You know that you are one of the posters who's opinion I respect most in terms of player evaluation on this board--don't need to qualify that any further.
That said, no--I don't think that Howard can do some of the things Gillon can do with the ball. Can Frank break somebody down? Absolutely. And he ended up showing tremendous court vision for a guy who really hadn't been a full time, born-and-bred point guard up to last year. He's going to be a VERY important player for us over the course of the next three years, and he was my personal favorite recruit from the class of 2016.
But Gillon has an unbelievable handle, and is ultra-quick. Remember when teams always flash that faux switch with centers up top, when our PGs would bring the ball back out? Gillon splits that defender [and there were numerous examples of him making teams pay for making that switch defensively]. When he's in the lane, he is deadly from mid range, he finishes with EITHER HAND through contact, and also sets up guys beautifully on the baseline.
I'm totally not surprised that you haven't seen him, and I'll be really interested in hearing your perspective when you do. I've seen a lot of junk analysis on Gillon, with some posters expressing the truism that since he's played at a mid-major, we should expect his production to go down. I call BS on that. Sure, he might not have to be a one man band scorer like he was called upon to do at CSU, but I think--with his skill set--that he'll THRIVE playing on a talented team.
When I watched his clips, I was shocked he was at CSU. There are times when you watch players from different levels and you see things that you know they wouldn't be able to get away with playing against top teams. I see a lot of slow passes, etc. in Ivy League games, for example. Doesn't mean that those kids can't play--just that they probably wouldn't be nearly as effective playing top notch P5 competition. When I watch Gillon, I'm not excited about his highlight reel -- BFD, they are highlights. But what I AM excited about is the translatable skill set that extrapolates very well to the upper echelon P5 level of play. Things such as:
- His deep shooting range and effortless stroke out to 25+ feet
- His ability to pull up and hit threes smoothly
- His handle in the open floor
- His ability to finish at the tin with either hand
- His ability to pull up in the lane and hit jump shots if nobody rotates over to cut off his penetration
- How easily he scores even after absorbing contact -- finishing is an important skill
- How his quickness / handle enable him to shirk off pressure and get the team upcourt into attack mode quickly
- How he sets up teammates off penetrations for easy baseline scores / lobs
Translatable skills. Now, there is some downside on paper, too. He played at CSU, so he didn't face ACC caliber teams every night, so I understand some of the skepticism. He's also about six-feet tall, and only about 170 pounds, he doesn't have great length for the zone [doesn't mean that he CAN'T be a decent defender in zone, just that on paper it is cause for concern].
But I think his offensive capabilities--many of which are described above--are going to prove to be the staw that helps stir the drink on what is shaping up as a loaded squad. One more thing: kid shot just under 40% for his first two years of college ball, before dropping down to about 33% last year on a team where he had to do too much offensively due to them not having other scorers. On a team with offensive balance? He could be another knock down shooter opposite Lydon / White. Very excited about what this kid brings to the table. This is a COMPLETELY different situation than Mullins, IMO.
Looking forward to hearing your impressions after you've watched clips, or a CSU game from last year.