University of Richmond Athletics
2020-21 Men's Basketball Roster
Jacob Gilyard
- Position:
- Guard
- Height:
- 5-9
- Weight:
- 160
- Class:
- Senior
- Hometown:
- Kansas City, Mo.
- High School:
- The Barstow School
• Left Richmond as the school's career leader in assists (782, most in Atlantic 10 history), steals (466, most in Atlantic 10 history), and three-pointers (332, fifth most in Atlantic 10 history)
• 466 career steals were 81 more than any other player in NCAA D-I history at end of his career
• Finished career fifth on Richmond's career scoring list with 2,039 points
• Made 685 field goals, sixth in school history when he left Richmond
• Left Richmond with third-highest FT pct (82.0) in school history
• Averaged 37.3 minutes per game, the most on record in program history (since 1977-78)
• Highest career Ast-TO ratio (2.76) in Richmond history (minimum 50 assists)
• 4-time All-Atlantic 10 selection, four-time Atlantic 10 All-Defense Team selection
- 3-time NABC All-District 4 (Atlantic 10) selection
• 3-time semifinalist for Naismith National Defensive Player of the Year
• 2-time Virginia State Defensive Player of the Year
• 2-time Lefty Driesell Defensive All-American
GRADUATE STUDENT (2021-22)
• Winner of the 2022 Men's Basketball Senior CLASS Award, given to one senior or graduate student in recognition of his achievements in competition, character, the classroom, and one's community
• 2022 Atlantic 10 Championship Most Outstanding Player ... Averaged 19.8 points per game while playing all 160 minutes and recording a tournament-record 16 steals while leading UR to 2022 A-10 title
• Third Team All-Atlantic 10 selection ... Became eighth four-time All-Conference honoree in A-10 history
• Selected Second Team All-District in NABC District 4 (A-10)
• Named Virginia State Defensive Player of the Year by the Virginia Association of Sports Information Directors (VaSID)
• Selected Second Team All-State by VaSID
• Ranked first in D-I in minutes per game (38.6), second in steals per game (2.92), third in assist-turnover ratio (3.41)
• Led UR in assists (5.4) and steals per game (2.9) while ranking third in scoring (13.3 PPG) and fourth in rebounding (3.5 RPG)
• Set single-season school records for steals (108) and three-pointers (94) ... 108 steals were most in D-I, 94 three-pointers were 30th in D-I and first in Atlantic 10
• 198 assists were second-most in a season in program history, seventh most in Division I
• 86.0 FT pct led Richmond, was seventh-highest in a season in program history, and ranked third in A-10
• Set NCAA D-I career steals record with his 386th career steal on Dec. 5 at Northern Iowa
• Scored a career-high 32 points vs VCU in Atlantic 10 Quarterfinals
• Led all scorers in A-10 Championship game (26) and UR's upset win vs Iowa in NCAA Tournament (24)
GAME-BY-GAME
3/17 vs Iowa - Led UR with 24 points and 6 assists ... Became 2nd Spider with 24 pts, 6 reb, 6 ast in game in last 5 seasons (Grant Golden - 2/23/19 at La Salle) ... 3/13 vs Davidson - Scored a game-high 26 points (8 more than any other player) ... Became fifth Spider with 2,000 career points on a pull-up jump shot with 16:24 to play ... Named A-10 Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player after averaging 19.8 PPG, playing all 160 minutes, and setting a single A-10 Tournament record with 16 steals over four games ... 3/12 vs Dayton - Made Richmond’s first three-pointer of the game with 13:20 to play, breaking a tie with Rodney Rice (1987-88) for the most in a season in program history (86) ... 3/11 vs VCU - Scored a career-high 32 points, the most by Spider ever in an A-10 Tournament game ... Grabbed 4 steals to set UR’s single-season steals record (102) ... 7 three-pointers were tied for sixth-most in a game in program history ... Reached 85 three-pointers for the season, tying Richmond’s single-season record (Rodney Rice, 1987-88) ... 3/8 - Named Third Team All-A10 and to A-10 All-Defense Team ... 8th four-time All-Conference selection in league history ... 2/25 vs Saint Louis - Passed Kendall Anthony (1,909) for fifth on Richmond’s career scoring list ... 2/22 at GW - Registered his 749th career assist on a pass to Nick Sherod for a transition three-pointer at the 12:39 mark of the 1st half, breaking a tie with Temple’s Howard Evans for the most assists in A-10 history ... 