The Upstate Life

Tuesday, June 03, 2008

And It Just Gets Worse - Gilchrist to Transfer

With the whole Tyree Evans debacle and Sean Mosley still trying to reach a qualifying SAT score, at least the Terps had blue-chipper Gus Gilchrist coming into next season. Right? RIGHT? Think again.

Gilchrist, who withdrew his LOI from Virginia Tech to sign with Maryland, had to sit out last season due to transfer rules and would've been eligible to play with the Terps on December 22, 2008. Or so we thought. Gilchrist has decided to transfer from Maryland before he ever got to play a minute in the Comcast Center. It honestly doesn't make a lick of sense to me. He would've only had to sit out a handful of games before being eligible, so why leave now? Apparently he's looking for somewhere to play (out of conference of course) where he can retain all four years of his eligibility after the ACC took one and a half years away from him due to the conference's lame transfer laws.

Since nothing but bad news seems to stem from the men's program lately, this is probably the worst out of all the stories we've endured throughout these last few bizarre months. Gilchrist was seen by many Terps fans, including myself, as a savior of sorts after what the program has endured throughout the last few years. He was not only a Maryland local, but a Top 100 player that would've created an immediate impact for the Terps. I mean the dude was MVP of the 2007 Capital Classic. People were genuinely excited because Gary actually landed a top recruit. Now this shit happens.

I'm really confused by all of this. I don't know what his reasoning was, but he would've been an immediate starter once he was eligible. I mean you'd be playing for a team that's a part of the top basketball conference in the country and you decide to transfer, again? Shane Walker left because he knew Gilchrist would start over him. Now they're both gone. Seriously, when does it end?

Posted by Brett at 6:16 PM |