Former Maryland point guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie announced Friday that he is joining the Tennessee program.
That marks a homecoming for Gillespie, who is a native of Greenville, Tenn., located about 70 miles east of the Tennessee campus in Knoxville.
Gillespie’s announcements on social media included “I’M COMING HOME” with a photo of himself wearing a Volunteers uniform.
Tennessee, which reached the Elite Eight each of the last two years, had a need for a transfer point guard to replace the graduating Zakai Zeigler, the school’s all-time leader with 747 career assists.
Gillespie also considered Villanova — the school that just hired Kevin Willard away from Maryland. He entered the transfer portal on Monday.
“I just feel like it was a no-brainer for me,” Gillespie told Rocky Top Insider. “For just being in this situation, I wasn’t even thinking I’d be leaving in a month, then my coach leaves and, boom, Tennessee is in the picture.
“Once I thought about it — I thought about Villanova and Tennessee. I was just thinking about it and Tennessee, every time I thought about it I got excited and was just ready to go. It was kind of easy for me to decide.”
Gillespie averaged 14.7 points, 4.8 assists and 2.8 rebounds in 36 games this season for a Maryland squad that reached the Sweet 16. He knocked down 87 3-pointers and racked up 69 steals.
Gillespie spent his first two seasons at Belmont, located in Nashville, before transferring to Maryland.
In three college seasons, Gillespie has averages of 13.6 points, 4.2 assists and 2.8 rebounds in 93 games (68 starts). He has 173 steals and 151 3-point baskets.
–Field Level Media