2/18 - Tied the A-10 career assist record (held by Temple’s Howard Evans) with a pass to Nathan Cayo for a layup with 7:55 remaining, the 748th assist of his career ... 2/10 - Named one of 10 men’s finalists for the Senior CLASS Award, which honors a senior or grad student or excellence in character, competition, community involvement, and the classroom ... 2/9 at George Mason - Tied a career high with 11 assists ... Added 13 points for his sixth career double-double ... Played all 45 minutes ... 2/7 vs George Mason - Hit game-winning three-pointer from top of key with 0.9 seconds remaining ... Scored game-high 23 points ... 7 three-pointers were tied for sixth-most in a game in program history ... 1/28 - One of 15 D-I players named to the watch list for the Naismith National Defensive Player of the Year award ... 1/25 at Rhode Island - 1st half: 0 points, 0 steals; 2nd half: 15 points, 3 steals as UR overcame 15-point deficit ... 9-9 on free throws ... First Spider to go 9-9 or better at FT line since De’Monte Buckingham on Dec. 19, 2017 vs Bucknell (9-9) ... 1/18 at Fordham - Tied a career-high with 31 points ... His most points since scoring 31 vs IUPUI on Nov. 16, 2018 and the most points by any Spider since Grant Golden scored 33 vs Wyoming on Nov. 21, 2018 ... Became first Spider with 28 or more points in consecutive games since ShawnDre’ Jones in 2017 (Jan. 28 vs Duquesne,) Feb. 1 at VCU...1/14 vs Davidson - Led Richmond with 28 points, his most since scoring 29 vs Dayton in January 2020 ... Broke a tie with Kendall Anthony (270) for the most three-point- ers in school history with a three-pointer with 12:52 left in the 1st half ... Passed David Gonzalvez and John Schweitz to move to seventh on Richmond’s career scoring list ... Also had five assists, three steals, and zero turnovers ... Passed Temple’s Pepe Sanchez (689) for the fifth-most assists in Atlantic 10 history ... 1/5 vs UMass - Tied Kendall Anthony’s school record with his 270th career three-pointer with 13:16 to play ... Led UR with 17 points and 10 assists for his fifth career double-double ... 12/22 vs Bucknell - Tied a career high with 11 assists ... Added 5 steals to go over 400 career steals (402) ... 12/17 vs NC State - Recorded 10 assists, more than the entire NC State team (8) ... Added 13 points for his fourth career double-double ... Scored eight of Richmond’s final nine points to seal the win, including six free throws ... 12/11/21 vs. Toledo - Had 13 points and 0 turnovers while leading the team in assists with 7 and steals with 5 ... Sealed the Spiders 72-69 win with a steal on each of Toledo's two final possessions ... 12/5 at Northern Iowa - Became the solo NCAA Division I all-time steals leader when he batted the ball away from UNI’s Cole Henry on a pick and roll and recovered it with 2:12 to play for the 386th steal of his career ... Had a group of 15 family and friends in stands who had made four-hour drive from Gilyard’s hometown of Kansas City ... 12/1 at Wofford - Tied John Linehan for the most steals in NCAA Division I history with 385 when he intercepted a pass on the baseline with 14:37 to play in the 1st half ... 11/27 vs Mississippi St - Recorded six steals, pulling within one of D-I career record holder John Linehan (385) ... Registered a four-point play with 57 seconds remaining that was the key to UR’s 8-0 run to end regulation and force overtime ... 11/25 vs Maryland - Moved into second on the D-I career steals list with 378, passing Providence’s Eric Murdock (376) with his second steal of the game at the 3:30 mark of the 1st half ... Jumped from 13th to 11th on UR’s career scoring list, passing Peter Woolfolk (1,604) and ShawnDre’ Jones (1,608) ... 11/20 at Drake - Recorded a game-high 4 steals, giving him 375 for his career and passing VCU’s Briante Weber (374) for the third-most in Division I history ... 11/12 vs Utah St - Passed Pepe Sanchez for the most steals in A-10 history and the fourth-most in Division I history with his 366th career steal with 14:08 remaining in the 1st half ... 11/9 vs NC Central - Tied Pepe Sanchez for the most steals in A-10 history and the fourth-most in Division I with 365 ... Led Richmond in minutes, rebounds, assists, and steals.
