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Stephen F. Austin Basketball

Source: SFA's Leon Gilmore III 'no longer part of the team'

October 1, 2017
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Editor's Note: Stephen F. Austin has evidently opened the door to a Leon Gilmore III return, sources told The Sawmill days after this original article was published. You can read the latest on the Gilmore situation here.

At the 2017 Southland Conference Tournament, Leon Gilmore III was on fire. During Stephen F. Austin's victory over Lamar and season-ending loss to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, the forward from Houston, Texas scored 19 and 20 points to pair with the elite denial defense he showed for most of his junior season.

Those games, along with a CIT contest at Idaho, will be his last as a Lumberjack.

The transfer from Creighton by way of Trinity Valley Community College is "no longer a part of the team," a source close to the Lumberjacks basketball program has told The Sawmill. Gilmore has been noticeably absent from team photos and SFA's official roster over the past week. This news confirms it is no coincidence.

Gilmore averaged just north of 10 points per game during his first and only season in Nacogdoches, helping SFA to a second-place finish in the Southland Conference. His breakaway dunks were a trademark of that 2016-17 team and he quickly became a fan favorite in William R. Johnson Coliseum.

While no official comment has been made at this point, head coach Kyle Keller will participate in his first press conference of the preseason early next week and is expected to address the Gilmore situation then.

If there is any silver lining, it is only that Gilmore's absence will likely create additional minutes for sophomore guard-forward combo Kevon Harris. SFA will open the season on November 11th at Longwood with a front court consisting of freshman Stefon Fisher, sophomores Harris, Samuli Nieminen, Nathan Bain and juniors TJ Holyfield and Jovan Grujic.

Guards Ivan Canete and Ty Charles will be the only seniors.

Source: SFA's Leon Gilmore III 'no longer part of the team'

25,290 Views | 52 Replies | Last: 7 yr ago by TallTexan
TallTexan
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In reply to nacluth • 3:24p, 10/5/17
nacluth said:
What's the rules on public attending practices? Are they always open or are there designated public practices?
You can attend as many SHSU practices as you'd like, so long as you bring an air horn.
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TallTexan
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In reply to INiedrauer • 3:25p, 10/5/17
INiedrauer said:
There will be some more on Leon today. A chance as of last night.
That sounds like good news. Is it good news. Or is this like the mysterious grad transfer? Speaking of which, whatever happened to that guy?
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INiedrauer
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In reply to TallTexan • 3:36p, 10/5/17
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TallTexan said:
INiedrauer said:
There will be some more on Leon today. A chance as of last night.
That sounds like good news. Is it good news. Or is this like the mysterious grad transfer? Speaking of which, whatever happened to that guy?
He's probably setting in nicely at Iona where he ended up....
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Isaac Niedrauer
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PurpleOut
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In reply to TallTexan • 3:37p, 10/5/17
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None of that worked out, there were a few different transfer options they looked at I believe.

As far as the info that Isaac or anyone gets, just let it play. No need to make a witch hunt out of anything. Nobody knows the full situation yet.
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SFA Jack Fanatic
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In reply to Gazette1 • 4:04p, 10/5/17
Gazette1 said:
OK, I will be there at some point today. I got the practice schedule from the secretary Carrie Johnson who also said that hopefully things will work out where Leon can come back to the team. So it is not a done deal.
Did she say if he is enrolled for the Fall semester?
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In reply to SFA Jack Fanatic • 4:06p, 10/5/17
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edstile said:
Gazette1 said:
OK, I will be there at some point today. I got the practice schedule from the secretary Carrie Johnson who also said that hopefully things will work out where Leon can come back to the team. So it is not a done deal.
Did she say if he is enrolled for the Fall semester?
He is enrolled and has been attending classes even in his absence on the team.
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Gazette1
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4:43p, 10/5/17
Practices have always been open. I don't know what Keller's rules are, but Kaspar didn't allow players parents.
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TallTexan
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In reply to INiedrauer • 5:24p, 10/5/17
INiedrauer said:
TallTexan said:
INiedrauer said:
There will be some more on Leon today. A chance as of last night.
That sounds like good news. Is it good news. Or is this like the mysterious grad transfer? Speaking of which, whatever happened to that guy?
He's probably setting in nicely at Iona where he ended up....
Hello FBI... Yes, I'd like to report Iona.....
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TallTexan
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In reply to Gazette1 • 5:29p, 10/5/17
Gazette1 said:
Practices have always been open. I don't know what Keller's rules are, but Kaspar didn't allow players parents.
Did Kaspar's team practice with a shot clock or did they just pass back and forth for 90 minutes and then attempt one shot at the end of practice?
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In reply to TallTexan • 6:07p, 10/5/17
TallTexan said:
Gazette1 said:
Practices have always been open. I don't know what Keller's rules are, but Kaspar didn't allow players parents.
Did Kaspar's team practice with a shot clock or did they just pass back and forth for 90 minutes and then attempt one shot at the end of practice?
Now, that's just plain funny right there!!
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Gazette1
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6:33p, 10/5/17
I really enjoyed meeting and talking to Isaac at practice today. I was very impressed with freshman point guard Cameron Mack. Ivan Canette looks much improved. Grujic looks stronger and hopefully can contribute. Samuli is impressive also and Augustin looks much more poised and confident. We need to get some of those guys healthy. Four players out of practice with injuries. Ty, Comequx, Bogues and Bain. Kaspar did practice with a sot clock and was not as restrictive offensively as you would think. He was a defensive minded coach first and didn't believe in taking low percentage shots. He was very organized and very impressive to watch in practice. He has eyes in the back of his head it would seem because he missed nothing that happened on the floor. He was amazing to watch. He was also the most honest man that I have ever met. Don't sell him short. He really did a good job with Texas State last year. The university also gave him very little to work with. He actually did all of the fund raising for the program himself. SFA had the most dismal program that I have ever seen before he came here. He put us on the map. The fact that he was so straight forward and honest with recruits actually hurt his recruiting abilities but his players always had character. He is the most interesting practice coach that I have ever seen and I have seen many. Other coaches from high schools and J.Cs would come watch his practices to learn from him. He is a coaching clinic.

