Remember Gus Gilchrist? He’s the 6’9 forward who we took to task last year around this time for backing out of his commitment to Virginia Tech based on the tragic school shootings there last April. He said that he was “mentally unprepared” to deal with the fallout of that situation, and instead decided to sit out his first year. We wondered aloud at the time whether Gilchrist wasn’t using his newfound status as a highly-rated recruit to leverage the Va Tech shootings into a better landing spot for himself, and last fall he re-committed to Gary Williams’ Maryland Terrapins, enrolling in January.
Fast forward to the current spring, and Hot Wing Gary’s program appears to be crumbling like the steps of Rome. Super-juco Tyree Evans backed out of his commitment over the Memorial Day weekend, and Bobby Maze (another recruit) won’t be making it to College Park either. One of Gary’s expected returnees, freshman forward Shane Walker, already transferred out of the program in April. The rats appear to be jumping ship, and despite “Once I commit to something, I’m committed,” (yeah! irony!) Gilchrist has proven that he’s not one to hang around in the face of adversity. From the Baltimore Sun:
Gus Gilchrist, a talented 6-foot-9, 235-pound forward who was expected to play a major role next season, asked for his release so he could possibly play immediately at another school outside the Atlantic Coast Conference. Because of ACC rules, Gilchrist had to sit out the first semester of games because he had initially signed to play at Virginia Tech. “Gus has asked for a release to explore other options which may allow him to play more games at another university outside the ACC, pending an NCAA waiver,” Maryland coach Gary Williams said in a prepared statement released by the university.
Once again with Gilchrist, rumors are surfacing that West Virginia is a possible destination. Joe Alexander appears to be headed to the L, and Gilchrist would likely be eligible to play right away. That is, until Gilchrist decides that he finds mountaineers distasteful and he wants to play somewhere else after the first semester. Next stop – back to Virginia Tech (it’s safe there now)!