UMBC

Nov. 15: Became the first UMBC freshman to start the opener since Uwem Eshietedoho (2005-06) did it in his initial campaign…Was flawless from the floor, hitting all eight attempts in a 17-point, six-rebound effort vs. Stevenson… Dec. 3: Led UMBC in scoring with 17 points vs. Towson… Dec. 13:  Bounced back from stomach flu to lead UMBC in rebounding (six) and hit his first career three-point field goal in an 11-point effort at third-ranked Pittsburgh… Dec. 23: Named league’s Rookie of the Week (on Dec. 29) after 21-point effort (9/11 fg, 3/4 ft) in win over Nebraska… Was UMBC’s first Rookie-of-the-Week since Brian Hodges earned the honor in Feb. of 2005 and the first UMBC freshman to score at least 20 points in a game since Hodges hit for 28 vs. UNH in March of that same year… Converted 28 of 39 attempts (71.8%) from the floor in a six-game span (11/29-12/23)….Jan. 22:  Scored in double figures in three straight games for the first time this season with 14 points at Boston Univ… Jan 31:  His season-high five-game streak was halted in a six-point effort at Stony Brook… Jan. 25: Added team game highs of 18 points and six rebounds and hit all eight free throw attempts at Albany… Feb. 2:  Named the conference’s Rookie-of-the-Week for the second time… Feb. 7:  Scored eight of team’s 16 overtime points in 73-68 win at Maine… Hit a pair of 3-pt. field goals for the first time and played a season-high 40- minutes in the game… Feb. 14: Scored 18 points at Hartford and earned third Rookie-of-the-Week honors two days later… Feb. 17: Posted his first career double-double with 18 points and a season-high 10 rebounds vs. Vermont… Feb. 19: Followed up with 17 points and another 10 caroms at Rider, becoming the third Retriever (Proctor, Fry) to record back-to-back double-doubles on the season… Made seven straight three-point field goal attempts from Feb. 14-Feb. 21… Feb. 23: Earned his fourth America East Rookie of the Week honors, averaging 17.5 points and 10 rebounds per game… March 1: Led UMBC in scoring for the third time with 19 points vs. Albany on March 1… Hit a season-high four 3-point field goals in the game… March 7: Scored 16 points in his America East Tournament debut, helping the Retrievers to a quarterfinal win over Boston University… Averaged 11.3 points per game in the league tournament.  

Background: Averaged 6.2 points per game on a Brewster Academy team which lost in the National Prep Championships’ semifinals to Hargrave Military Academy in 2007-08…That Bobcats’team featured eight players who attended Division I institutions last fall…They captured the New England Class A Championship and advanced to the National Final Four, finishing with a school-record 31 victories (31-4)…Competed and produced two outstanding seasons at the Leap Academy in Camden, N.J. in 2005-06 and 2006-07…Captained the team in both years and helped the squad to a South Jersey title and state title berth in 2006…Named All South Jersey and All State and was nominated as a McDonald’s All American in 2007… Earned Most Valuable Player honors for the 2007 Scholastic Play-by-Play Jameer Nelson Classic… Scored 30 points and added 10 rebounds vs. Prep Charter to secure the MVP honors…Attended Hammond (Md.) High School for two years and earned All Howard County honors in his sophomore season of 2004-05… Selected UMBC “because of the academic standards and the winning reputation of the program”… Father, Curtis, played collegiate basketball at Virginia State University… Considering a major in mechanical engineering… Possesses excellent size and leaping ability and the southpaw is developing his game from the perimeter… Plays the piano and the drums and enjoys singing… Has one sister, Cydni… Son of LaTanya and Curtis Gilliam…Born Aug. 26, 1989.