Gilbert finds home in Kansas
Alterique Gilbert thriving after transfer to Wichita St,
Former UConn guard Alterique Gilbert finds success,“living his best life”as a graduate transfer on a Wichita State team vying for spot in the NCAATournament.
If you’re a
UConn basketball fan and you know the whole story, if you’re a college basketball fan who knows it peripherally, or if you just have enough empathy to enjoy seeing a young man find success on his own terms, these could be the most marvelous words you hear this week:
“Man, I wouldn’t change a thing,” Alterique Gilbert says. “I wouldn’t change a second. The injuries, the process, I wouldn’t change a thing. Teammates, coaches, made me who I am today. And that’s what life is about, overcoming these things and feeling that feeling at the end.”
As one who spent four years seeing the pain etched on Gilbert’s face, or sensed it in his cracking voice, it made my week to hear not only how well he is doing as a grad transfer at Wichita State, but how settled and
Dom Amore
self-assured he sounds. Gilbert has helped the Shockers play through an unexpected coaching change and reach the NCAA Tournament bubble after a huge win over Houston.
Alterique Gilbert is easy to pull for. Gilbert, a McDonald’s All-American, came to UConn as the highest-touted recruit in the heralded Class of 2016. His time was so ill-starred, consisting of losing seasons filled with shoulder miseries. Only after three major surgeries, each followed by months of rehab, was he healthy enough to play. And then there were the struggles with mental health that Gilbert opened up about during his senior year, aimed to help others going through similar struggles.
“Steps, man, it’s always a process,” he says. “It’s a continuing journey, a continuing process, just learning yourself, getting better in each aspect of your life.”
After graduating from UConn last spring with his degree in urban and community studies, Gilbert decided to make a fresh start. He did it with Dan Hurley’s blessing and the best wishes of his teammates and the Huskies community.
One of the most valuable things Gilbert took with him from Storrs was meditation, a morning ritual Hurley suggested.
“When he first explained it to me, I was like, ‘man, I can’t do that,’ ” Gilbert said. “But now it became part of me and helped me and I’m happy for that. It’s a great part of my morning routine, and it’s something I’ll continue for a long time.”
Along with yoga and assembling 100-piece puzzles, the early morning routine helps Gilbert clear his mind for the day ahead. “Things like that keep me in the moment, slow my mind down and allow me to move at my own pace, which I love.”
The low point for Gilbert was sitting out a game against Temple last season to confront his struggles. As his career was winding down, he was worried about the future, about his long efforts in basketball ending without him attaining the goals he had set, like helping support his family. On the court, he had lost his starting job. But the help he needed was around him. He returned, playing off the bench to help the Huskies finish strong, including a win over Houston that raised hopes for an American Athletic Conference Tournament ultimately canceled by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Being comfortable with myself in those uncomfortable situations, that was a stepping stone for me, and I’m just thankful for the support system that I have,” Gilbert said. “Those were the building block days for me, not just for the next five years, but I was building my mind for the rest of my life. It was more of an opportunity, now that I look at it. It was tough on me mentally, and that was just part of the process.
Now, I’m just learning. I’m just learning, man, how life goes, how the world works and what works for me.”
When he chose Wichita State, Gilbert was signing on for a perennial national power in a conference he knew well. Then came more upheaval. Long-time coach Gregg Marshall faced allegations of verbal and physical abuse and resigned on Nov.
17. Isaac Brown took over and offered a steady hand.
“Initially, I just started reminiscing about the coaching change at UConn that happened during my sophomore year,” Gilbert says. “So in a way, I had some experience with that process. But all in all, with COVID, we never knew what was coming. It was day to day for us. Two weeks before the season, we were telling ourselves, ‘Nobody’s going to feel sorry for us because of the situation we’re in.’ I think [Brown] he did a great job, in one of the rarest situations I’ve ever seen or been a part of. He just kept us focused on the actual game, the X’s and O’s.”
Gilbert scored 18 points in his debut, a win over Oral Roberts, and has scored in double figures 10 times, averaging 10.5, with 62 assists to 38 turnovers. When he was debilitated with migraine headaches, Gilbert emerged from the bench and scored 17, including the clutch 3-pointer in the final minute to beat Central Florida on Feb. 10. He scored 16 in the upset of Houston, ranked sixth at the time, that has the Shockers (13-4, 9-2 in the AAC) thinking about the postseason as they face SMU on Friday.
“It was a great feeling,” Gilbert says. “It was a great win because Houston’s a great team.”
As he goes through the season, Gilbert stays in touch with former UConn teammates and checks out the Huskies when he can, such as the Villanova game last week.
“Of course. We made that commitment once we stepped on that campus,” he says. “That was a brotherhood for life. That’s just a great feeling to have, being way out here in the Midwest, knowing I have UConn ties is a comforting feeling.”
Now, imagine Wichita State gets in and somehow draws UConn. Gilbert has allowed that to enter his mind. “That would be a game to see, a great March Madness game,” he says. “Two winning programs.”
Where there was once a fear of the future, Gilbert now lets life come to him. He’s learned to take its harsh blows and press on. He has a year of post-pandemic eligibility if he wants it, or, now that he’s healthy, he could make a living playing basketball somewhere. And he has a UConn degree in his pocket.
But the most marvelous news is he’s happy, at peace with who he is and what he’s made of himself.
“I’m just taking it day by day and trying to ‘live my best life,’ is what they call it.”