Former Tennessee guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie has been lighting up the scoreboard during scrimmage sessions at the NBA Combine this week in Chicago. He especially made headlines in his first scrimmage, where he dropped 28 points while shooting 10-of-17 from the floor and 5-of-8 from three-point range.
Before the combine started, Gillespie was projected as a late second-round draft pick. But his showing on the court this week has him being talked about in high regards. Gillespie proved to be a high-scoring, balanced guard during his lone season at Tennessee, and he’s shown the skill set this week to catch someone’s attention in the association.
“Ja’Kobi Gillespie just hasn’t stopped making shots all week,” Bleacher Report’s Jonathan Wasserman posted to X on Thursday. “Auditioning for that instant-offense/microwave role.”
Ja’Kobi Gillespie continues to solidify his case as a promising rotational guard in day 2 of the NBA Combine scrimmages pic.twitter.com/gGS6d6H8Pa
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College Hoops commenter Ryan Hammer is one of the voices that’s high on Gillespie this week. He’s got him as one of his biggest draft stock risers after putting together some strong numbers on the court.
“Shoutout Ja’Kobi Gillespie,” Hammer said during a social media video. “Absolutely fried day one in the 5-v-5. And when there’s a lot of older, smaller college guards trying to get drafted, sometimes outplaying them in May at the combine on the same floor is what gets you picked higher than them. We know that he can shoot the lights out. We know he’s smart, he’s tough. This type of a player is worth an early second-rounder in this class. So, shoutout to Ja’Kobi.”
In the NBA pre-combine mock drafts from ESPN and The Athletic, Gillespie was projected to go No. 60 to the Wizards and No. 48 to the Mavericks, respectively. His performance this week in Chicago could see those projections rise when he get our next round of mock drafts after the combine.
Gillespie’s measurements went official on Tuesday afternoon, thanks to Draft Express’ Jon Chepkevich on social media. The 22-year-old Tennessee guard is 5-foot-11 3/4 and weighs in at 181.8 pounds. He has a 6’4″ wingspan and a 7′ 11.5″ standing reach.
Gillespie played more basketball during his lone year at Tennessee than he did in any other season in his career. He played in all 37 of the Volunteers’ games last year and averaged 34.8 minutes on the court per game. Gillespie averaged 18.4 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 5.4 assists per contest.
After recording just eight points in Tennessee’s season-opening game, Gillespie went on to tally double-digit points in 28 straight games and in 35 of Tennessee’s final 36 games. In the one game that he scored single-digit points after the opener, he also tallied 12 assists as he continued to move the rock and help the offense.
Gillespie scored 20 or more points on 16 occasions during the season, including three of four NCAA tournament games and the Vols’ lone game in the SEC Tournament.
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