SENIOR (2020-21) HIGHLIGHTS
• Named Second Team All-Atlantic 10 and A-10 All-Defense Team and selected Second Team All-District in NABC District 4 (A-10)
• 1 of 10 semifinalists for Naismith National Defensive Player of the Year
• Named a Lefty Driesell Defensive All-American and a finalist for the Lefty Driesell Award, given to the nation's top defender
• Named Virginia State Defensive Player of the Year by the Virginia Association of Sports Information Directors (VaSID)
• Led Division I in steals for a second straight season, averaging 3.57 per game (0.7 more than any other player)
• 3.57 steals per game were most by a non-classifying D-I player since 2015-16, when Omaha's Tra-Deon Hollins averaged 4.0
• 82 total steals were fiffth-most in a season in program history
• Finished the season with 358 career steals, fifth most in Division I history
• Led team with 5.0 assists per game, fifth in the Atlantic 10
• Became Richmond's career assists leader, finishing the season with 584
• 3.14 assist-to-turnover ratio led A-10 and ranked 12th in Division I ... fifth-highest Ast/TO ratio in a season in program history
• Averaged 12.3 points per game, third on the team
• Led team with 84.2 free throw percentage, third in the A-10 and eighth-highest in a season in program history
• One of three Spiders to start all 23 games
• Played 37.5 minutes per game, third most in the A-10 and 11th most in Division I
• Was 1 of 20 players named to watch list for Bob Cousy Award in the preseason, given to the nation's top point guard
• Finished the season 14th on Richmond's career scoring list with 1,457 points and third on Richmond's career three-pointers list, with 238
• Finished the season with a career free throw percentage of 80.7, fifth-highest in program history
• Announced he would return for a fifth season on March 28, taking advantage of the NCAA's decision to grant winter sports student-athletes an additional year of eligibility due to COVID-19
GAME-BY-GAME
3/25 vs Mississippi St - Led Richmond with 22 points, 6 assists, and 4 steals ... Gave Richmond a 2-point lead with a floater in the lane with 38 seconds left ... 3/17 vs Toledo - Broke a tie with Greg Beckwith for most assists in school history with his first assist of the game, giving him 574 for his career ... Passed Nebraska’s Cookie Belcher to moved into fifth on the D-I career steals list with 354 ... Registered five of UR’s eight assists to go with 18 points and 4 steals ... 3/11 - Named a Lefty Driesell Defensive All-American and a finalist for the Lefty Driesell Award, given to the nation’s top defender, by College Insider ... 3/10 - Named Second Team All-Atlantic 10 and selected to A-10 All-Defense Team ...Became fourth player in school history to be named First Team or Second Team All-Conference three times, joining Kevin Anderson, Ed Harrison, and Kenny Wood ... Joined Tony Dobbins as only Spiders to earn All-Defense honors three times ... 3/4 vs Duquense - Tied Richmond’s career assist record at 573 when he found Grant Golden for a layup with 13:14 remaining in the game ... 3/1 vs Saint Joseph’s - Entered the top 10 on the NCAA Division I career list when he stole the ball off the opening tip for his 344th career steal ... 2/23 vs UMass - Led UR with a team-high 9 rebounds ... Added 9 points, 6 assists, and 4 steals ... 2/20 vs Duquesne - Made go-ahead three-pointer with 1:30 remaining ... Sealed win with steal on Duquesne’s last possession ... 2/14 vs St. Mary’s (MD) - Scored all 11 of his points in the 1st half ... Added a game-high 4 steals ... 1/28 - 1 of 15 players named to the watch list for Naismith National Defensive Player of the Year by the Atlanta Tipoff Club ... 1/9 at George Mason - Had 5 steals and 5 assists to go with 15 points ... Entered top 20 on UR’s career scoring list, passing Mike Skrocki (1,408) ... 1/6 vs Rhode Island - Had a season-high 22 points to lead all scorers ... his 20th 20-point game at Richmond ... Shot 6-8 on three-pointers ... Added 5 steals to tie Tim Winn (SBU) for 3rd-most in A-10 history with 319 ... 12/18 vs Loyola Chicago - Scored 19 points ... Registered all 4 of his steals in 1st half, including 3 in final 70 seconds ... Hit the 200th 3-pointer of his career ... 12/16 at Vanderbilt - Registered 6 steals to go over 300 career steals and move past VCU’s Briante Weber for the fifth-most steals in A-10 history ... 