John Gilchrist Update?

<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">While professional basketball leagues around the world are gearing up for the stretch run, March Madness is upon the college basketball world in the United States.

On Sunday, the National Collegiate Athletic Association will announce the 65 teams that have qualified for the championship tournament, which will culminate on April 1-3 with the Final Four in Indianapolis. This weekend many teams that are "on the bubble" will jockey for spots via their respective conference tournaments.

Countless players and careers have been made or broken by their play at this time of year. One player who put on a show for the ages just two years ago in the prestigious Atlantic Coast Conference tournament has since taken his trade to Israel.

John Gilchrist, 21, is the starting point guard for Maccabi Rishon, a team that has taken the BSL by storm this season. Gilchrist is the youngest foreign player in Israel this season and has averaged 14.2 points and 3.4 assists per game while helping Rishon to an 11-5 record and third place in the league.

But perhaps his brightest moments came in 2004, as Gilchrist put on one of the greatest postseason college conference tournament performances ever, leading the sixth-seeded University of Maryland Terrapins to an improbable ACC tournament championship.

The road to the title, Maryland's first in 20 years, went through the top three seeds in the tournament on consecutive days.

Gilchrist, just a sophomore at the time, averaged 24 points per game on 63.4 percent shooting from the field in nail-biting wins over third-seeded Wake Forest (87-86), in which he hit the game winning free throw with 3.7 seconds remaining; second-seeded North Carolina State (85-82), in which Gilchrist scored 30 points and led Maryland back from a 19-point halftime deficit; and top-seeded Duke (92-85 in overtime), en route to capturing the tournament's MVP award.

The former ACC star and current BSL rookie, who also averaged 6.3 assists and 5.3 rebounds per game in that tournament, looks back on his three days of glory with admiration, but also perspective.

"The game's never really been that hard, if you work hard and go out and play basketball," Gilchrist said. "That's how [Duke star] J.J. Redick does it. He goes out there, nothing on his mind, and plays for free. That's what it was for me."

Gilchrist's Terps shocked Redick's side in the tournament final. And Maryland climbed out of a 12-point deficit late in regulation to do so. With his team down by three points in the waning seconds, Gilchrist opted to drive to the basket instead of shooting a three, fortunately got bumped by Duke's Shelden Williams, and made the bucket and the ensuing free throw to knot the game up and send it to overtime.

Maryland advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, before losing to defending champion Syracuse.

"Guys have good days all the time," said a modest Gilchrist, who scored 26 points in the championship game. "I was just happy to play real well in a big tournament.

"It's weird when you see how many people react and look at you. In sports you can't get too up and you can't get too down. You've got to stay level and seize the moment for the moment. You work hard for what you do and when the stage is set you're prepared."

Gilchrist seized his moment in a big way, bursting onto the national scene with his performance and garnering attention as one of the top players in the NCAA.

He chose to return to school after his classic performance, amidst speculation that he might leave two years prematurely and try his luck in the NBA. His junior year did not go as scripted, though, as a rift with head coach Gary Williams and unmet high team-expectations lowered his draft stock immensely.</div>

Former NCAA star John Gilchrist impresses at Rishon