John Gillon’s gone, and teams from big-time hoops conferences want him.
Per Jim Hicks (@RcsSports), Gillon has been offered by Oklahoma of the Big 12 and Syracuse of the ACC.
Ex Strake Jesuit star, John Gillon Jr (Colorado St transfer will grad next month) was offered by Syracuse and Oklahoma this past wknd.
— Jim Hicks (@RcsSports) April 25, 2016
But those aren’t all; the long list of solid basketball programs includes N.C. State, Creighton and more:
Colorado State grad transfer John Gillon listed Texas Tech, A&M, TCU, Syracuse, Oklahoma, SFA, UTSA, Utah, Wichita, NC St, Creighton, Purdue
— Jeff Borzello (@jeffborzello) April 25, 2016
Gillon, who regularly butted heads with Rams head coach Larry Eustachy, was granted his release from the school late Friday night, along with forward Toby Van Ry. This came only weeks after assistants Ross Hodge and Leonard Perry left the program for greener pastures at Arkansas State and Pacific, respectively.
Thanks for everything Colorado State! pic.twitter.com/w3y69VQUYd
— John Gillon (@John_Gillon1) April 23, 2016
For the Rams, Gillon became a valuable guard, able to score from inside and out, though his shot selection was a question mark at times. After transferring from Arkansas-Little Rock, Gillon sat out the 2013-14 season and then became the Mountain West’s Sixth Man of the Year in 2014-15 for his play. That year, Gillon used his quickness and speed to drive the lane to score and/or get fouled. His free throw shooting has been among the best in the country, especially in 2015-16.
Last year, as the full-time starter, Gillon was up and down as a score-first point guard. He averaged 13.2 points with 3.8 assists and 2.9 rebounds per game, though the team failed to reach the postseason. Too many times in his redshirt junior year Gillon pulled up and took long 3-point attempts early in the shot clock, and made only 33.3 percent from downtown. In 2014-15, he was aggressive getting to the hoop, and even though he said he would do better to take it inside as the season went on, his 5.3 attempts per game from outside the arc were easily a career-high.
If he gets back to that aggressive, driving style of play, look for Gillon’s scoring to improve even more, depending on his role with his new team. Whoever that may be.
With his graduation coming soon, Gillon will be immediately eligible and has one year of eligibility remaining at the collegiate level.
More MW Basketball News: Dave Rice, who was fired by the UNLV Runnin’ Rebels, has joined Nevada per Chris Murray.
Official announcement not until Wednesday but MW's worst kept secret is out: Ex-UNLV coach Dave Rice joining Nevada. https://t.co/iDRzAwGgqL
— Chris Murray (@ByChrisMurray) April 25, 2016
