Gilyard capitalizes on NBA preseason playing time

Former University of Richmond men’s basketball player Jacob Gilyard, ‘22, who now plays professionally for the Memphis Grizzlies, has risen to the occasion when it comes to his playing time this NBA preseason. 

In five preseason games played for the Grizzlies, Gilyard tallied 17 points, 13 rebounds, 27 assists and 7 steals. Gilyard started in the team’s game against the Atlanta Hawks Oct. 12 and in the 30 minutes he played, racked up 10 assists alone. 

“G League assist champ Jacob Gilyard is now leading the NBA PRESEASON in assists through three games!” GTV Hoops posted on its Instagram following Gilyard’s performance against the Hawks. “The 5’9” PG, who is the shortest player in the NBA, is averaging 6.3 APG for the Memphis Grizzlies.”

After signing an Exhibit-10 contract with the Grizzlies in 2022, Gilyard spent the 2022-2023 season with the Memphis Hustle of the NBA’s G-League, where he played in 31 games averaging 8.3 points per game and 9.8 assists per game. 

He then joined the Grizzlies’ roster when he signed a two-way contract with the team and got to play in the last game of the regular season before the Grizzlies began their playoff run. In that one appearance, Gilyard scored 3 points, notched 4 rebounds and picked up 7 assists. 

Gilyard also played for the Grizzlies’ NBA 2K23 Summer League back in July, where he totaled 39 points, 39 assists, 23 rebounds and 16 steals through six games. 

UR’s director of basketball operations from when Gilyard played for the Spiders, Mark McGonigal, who was recently promoted to assistant coach for the upcoming 2023-2024 season, showed his support for Gilyard and his preseason start. 

“LOVE IT!!!” McGonigal tweeted on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. “LET’S GO JACOB GILYARD - unreal work ethic and commitment!!!”

Gilyard is one of three Grizzlies on a two-way contract with the team. The other two are Vince Williams Jr. and GG Jackson, who will both split time with the Hustle and Grizzlies this season like Gilyard. 

In his media day press conference Oct. 2, Gilyard said that he wanted to soak up as much knowledge as possible from the veteran guards he’d be playing behind, specifically from the likes of NBA players Derrick Rose, Marcus Smart and Ja Morant. 

“I think learning from a former MVP, a former Defensive Player of the Year and hopefully a future MVP,” Gilyard said in the press conference. “I mean, just good guys to have around you.  I’m pretty sure they all see the game differently, so as much knowledge as I can soak up and try to apply to myself will just be helpful to me and helpful to the team.”

Across five seasons at UR, Gilyard set all-time records in assists, steals and 3-pointers, totaling 782, 466 and 332 in each respective statistical category. Gilyard also scored over 2,000 points as a Spider, putting him fifth all-time at UR, and broke the all-time Division I steals record in December of his graduate year season. 

In 2022, Gilyard, alongside fifth and sixth-year players Nathan Cayo, Grant Golden and Nick Sherod, played a large role in UR advancing to its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2011. Gilyard played in every minute of every Atlantic 10 Tournament game en route to the Spiders’ A-10 Championship. 

In UR’s matchup against the University of Iowa in the Round of 64 of the NCAA Tournament, Gilyard scored 24 points and collected 6 assists and 6 rebounds, leading to a Round of 32 appearance against Providence College. 

In the Grizzlies’ fifth and final preseason game against the Milwaukee Bucks Oct. 20, Gilyard played 18 minutes and scored 2 points, picked up 3 assists and notched 3 rebounds. 

Gilyard and the Grizzlies will begin their regular season with a matchup against the New Orleans Pelicans at the FedEx Forum in Memphis, Tennessee at 8 p.m. Oct. 25.  

“I think the biggest thing is trying to find a role,” Gilyard said in the preseason press conference. “I think obviously everybody knows in the NBA, you have your stars, and how can guys build off of that. So, finding a role, whether that’s getting guys like [Luke Kennard] and [Desmond Bane] shots, or if that’s just picking up 94 feet and trying to make it difficult for the other team to guard.”

Contact sports editor Jimmy James at jimmy.james@richmond.edu.