Gilbert transferring to Wichita State
Oft-injured point guard moves on following four years at UConn; continues play in AAC
UConn may be leaving the American Athletic Conference, but Alterique Gilbert is staying put.
Gilbert, a point guard at UConn the past four seasons, announced on Saturday that he will be transferring to Wichita State. Gilbert will graduate this spring, so he will play as a grad transfer with one — and possibly two — years of eligibility
“I am excited to announce that I will be attending Wichita State University
this fall!,” Gilbert posted on his Twitter feed on Saturday. “Let’s go Shocker nation!!!”
Gilbert knows the Shockers and coach Gregg Marshall pretty well. He scored 18 points, including consecutive 3-pointers in the final minute, at Wichita on Feb. 28, 2019, and was poised to be the game’s hero before Wichita guard Samajae Haynes-Jones hit a gamewinning runner at the buzzer.
Gilbert scored 14 against the Shockers on Jan. 12 in a double-overtime loss to the Shockers. He will be the first former McDonald’s All-American to play for Marshall at Wichita State.
Gilbert announced last week that he would be
transferring.
“My time at UConn was great,” Gilbert told Hearst Connecticut Media last week. “It didn’t go how I thought it would go, but mainly I’m looking for a fresh, new start. Being able to go to a school for a year, help whatever team I can win and put myself in the best position for me and my family.”
Gilbert was a redshirt junior this past season. He took part in Senior Night festivities on March 5 against Houston, but left open the possibility to return to UConn at the time. But after returning to Atlanta earlier this week amidst the coronavirus pandemic and discussing things with his family and others close to him, he made his decision.
Gilbert, a McDonald’s All-American in high school, missed almost all of his first two seasons at UConn due to shoulder injuries. He also missed several games in 2018-19 due to a shoulder injury and a concussion, which ended his season.
Gilbert was healthy for virtually all of this past season, but some oncourt ineffectiveness, along with the death of his grandmother, led to a trying first couple of months of the season that ultimately led to him taking a brief leave of absence. Gilbert missed UConn’s 78-63 win over Temple on Jan. 29 and returned for the next game, but had lost his spot as the team’s starting point guard to freshman Jalen Gaffney.
Gilbert came off the bench the rest of the season (except for a Senior Night start) and seemed to accept his reduced role well. He also played better at times, including 17 points off the bench in the Huskies’ first road win of the season, at Tulsa.
“The reduced role thing was new to me, honestly,” Gilbert noted last week. “But it was something I was willing to do for us to win. Because I played with a lot of great players throughout my basketball career, so I’ve never been a guy that really needed all the attention. My main goal was to win. I always said I was a winner first. My
UConn career, we didn’t win a lot. So, I just thought I’d finish my time up on my feet, and if I had the opportunity to leave and go play somewhere where I have a better opportunity or chance, I said I’ll take it.”
Gilbert arrived at UConn as a McDonald’s All-American, perhaps the most highly-touted of an incoming freshman class in 2016 nicknamed “Top Five” that also included Juwan Durham, Vance Jackson, Mamadou Diarra and Christian Vital. His shoulder issues preceded him, however, having undergone surgery while in high school, then dislocating his shoulder during the Jordan Brand Classic in April, 2016.
Gilbert suffered a seasonending shoulder injury that required surgery in a midNovember game at Loyola Marymount as a freshman. The following season, Gilbert’s season came to an end after hurting his shoulder in the PK80 tournament in Portland, Ore. That injury required surgery, as well.
UConn, of course, returns to the Big East next season.
“I’ll forever be a part of that program, in my eyes,” Gilbert said. “I’m proud to say I’m a Husky forever.”
NO UCONN FOR BRUNER
It appears Yale’s Jordan Bruner will leave the state if he plays one more season of college ball. Bruner, who has one year of eligibility left, but can’t do so in the Ivy League, announced his final six possible destinations as Alabama, Arkansas, Baylor, Gonzaga, Louisville and Maryland.
He had been contacted by UConn, first by assistant Tom Moore and later by head coach Dan Hurley, but never seemed overly interested in the Huskies. Bruner seems to have his heart set on playing professionally next season, but since pre-draft workouts and camps are likely to be canceled or suspended over the next couple of months, he is considering the grad transfer route so he won’t be “stuck in the mud, with nowhere to play,” as he told Hearst Connecticut Media last week.