Alterique Gilbert = a more athletic Shabazz

[3rdbass]

Gilbert looked really good in his limited minutes. He really felt like a point guard out there and even though it was a glorified scrimmage or all due purposes I noticed his teammates normally deferred to him when bringing the ball up the court and initiating the offense. I'm sure they felt comfortable doing this from the previous scrimmages. He has good court vision and set up a few his teammates very well and seemed to effortlessly get to anywhere he wanted to on the court. He was a little out of controls at time but this was more because he was trying to show off a little and get really low to the court. Also, I noticed he seemed to be closer to the 6'0" height than the mentioned 5'9" one I saw floated around the internet. J-Will even said 6'1" which might be a little of a stretch. He played great defense as he was able to move laterally effortlessly. He can also really rebound very well for his height which a great skill for a guard. The only thing we didn't get a chance to see was his outside shot. The one shot he had from the outside was blocked and he didn't try to force outside shots. Of course the boy has hops as witnessed by double pump reverse dunk. Very excited to see a back court of Gilbert and Adams but will wonder if we might need to pair them with a good 3 pt shooting SF. Really not sure as Gilbert didn't really force his outside shot in this game so the verdict is still out on this. Overall very impressed and I will be watching on Friday to see more!

 

[UconnFanNVa]

I dont like doing comparisons, I'll just say he is in the mold of some of the shorter athletic pgs. I like the boat comparison more than others, he's smaller (although not as short as boat) a very good on the ball defender and just defender in general, extremely good handles, and has pogo sticks for legs, nice touch on his shot.
Where he differs a bit to me (just my opinion) is that he isnt going to be the scorer that Boat was for us.. I think he'll be more of a point guard. Also he's a little more stocky (bigger) so i expect him to be alot more physical and to play through contact very well (although despite boats size he was never afraid of contact and often finished through contact too).

I like the kid. I dont think an All-star game shows his best attributes. I think once actual real game play starts we'll start to see the value of Gilbert. Looking forward to seeing him on the court with our other players and changing the dynamics of this team.

 

[Marat]

I don't even remember Boat doing anything like this.

 

[Marat]

Here's Gilbert going behind his back and an alley-oop pass.

 

[UconnFanNVa]

I don't even remember Boat doing anything like this.

I'm pretty sure I've seen some boat reverse dunks! No prob for boat. Nonetheless that dunk is still impressive.

 

[gtcam]

Didn't see much Shabazz at all. Really? The Gilbert I saw was much more Boatright / Kemba. Really? In fact I think that's the worst association of the three. You created a whole thread with this ideology? Really?

What the hell is the point of your idiocy here?

 

[tcf15]

I dont like doing comparisons, I'll just say he is in the mold of some of the shorter athletic pgs. I like the boat comparison more than others, he's smaller (although not as short as boat) a very good on the ball defender and just defender in general, extremely good handles, and has pogo sticks for legs, nice touch on his shot.
Where he differs a bit to me (just my opinion) is that he isnt going to be the scorer that Boat was for us.. I think he'll be more of a point guard. Also he's a little more stocky (bigger) so i expect him to be alot more physical and to play through contact very well (although despite boats size he was never afraid of contact and often finished through contact too).

I like the kid. I dont think an All-star game shows his best attributes. I think once actual real game play starts we'll start to see the value of Gilbert. Looking forward to seeing him on the court with our other players and changing the dynamics of this team.

You'll be able to see that tonight. He's playing in the Dick's Sporting Goods High School Nationals with his high school team, Miller Grove. They are the 6 seed going up against 3 seed Findlay Prep. The game is on ESPNU at 6ET.

 

[DonaldDraper]

Yup but he's definitely more built than Boat and from what I've seen he's more of a point guard than Boat. Not trying to slight Boat, he's one of my all-time favorites I'm just really high on Gilbert. A backcourt of Gilbert and Adams has a pretty good shot of winning hardware at UConn.

I don't know that they will be playing that much together unless one of the two can shoot the three ball effectively. One of them needs to stretch the court out, or the D will pack in the paint. Adams can certainly improve, and shot the three ball better as the year went on, but that is not his strong suit. For next year I see them more as a rotational option to keep fresh legs in at point and wear down the D. Keep Purvis at the 2 to stretch the D as a 3 pt threat. That said, it will be amazing to have two quick guards that can break down a the defense. It was really frustrating watching the ball getting passed around the perimeter until the shot clock forced a bad shot this year.

 

[Dogdeacon]

Gilbert likley did not want too much burn in this game, considering he proabably has to get on a plane and fly somewhere for his highschool game the very next day. Of course it sucks for UConn fans, but you have to remember, it's just a meaningless dunkathon, I'm sure his teamates will appreciate him saving his energy for their game.

Maybe, but c'mon its THE biggest high school game & has made careers and your telling me he's asking for fewer minutes? He can be a team guy and play both nights.
Anyway, I liked the way his teammates deferred to him and gave him the ball, definitely saw signs of respect there given the all-star let me show off my skills exhibition. His quickness, particularly lateral quickness that the announcers talked about was most impressive and his handle seemed excellent = good pairing with Jalen Adams. Had a couple forced plays and although I think he was the quickest on the floor he couldn't translate that into offense for himself. But he passed well and I'd say overall lived up to expectations as a McD's worthy player that should be an impact freshman.

