CSU Rams hoops lands athletic forward Leon Gilmore III

Colorado State Rams men’s basketball has landed a new player, Leon Gimore III, most recently with Trinity Valley Community College, per Gilmore’s twitter page.

https://twitter.com/3LeeLee_/status/714103630429696001

https://twitter.com/3LeeLee_/status/714306254965972993

Gilmore, is a native of Manvel, Texas was offered by Houston, Texas Tech, Arkansas, Baylor, Louisiana Tech, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas, UNLV coming out of high school, while Georgetown and VCU also had interest. But, he decided to play for Creighton University.

At Creighton in 2014-15, Gilmore saw limited time as a freshman reserve, averaging 1.1 points and 1.1 rebounds per game in 4.9 minutes per contest.

“I loved my time, my teammates and the fans here, but I feel it’s best for me to transfer to another school in which I can have a more immediate impact,” said Gilmore in a release from Creighton.

From Creighton, the 6-foot-7 small forward moved onto Trinity Valley Community College, playing in all 35 games last season, starting 32 of them. During his time with Trinity Valley in 2015-16, Gilmore averaged 11.1 points on 51.0 percent shooting, with 7.2 rebounds and 1.7 assists per contest.

He was one of the school’s most valuable players, helping them to a 33-2 record, including a NJCAA Region XVI Tournament win over Panola College and then an eventual quarterfinals loss NJCAA Championship to Gillette College.

This is an old highlight, with Gilmore in high school with Manvel High School, but check out his dunk off the inbounds pass and then his emphatic block on the other end.

With CSU’s winningest basketball player Joe De Ciman leaving, Gilmore will likely fill his spot. De Ciman was more of a shooting guard but was asked to play the small forward position in 2015-16. Gilmore’s height and athletic ability will allow him to snag rebounds — which is key in Larry Eustachy’s system — as well as take opponents off the dribble and get to the rack.

Gilmore will join Devocio Butler, a 6-foot-5 shooting guard transfer from Hill Junior College, as players immediately able to play in 2016-17.

Colorado State still has two more scholarships to fill, so stay tuned on who they may be from. The Rams have done great — specifically Ross Hodge — when it comes to finding quality players at the junior college level. J.J. Avila, Stanton Kidd, Emmanuel Omogbo are three recent ones who have impacted the program positively.

We can’t wait to see Gilmore in the Rams green and gold this fall.