Maryland Terps Examiner

Hyped Basketball Recruit Gus Gilchrist to Transfer

The Temple Hills, Md., native was to have two-and-a-half years of eligibility starting in December. Transferring likely prohibits Gilchrist from playing until the 2009-2010 season, but it gives Gilchrist a chance to receive four years of eligibility if he is allowed to start playing.

“He is a young kid so he needs his opportunity to play four years of college basketball,” Terrelle Woody, Gilchrist’s trainer, told The Washington Post. 

Reneging on commitments is nothing new to Gilchrist. He originally signed with Virginia Tech but backed out of his commitment, citing last April’s tragic shootings. Critics question Gilchrist’s true intent, offering that, as his stock rose, Gilchrist might have wanted to choose a more prestigious program. 

He enrolled at Maryland in January and was preparing to suit up in December following sitting out the year required by his intra-conference transfer. The Post reports Gilchrist had befriended Greivis Vasquez, Cliff Tucker and Landon Milbourne. 

Wherever Gilchrist ends up he will need a waiver from the NCAA in order to play in the 2008-2009 season, and thus have four full years of eligibility. Kathleen Worthington, Maryland’s senior associate athletics director, believes the chances of him receiving that waiver are slim. Maryland twice appealed the ACC to allow Gilchrist to play the entire 2008-2009 season and lost both cases. 

Gilchrist’s departure is the second major blow Maryland recently received from a player who never even appeared in a game for the Terps. Talented but troubled shooting guard Tyree Evans asked out of his commitment in May. Both players were expected to join Vasquez as the nucleus of the 2008-2009 team. 

--College coaches are forced to weigh recruits’ potential on-the-field/court impact with their risk of causing trouble off the court. Following Evans’ saga and now Gilchrist’s departure, I imagine head coach Gary Williams will reevaluate his position on the ever-challenging “talent vs. potential for trouble” seesaw. 

Maryland’s recent struggles on the court understandably helped Williams decide to take chances on Evans, who has a long list of legal troubles, and Gilchrist, who was much less of a risk but had already broken one letter of intent. Being burned twice in two weeks will probably lower Williams’ tolerance for accepting risky recruits, despite their talent level.

Sure, Williams is facing increasing pressure from the Maryland fan base for the team’s failure to reach the NCAA tournament in three out of the last four years. His decision to excuse red flags such as Evans’ legal history and Gilchrist’s fear of commitment in exchange for the potential of their talent is comprehensible.

But the negative attention Williams has and will continue to receive as a result of their departures might be even more damaging. 

--Looks like another tough year for the Terps. Even with Evans and Gilchrist the team was not expected to challenge for ACC supremacy. Unless Vasquez morphs into Juan Dixon and PG Eric Hayes turns into Steve Blake, this year’s Terps will likely struggle to even replicate last year’s 19-15 record. 

--SG Sean Mosley, another top recruit, is still awaiting a decision on his application from the admissions office. One would think Williams might be paying some visits to the office this summer. If Mosley doesn’t get in, Williams will have gone 0/3 on his top recruits for the 2008-2009 season. Stats like that lead to big-time changes. 

--Additionally, I’m pretty sure Williams will never recruit a player with the last name “Gilchrist” again. After being let down by the way former point guard John Gilchrist’s time with the team ended and now Gus Gilchrist’s tease of a career, he might be wise to avoid that surname. 

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