 

[intlzncster]

View attachment 12879

He certainly is jammed for a high school kid. Wait till he actually fills out in college.

 

[intlzncster]

Oh and I normally hate when everyone here compares our PG recruits, including Adams, to our past greats. In fact I've called people out on these comparisons numerous times. However, I'd be lying if I said I didn't see a stronger Boatright in Gilbert. The athletisism, defense, height, handle, and passion he plays with is the spitting image of him. We got ourselves a player.

As long as he's got that Boatright chip on his shoulder, I'm good. This year's team was lacking that sort of guy.

On the comparison issue, I think people mix up distinctions. It's useful to compare players in terms of skills, or athletic traits, or IQ/mental makeup. Just to give you an idea how they might play. It's not saying a kid has this player's ceiling or exact game. It's simply giving a reference or lens through which to view a player..

 

[intlzncster]

I don't even remember Boat doing anything like this.

Boat preferred a little more flash on the reverse:



But in game was more of a wind mill type guy:

 

[intlzncster]

I don't know that they will be playing that much together unless one of the two can shoot the three ball effectively. One of them needs to stretch the court out, or the D will pack in the paint. Adams can certainly improve, and shot the three ball better as the year went on, but that is not his strong suit. For next year I see them more as a rotational option to keep fresh legs in at point and wear down the D. Keep Purvis at the 2 to stretch the D as a 3 pt threat. That said, it will be amazing to have two quick guards that can break down a the defense. It was really frustrating watching the ball getting passed around the perimeter until the shot clock forced a bad shot this year.

? They are going to play together a lot of the time. Right now, we have 3 guards. Obviously Purv is getting starters minutes, but I can see Gilbert, Adams, Purv, Hamilton, Brimah on the floor not infrequently. Small at the four, but that's not unusual at the college game.

The following year, it's all Gilbert/Adams all the time.

 

[mauconnfan]

I don't know that they will be playing that much together unless one of the two can shoot the three ball effectively. One of them needs to stretch the court out, or the D will pack in the paint. Adams can certainly improve, and shot the three ball better as the year went on, but that is not his strong suit. For next year I see them more as a rotational option to keep fresh legs in at point and wear down the D. Keep Purvis at the 2 to stretch the D as a 3 pt threat. That said, it will be amazing to have two quick guards that can break down a the defense. It was really frustrating watching the ball getting passed around the perimeter until the shot clock forced a bad shot this year.

Whenever I see this I hope that kids eye was scratched out for trying to punch that cat. Little pr**k.

 

[Tenspro2002]

I don't know that they will be playing that much together unless one of the two can shoot the three ball effectively. One of them needs to stretch the court out, or the D will pack in the paint. Adams can certainly improve, and shot the three ball better as the year went on, but that is not his strong suit. For next year I see them more as a rotational option to keep fresh legs in at point and wear down the D. Keep Purvis at the 2 to stretch the D as a 3 pt threat. That said, it will be amazing to have two quick guards that can break down a the defense. It was really frustrating watching the ball getting passed around the perimeter until the shot clock forced a bad shot this year.

My impression was that Gilbert is actually a good shooter. Not sure why he gets a reputation of being a driver only -- maybe the assumed similarities to early-career Kemba and Boat?

Adams should be better too. He was atrocious out of the gate, and in a fairly small sample. Towards the end of the year he looked like the sort of shooter who could keep a defense honest from deep.

 

[James]

Gilbert likes to pass , I think of him as an athletic version of tyler ulis. I know, not a uconn pg, sorry .

 

[intlzncster]

Adams should be better too. He was atrocious out of the gate, and in a fairly small sample. Towards the end of the year he looked like the sort of shooter who could keep a defense honest from deep.

Hardly surprising for a freshman point (who's really a combo). He had too much on his plate.

 

[tcf15]

Gilbert likes to pass , I think of him as an athletic version of tyler ulis. I know, not a uconn pg, sorry .

Next point guard we get when Alterique graduates will likely be a mix of Kemba, Shabazz, Jalen and Alterique, and so on and so on.

Kemba, I'm sure, was a mix of Taliek Brown, AJ Price and Marcus Williams, with a dash of Craig Austrie.

But in all seriousness, DraftExpress has often compared Gilbert to Pierre Jackson, which is fine by me.

 

[ctchamps]

AG reminds me of Alterique Gilbert!

 

[DogMania]

You nailed it! That's exactly my outlook when I compare players. It's never to make a point that player A is going to be as good as player B. As I read through the thread, I can see aspects of his game that reminds me of a little of our last 3 great PGs. None of this is to place any type of expectations on AG. I don't understand why Jay-Bone has his panties all in a bunch over this.

As long as he's got that Boatright chip on his shoulder, I'm good. This year's team was lacking that sort of guy.

On the comparison issue, I think people mix up distinctions. It's useful to compare players in terms of skills, or athletic traits, or IQ/mental makeup. Just to give you an idea how they might play. It's not saying a kid has this player's ceiling or exact game. It's simply giving a reference or lens through which to view a player..

 

[Rico444]

I make this comparison not to say that AG will be this good, but just to compare playing styles based on what I saw in the one game I watched...but I was reminded of Kemba. He's obviously very strong for a small guard, and lightning quick, and he wasn't afraid to mix it up inside, and seemed to do relatively well as a finisher.