by Alex Schwartz

Michael Gilchrist is a class of 2011 6'7 small forward from St. Patrick's (NJ). Still just 15 years young, Gilchrist is the best high school basketball player in America, regardless of age, class, position, etc. Don't believe me? ESPNU, Hoop Scoop, Rivals, and Scout have all said the same thing about the Camden, New Jersey native. That's not enough for you? Despite being the second youngest player at the NBAPA Top 100 Camp, "Gilly" as he is called by his teammates, was the second leading vote getter for the all-star game, averaged 11.2ppg (18th place), was ranked as the #4 performer by Northstar Basketball, and was named the Most Outstanding Prospect (see article here). Frankly, Michael Gilchrist is the real deal.
The near unanimous number one player in the nation in the class of 2011 despite the fact that he doe not turn 16 until later this month, Gilchrist already has an impressive resume of accomplishments to go along with what I mentioned above. One of just a few players who has played varsity—and actually started—as a freshman under Kevin Boyle, he followed that up by being named the NJ Gatorade Player of the Year as a sophomore. To do so, he beat out two class of 09 McDonald's All-Americans, Dexter Strickland (North Carolina) and Dominic Cheek (Villanova), and a likely 010 McDonald's All-American, Kyrie Irving. Strickland and Irving were both on St. Pat's, which won the NJSIAA Tournament of Champions, with Gilchrist. This summer he was a key part of one of the nation's top AAU teams, Team Final, even though he was the youngest player on the team and one of the youngest ballers to play U17. When talking about Michael, the theme throughout is winning. I can go on and on with list of achievements, but what's the point?
Versatile to play any position on the court, Michael Gilchrist has a complete game. Standing 6'7 with long arms, he is a very good perimeter defender and also wreaks havoc down low. Although thin, he does not get pushed around much and cleans up on the glass, especially offensively. Speaking off offense, he can do it all. Skilled enough to grab a board, take it up the floor and finish, he is nearly impossible to stop from scoring. His jumper still needs work, but has come along nicely over the past year and his range continues to extend. A very good ball handler, Gilchrist can get to the cup with ease, also utilizing a nice spin move and deceptive quickness. He has an extremely high motor, always going 100% and working hard. In addition, despite his youth, Gilchrist is quite vocal and is a team leader. He has a high basketball IQ and plays the game the right way. There is very little the you can find that is wrong with his game outside of his J unless you really want to nitpick.
Here's a question about this up-and-coming superstar: Is Michael Gilchrist the best non-professional prospect in the world? That includes all players not under a professional contract, meaning everyone in the NCAA could be named as well as every other high school prospect in the nation, along with all non-pro international players. Who would be Gilchrist's competition for this honor? I'll give you 22 names (plus Gilchrist that's 23, which is only fitting!):
Cole Aldrich, College Junior, Kansas
Al-farouq Aminu, College Sophomore, Wake Forest
Justin Anderson, High School Sophomore, Montrose Christian (MD)
Isaiah Austin, High School Sophomore, Grace Prep (TX)
Harrison Barnes, High School Senior, Ames (IA)
Brad Beal, High School Junior, Chaminade (MO)
Rakeem Christmas, High School Junior, Academy of the New Church (PA)
DaJuan Coleman, High School Sophomore, Jamesville-DeWitt (NY)
DeMarcus Cousins, College Freshman, Kentucky
Ed Davis, College Sophomore, North Carolina
Andre Drummond, High School Sophomore, St. Thomas More (CT)
Perry Ellis, High School Sophomore, Wichita Heights (KS)
Derrick Favors, College Freshman, Georgia Tech
Perry Jones, High School Senior, Duncanville (TX)
John Henson, College Freshman, North Carolina
Brandon Knight, High School Senior, Pine Crest (FL)
James McAdoo, High School Junior, Norfolk Christian (VA)
Quincy Miller, High School Junior, Quality Education Academy (NC)
Greg Monroe, College Sophomore, Georgetown
Austin Rivers, High School Junior, Winter Park (FL)
Marquis Teague, High School Junior, Pike (IN)
John Wall, College Freshman, Kentucky
While there are other great prospects from the classes of 2006-2012 that have yet turn pro, these players along with Gilchrist may well be the best of the best, though it's obviously up for debate. In addition, there are probably some big-time ballers in the class of 2013 and younger, but those players are so tough to judge due to their youth. Nonetheless, it will be tough to find a player you would take over Gilchrist that's not on that list, so we'll run with that. You can make an argument for many of the players on the list, but to me, none are better prospects than Michael Gilchrist. Are some of them better players right now? Of course, no question. Yet, in five, seven, ten years, does Gilchrist have the potential to be better than all of them? I say yes. Just 15 years old, Michael Gilchrist can do it all, and with a good head on his shoulders, he can accomplish some great things. Could I be wrong? Absolutely, in fact, there's no such thing as a sure thing he could flake out like many other big-timers have before him. I doubt it though. It's very tough to call someone the best prospect in the world, but that's exactly what I'm going to do when it comes to Michael Gilchrist.
Two of the players on the above list are freshman at Kentucky, and many assume that in two years Gilchrist will be too. He has a close relationship with William "Worldwide Wes" Wesley, who is believed to be quite close with UK Head Coach John Calipari. Kentucky is heavily recruiting Michael as well as his high school teammate Kyrie Irving. It's a foregone conclusion that he will be a Wildcat one day, right? Yes, pretty much. Yet, it might be that he ends up as a Villanova Wildcat. Two well-informed independent sources with knowledge of the situation have told me that it is their opinion that, at the end of the day, Michael Gilchrist will be going to VU and not UK. While they are not citing any specific knowledge of this and are not saying it's a done deal, they are commenting that they think "Gilly" will choose to stay closer to home and go to the surging Big East power. It it nearly a definite yes that Michael Gilchrist will be a Wildcat, but the question is this: What type of Wildcat will the world's best prospect be?

Note- photos are from http://scouthoops.scout.com/