Training Pro John Gilchrist

In 2004, John Gilchrist stormed into the ACC tournament as an unstoppable force. He led the Maryland Terrapins past Chris Paul’s Wake Forrest, Julius Hodge’s NC State, and Duke’s NBA lineup of Chris Duhon, Sheldon Williams, J.J. Redick, and Luol Deng to win the ACC tournament. Gilchrist averaged 24 points to claim the title and ACC tournament MVP honors. Many projected him to be a lottery pick if he declared for the draft as a powerfully built, physical point guard (6’3, 200 pounds) with the ability to score in multiple ways. He chose to stay, had a few media squabbles with coach Gary Williams, and went undrafted the following year.
After a few years in Israel and then the NBDL, Gilchrist came to me for skill development training. I had heard the labels. “Selfish.” “Head-Case.” “Egotistical.” These were the tags that were placed on a 20 year-old kid after a few moments of letting his emotions get the best of him. But the moment he hit the floor with me, I observed nothing more than a humble, hard working, and level headed competitor that still possesses the physical ability to be an NBA player. That is…if he can shake the labels that have been placed on his shoulders.
Wanting to know what kind of individual John Gilchrist really was, I prodded him with questions about his experience with Gary Williams that ultimately led to John’s demise as an NBA prospect. I expected bitterness and animosity, but John turned down the opportunity to say anything negative about his former coach. Instead, he has only said things such as, “Coach Williams and I are close and everything that I have learned under him has helped me. He is a legend and it was an honor to play for him.” In fact, John has only taken full responsibility for the mistakes he made in 2005, stating that he lacked the maturity at the time to handle the “media magnifying glass” that he was under. He has demonstrated nothing but good feelings toward Coach Williams, and has made zero excuses for his own downfall. That my friends is not a “head-case.” John Gilchrist is ready to be a leader.
Of course, there are important keys we’ve had to focus on in our training sessions. To play at the next level, Gilchrist has to drop his hips more often for better balance and explosiveness in order to create space off the dribble, he must be able to hit the floater with either hand with more consistency, and continue to improve his ambidexterity as a passer and finisher. John has handled my critique of him with class and a learning attitude and we will continue to work on his skills and knowledge of the game. When it comes right down to it a point guard must be a leader, his team’s hardest worker, his team’s smartest player, and have the ability to control his emotions as an extension of his coach on the floor. At this moment, John Gilchrist has those qualities.
Recently, Gilchrist has signed a lucrative contract to play in Australia. He came to me to improve his strengths and eliminate his weaknesses, and it helped him re-establish himself. Will he be in the NBA someday? I think so.

To catch a glimpse of our trainining sessions, feel free to check out the videos below.