Chauncy Gilliam

[strez]

Greetings. I'm a big UMBC basketball fan, live near their campus, and attend all their home games. I wanted to stop by here and congratulate you on getting Chauncy Gilliam. Also, since you probably know little about him, I wanted to offer my honest opinion on him so you have an idea what you're getting.

Positives: Chauncy was by far the most athletic player on UMBC's team last year. Though not tall, he is broad and is not afraid to knock bodies around. He has a smooth shot and can handle the ball decently. Nice three-point touch. He started at shooting guard for most of the year. Good all-around skills with no glaring physical weaknesses. He probably does not excel at anything in particular but is decent in all aspects of the game. I think he would have developed into a first team America East selection (he was third-team this year).

Negatives: There is one very big negative I observed of Gilliam. He tends to disappear in games on occasion, and often at critical junctures. UMBC was not a very good team this past year (only four wins), and they started and played lots of freshmen. Gilliam was clearly their go-to guy by default (the only decent veteran player on the team, really). However, in several games that were close, I would watch him closely, and he would become more passive instead of stepping up and carrying the team. There were long stretches where we needed someone to step forward and he would barely touch the ball. I was always a bit confused by this, as there were other times that he would knock down 20 points in a half and just take over a game. As I said, he was third-team all-conference this past year, but I honestly thought he had talent to be higher. I think a lot of it was that the team did not have a good year and it was probably a bit demoralizing for him. At Akron, where he will probably be more of a role player, he should fit in very nicely.

Also, he was declared academically ineligible last year and it was reported he would sit out the first half of the season at least, but when I showed up for the opening game he was playing. I have no idea what happened there but he suddenly became eligible.

I always like Gilliam as did my son. He will be disappointed to see him transfer as it will be a HUGE hit to an already reeling program. But I wish him the best moving forward and will root for him at Akron. He is a huge talent with a nice upside.

[Dr Z]

Thanks for stopping in, taking the time to make an account and offering your opinion.

[Captain Kangaroo]

Greetings. I'm a big UMBC basketball fan, live near their campus, and attend all their home games. I wanted to stop by here and congratulate you on getting Chauncy Gilliam. Also, since you probably know little about him, I wanted to offer my honest opinion on him so you have an idea what you're getting.

Positives: Chauncy was by far the most athletic player on UMBC's team last year. Though not tall, he is broad and is not afraid to knock bodies around. He has a smooth shot and can handle the ball decently. Nice three-point touch. He started at shooting guard for most of the year. Good all-around skills with no glaring physical weaknesses. He probably does not excel at anything in particular but is decent in all aspects of the game. I think he would have developed into a first team America East selection (he was third-team this year).

Negatives: There is one very big negative I observed of Gilliam. He tends to disappear in games on occasion, and often at critical junctures. UMBC was not a very good team this past year (only four wins), and they started and played lots of freshmen. Gilliam was clearly their go-to guy by default (the only decent veteran player on the team, really). However, in several games that were close, I would watch him closely, and he would become more passive instead of stepping up and carrying the team. There were long stretches where we needed someone to step forward and he would barely touch the ball. I was always a bit confused by this, as there were other times that he would knock down 20 points in a half and just take over a game. As I said, he was third-team all-conference this past year, but I honestly thought he had talent to be higher. I think a lot of it was that the team did not have a good year and it was probably a bit demoralizing for him. At Akron, where he will probably be more of a role player, he should fit in very nicely.

Also, he was declared academically ineligible last year and it was reported he would sit out the first half of the season at least, but when I showed up for the opening game he was playing. I have no idea what happened there but he suddenly became eligible.

I always like Gilliam as did my son. He will be disappointed to see him transfer as it will be a HUGE hit to an already reeling program. But I wish him the best moving forward and will root for him at Akron. He is a huge talent with a nice upside.

Thank you for taking the time to post.

[johnnyzip84]

I agree with these guys....thanks for taking the time

Chauncy is sounding more and more like a Singletary type of player, at least in terms of physical attributes (with a little more height to boot). Am I the only one who has entertained the thought that RI might be drooling at the prospect of this guy playing TE at the Info some day? I know it's a stretch, and I have no idea if Gilliam has any football background whatsoever. It's just that when I see a large-bodied, skilled hoopster, I immediately think of TE's like Gates, Gonzalez, etc.

[Dave in Green]

Nice analysis from someone who has followed Gilliam and obviously has a sharp eye for details. The issue of good players occasionally disappearing is not uncommon. There aren't many players who can be relied on to take over in every situation. Everyone has their ups and downs, as the Cavs can attest. It hurts more when it's clearly the team's best player who has passive games and there's no one available to take up all the slack. On a more balanced team like UA it's almost expected that different players will step up in different games.

"Huge talent with a nice upside" is the really good thing to hear. Some of the high school players who come in with reputations like that never pan out. But to hear that about a player with 2 years of college under his belt suggests that he will be an immediate contributor to the Zips from his first game.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this forum, and hope you hang around and join the discussions when Gilliam starts playing for the Zips.

[Quickzips]

Nice to hear a well reasoned analysis of Gilliams strengths and weaknesses. I look forward to seeing him in a Zips uniform. He gives us a dimension that we don't have on the roster right now, being a do-it-all type of strong, athletic wing player. That type of player can really cause some headaches for the rest of the MAC where big, strong, athletic wings are often in short supply. Looking forward to seeing him on the floor for the Zips in 2011-12.

[Let'sGoZips94]

You know, I'm just wondering how much our NCAA tourney performance helped people's outlook on Akron basketball. Also, I wonder if this is the next step in becoming a better program: getting athletic guys from smaller schools. I'm glad to see the positives of this guy though. Can't wait to see him in a Zips uni.

[skip-zip]

You know, I'm just wondering how much our NCAA tourney performance helped people's outlook on Akron basketball. Also, I wonder if this is the next step in becoming a better program: getting athletic guys from smaller schools. I'm glad to see the positives of this guy though. Can't wait to see him in a Zips uni.

I think "being" in the tournament helped a little bit. Unfortunately, as far as our performance was concerned, a few people will remember that we "hung tough" for 30 minutes.....but most will only remember the final outcome.