than Gilchrists.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s not like Winter Park and Bishop Gorman are full of scrubs, they’re both good teams, but it was obvious who their go-to guys were. When Winter Park was down late in the fourth quarter, it seemed like nobody else wanted to take a shot besides Rivers. They would all pass the ball around waiting for Rivers to get open, and then pass to him. Same with Bishop Gorman down late, Shabazz seemed to take control of the game like he knew it was him or nobody.
But Gilchrist was only one player on a team of good players. Sure, he was a leader (along with fellow senior Derrick Gordon, who is signed with Western Kentucky by the way), but he wasn’t the only go-to guy. That’s what I like about him. It’s easy to stand out when you’re “the man” on the floor for your team, but to stand out among a team full of stand-outs – that’s freaking amazing.
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