John Gillon Returns to Syracuse in a New Role

Story and Photo by Monica Ortiz

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- When Boeheim's Army

suddenly needed a point guard, John Gillon stepped

up, something he did more than once during this past

Orange men's basketball season.


And when other members of the team that will

compete in The Basketball Tournament took the field

for ceremonial first pitches before the Syracuse

Chiefs game and signed autographs for fans Thursday night, Gillon was right there with them as he has been in

practice this week.


"It's a great opportunity," Gillon said.



Connections

Gillon, who is best know for his buzzer beater against Duke, replaces Scoop Jardine who was injured while playing professionally in Canada last season. General Manager Kevin Belbey's goal has been to stick to a team of former Syracuse Basketball players. He contacted Gillon. Belbey said after finding out Gillon had not signed on with a summer league team, the decision to add him as point guard came fairly easy.

Belbery's brother Shaun, a walk on transfer for Syracuse Basketball put him in contact with Gillon. After a couple of conversations with his agent, Gillon responded he could be on a plane the next day.

Gillon has only been gone from Syracuse about two months and says his return feels like he’s "back home."
Choosing to play for Boeheim’s Army didn’t require much thought on his part.

"I'm glad Belbey asked me to be on the team," Gillon said. "Getting back and being able to replace such good player, with the team thinking highly of me in that role means a lot."

As far as he is concerned the team is skilled in every position, but the strength of the team will be revealed once the tournament starts. Boeheim's Army will go after the $2 million winner-take-all prize, facing the DuBois Dream in its first game this Saturday, July 8 in Philadelphia.