Tennessee point guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie did not earn any All-American honors this season. But according to analytics based website EvanMiya.com, Gillespie is one of the most valuable players in the country.
According to EvanMiya’s Baynesian Performance Rating, which calculates the value of a player to his team, Gillespie is the fifth best player in the country coming in behind only Duke’s Cameron Boozer, Michigan’s Yaxel Lendeborg, Purdue’s Braden Smith and Michigan State’s Jeremy Fears.
Gillespie enters the Sweet 16 averaging 18.4 points, on 34.5% three-point shooting, along with 5.6 assists, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 steals per game.
His value to Tennessee goes far beyond the stat sheet. Tennessee lacks other ball handlers and perimeter scorers, that forces the Vols to lean heavily on Gillespie every time out. The Vols excel when their senior point guard is on the court and struggle badly when he’s on the bench.
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“I think what people will sometimes focus on, which is unfortunate, think how great Gillespie is today,” Tennessee assistant coach Gregg Polinsky said following the win over Virginia. “38 plus minutes, special, but end of the game, he is exhausted, and our options, in terms of experienced guards to get him out, we really don’t have any. So I was just really proud to see him bounce back after he had the turnover.”
Gillespie was terrific last weekend in Philadelphia when Tennessee defeated Miami (Ohio) and Virginia to advance to the Sweet 16. The All-SEC point guard combined for 50 points, 15 assists, nine rebounds and four steals in the two games. Gillespie was the third player in the modern era of the NCAA Tournament to total 50 points and 15 assists in his first two games, joining UConn’s Kemba Walker and Providence’s Billy Donovan.
After ending the regular season in a shooting slump, Gillespie found his stroke last weekend. He knocked down nine-of-16 three-pointers in Tennessee’s two wins.
Gillespie is looking to stay hot when Tennessee faces Iowa State and its stout defense on Friday night in the Sweet 16. Tipoff between the Vols and Cyclones is at 10:10 p.m. ET. TNT and TruTv are both broadcasting the game.
