He's a winner - Jacob Gilyard
Some guys just win
I think winning is something you have to learn how to do. When things don't look great, you have to have that confidence that you can overcome, take that next step, hit the shot, find the open man; win the game. Jacob Gilyard is that guy.
The future Spider point guard out of Kansas City has lead his team to the state championship game each of the last three years. His program has had some tremendous talent the last few years and Jacob has made them even better, distributing the ball to his bigs and making sure to get the talent into the flow of the game. Don't slack on him though, he'll take a game over himself if he needs to.
Spidernation had the opportunity to catch up with Jacob last month. Jacob mentioned that he, "fell in love with Richmond. From the campus to the people. Not many schools give you the opportunity that Richmond gives you with basketball and the A-10 and their academics."
Jacob also mentioned the opportunity to form relationships with faculty, students and even spending some time with President Crutcher. While on campus, he also had the opportunity to meet Bryce Schneider, who he will be playing with next year.
Despite having some talent ahead of him on the roster at the PG position, Jacob wants to make his presence felt and have that opportunity to compete for playing time. While he doesn't model his game after anyone, he tries to play like Tyler Ulis or Chris Paul. I can think of worse guys to model myself after. Gilyard emphasized to me how he was "a true point guard with a high IQ and an extreme level of unselfishness."
What others are saying
While on campus, those that got to witness some pick-up play marveled at how Gilyard had a knack for utilizing his movement to get others more open. The term used while he was passing to TJ Cline was, "magical."
I also heard that Coach Mooney was especially excited about getting receiving Gilyard's commitment. Mooney has had a lot of success with small, quick point guards. Gilyard is in the same mold but places more emphasis on distribution and getting good looks for other players.
Gilyard will be back on the court next week, with his first practice being on Halloween.