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nacluth
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7:07p, 10/5/17
Thanks Gazette. It's good to hear about our guards playing at a high level. I'm personally interested in our forward play. It may be hard to tell in practice, but could you tell if TJ, Kevon, or Fisher were moving with intensity around the bucket? I'm sure Grujic will be better because he has to be. Looking forward to the Gilmore news.
Ryan
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No-look
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7:17p, 10/5/17
I know Ty is out but what's up with Bain, Bogues and Comeoux? Hope it's minor. Is it normal to have that many injuries as we have had last year and this year?
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7:23p, 10/5/17
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Leon Gilmore III's possible return, other notes from SFA basketball
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Isaac Niedrauer
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BasketballMom3
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7:44p, 10/5/17
Failure is not an option
#LumberJackMom
C/O2018
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Gazette1
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7:56p, 10/5/17
Bain is recovering from back surgery but they think that he will be ready for the season as will Bogues who has an ankle sprain. Comeaux had microscopic surgery on his knee last week and will miss a month of practice but should be ready. Isaac knows more than I do and I will let him tell it but there is an update on Leon as he has mentioned. We are going to have to wait a bit on our forwards. If Gilmore returns our forward play should be more than adequate. Kevon will be special in my opinion. Fisher is very young, and I don't know if he will help us much this year. There are a lot of ifs right now. We need Ty to get healthy and into shape. Ty looks heavy.
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Gazette1
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12:00p, 10/6/17
I don't care where they pick us. Coach Keller made the comment that he is only concerned with his team as well.
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TallTexan
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In reply to Gazette1 • 3:48p, 10/6/17
Gazette1 said:
I really enjoyed meeting and talking to Isaac at practice today. I was very impressed with freshman point guard Cameron Mack. Ivan Canette looks much improved. Grujic looks stronger and hopefully can contribute. Samuli is impressive also and Augustin looks much more poised and confident. We need to get some of those guys healthy. Four players out of practice with injuries. Ty, Comequx, Bogues and Bain. Kaspar did practice with a sot clock and was not as restrictive offensively as you would think. He was a defensive minded coach first and didn't believe in taking low percentage shots. He was very organized and very impressive to watch in practice. He has eyes in the back of his head it would seem because he missed nothing that happened on the floor. He was amazing to watch. He was also the most honest man that I have ever met. Don't sell him short. He really did a good job with Texas State last year. The university also gave him very little to work with. He actually did all of the fund raising for the program himself. SFA had the most dismal program that I have ever seen before he came here. He put us on the map. The fact that he was so straight forward and honest with recruits actually hurt his recruiting abilities but his players always had character. He is the most interesting practice coach that I have ever seen and I have seen many. Other coaches from high schools and J.Cs would come watch his practices to learn from him. He is a coaching clinic.

I'm mostly giving Kaspar a hard time. He built the base and set us up excellently for the future. Had he not taken another job, we'd never have gotten Underwood.
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