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John Gillon

School: Syracuse University

Position: Point Guard

Year: Senior

Twitter: @John_Gillon1

In College Basketball, talented players are often overlooked by the mainstream media if they lack flashy, high-scoring statistics or aren’t surrounded by controversy like the Grayson Allen’s of the sport. But don’t worry, because thats exactly what the Student Union Player Spotlight is here for: To give some credit to the gritty, hardworking, players that always get the job done for their squads. Syracuse’s John Gillon is our featured player today as he is the exact embodiment of the tenacious spirit that we here at Student Union feel should be celebrated.

Formerly a Colorado State Ram, the 5th year point guard decided to spend his final season at Syracuse and is currently averaging 10.4 points per game. Gillon’s statistics certainly don’t jump off the page, but their is much more to this man then meets the eye. He has been an exceptional leader for the Syracuse squad this season and has proven to be capable of running this elite Orange offense. His presence has been crucial this season as Syracuse is 7-0 when Gillon scores over 14 points, and 10-1 when he has 6 or more assists.

Things are really starting to click for Gillon this season, as his past two games have been the two best games of his entire college career. On Saturday he led Syracuse to a shocking 82-72 victory over a (at the time) No. 6 ranked Florida State team. In that matchup, Gillon put up 21 points and moved the ball around very well with 11 assists. He followed that performance up with career high numbers against the North Carolina State Wolfpack in Syracuse’s overtime win on Wednesday night. Gillon put up an astounding 43 points and cushioned that with another nine assists. He hit from three point range nine times throughout the course of the game and proved just how clutch he could be in the final play of regulation. With only 10 seconds left to play, NC State’s Maverick Rowan (all-name team) gave his team a 3-point lead with a beautiful shot from beyond the arc. With ice in his veins, Gillon responded by driving the ball down the court and hitting a contested three with 1.1 seconds left to take the game into OT.

Syracuse was able to take control of the game in overtime and ended up winning 100-93 over their conference rivals. With this clutch performance under his belt, look to see John Gillon in the mainstream spotlight in the coming weeks.