From Baltimore, Mass., this basketball player has a big heart, and it is very noticeable to those who watch him play.
Derrious Gilmore has a big heart, not because he loves basketball, but because he is inspired by his family and from his high school basketball coach.
The Cowboys point guard is this week’s Student Athlete of the Week.
Basketball has always been a big factor in his life.
Gilmore started playing basketball when he was 6 or 7 years old. It was the family sport; his mom played it and so did everyone else.
“Basketball is a tradition in my family,” Gilmore said.
Gilmore also is the first person in his family to potentially graduate from college.
“My family is so happy and so proud of me,” Gilmore said. “They are the ones who inspire me and influence me every day.”
Gilmore said he prays to God before every game. His family and God keep him sane and keep him going in the right direction.
Another person that really inspired him and led him down the right track was his high school basketball coach, Herman Harried. Harried went to Syracuse University and now coaches at Lake Clifton High School in Baltimore.
Gilmore really looked up to Harried, and he became a father figure in his life. Harried taught him a lot of life lessons besides basketball and taught Gilmore how to be prepared for anything.
Gilmore would like to help Harried coach after college. “I’d also like to help my high school coach who’s getting kind of old but still has a lot of years left,” Gilmore said in his Q&A for the UW Athletics website.
Gilmore misses Baltimore, but really like Laramie as well. A lot of people have helped him with his adjustment to the city.
Gilmore said that if he had any free time, he would love to just relax and play video games or something, because not many student athletes get free time to themselves.
Gilmore loves his mom’s fried chicken and her flavored rice, which are his favorite food. He also dreams about playing for the NBA, and would want to play for the Washington Wizards, because that is the closest team to his family.