12/9 vs UNI - Registered a career-high 11 assists, the most by a Spider since 2017 and tied for the 11th most in a game in school history ... Had more assists than the entire UNI team (10) ... Added 12 points for his third career double-double ... 12/7 vs Wofford - Led Richmond in points (18), assists (6), and steals (5) ... Made three-pointer and had 2 steals in final 20 seconds to seal win ... Passed Scott Ungerer (479) for second-most assists in UR history ... 11/29 vs Kentucky - Team-high 6 Ast were more than entire Kentucky team (5) ... Had game-high 5 steals (4 in second half) ... Steal and behind-the-back pass to Blake Francis for a layup was #1 on SportsCenter’s Top 10 Plays that evening
JUNIOR (2019-20) HIGHLIGHTS
• Named A-10 Defensive Player of the Year, First Team All-Atlantic 10, and A-10 All-Defense Team ... First Spider to win A-10 Defensive Player of the Year since Tony Dobbins in 2004 and first Spider named First Team All-Atlantic 10 since T.J. Cline in 2017
• 1 of 10 semifinalists for Naismith National Defensive Player of the Year
• Also named Second Team All-State by VaSID and Second Team All-District in NABC District 4 (A-10)
• Led Division I with 3.2 steals per game and recorded 99 steals, breaking his own Richmond single-season record
• Became Spiders career steals leader with his 228th career steal vs Saint Louis on January 11th
• Finished 10th in D-I in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.97)
• Averaged 12.7 points per game (tied for third on team) and team-high 5.7 assists per game (third in A-10, 29th in D-I)
• 178 assists were fourth-most in a season in school history ... Ended season with 468 career assists, third most in school history
• Ended season with 190 career three-pointers, eighth most in school history
• Finished season with a career FT percentage of 79.9, eighth best in school history (minimum 200 attempts)
• 1 of two Spiders to start all 31 games ... Played team-high 36.6 minutes per game (second most in A-10 and 31st in D-I)
GAME-BY-GAME
3/10 - Named A-10 Defensive Player of the Year, First-Team All-Atlantic 10, and A-10 All-Defense Team ... Second Spider to win A-10 Defensive Player of the Year and first since Tony Dobbins won back-to-back awards in 2003-04 ... First Spider to earn First Team All-Conference honors since T.J. Cline in 2017 ... 3/6 at Duquense - Matched his career high with 10 assists and added 6 steals, one off his career best ... Passed Ken Atkinson (464) for third-most assists in school history ... 3/3 vs Davidson - Registered a game-high eight assists, one fewer than the entire Davidson team ... 2/29 vs UMass - Recorded his second career double-double with 10 points and 10 assists, tying a career high ... Added four steals, breaking his own single-season school record with his 90th steal of the season with 15:22 to play in the 1st half ... 2/27 - Named one of 10 semifinalists for the Naismith Men’s National Defensive Player of the Year ... The only semifinalist not from a high-major conference ... 2/8 at Fordham - Scored 18 of his game-high 22 points in 2nd half as Spiders erased 9-point deficit to win ... 2/1 vs George Washington - Recorded a team-high 9 assists, matching George Washington’s total ... Improved his career total to 415 assists, passing Kevin Anderson (410) for fourth-most in school history ... 1/25 vs #7 Dayton - Scored a game-high 29 points to go with 4 assists and 3 steals ... Brought sellout crowd to its feet with back-to-back three-pointers to give Richmond a 28-24 lead in 1st half ... Blocked Dayton’s Obi Toppin from behind in 2nd half and made layup on other end ... Most points by Spider vs top-15 opponent in last 20 years ... 1/22 - One of 15 players in D-I named to the 2020 Midseason Team for the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year, presented by the Atlanta Tipoff Club ... 1/22 vs La Salle - Recorded a team-high 5 assists to give him 397 career assists and move him past Carlos Cueto (396) for fifth most in school history ... 1/18 at George Mason - Recorded a game-high 8 of Richmond’s 12 assists ... Made all 8 of his free-throw attempts, including 6 in final minutes to ice the game ... Added 20 points ... 1/14 at Davidson - Played all 40 minutes and led Richmond in assists (7) and steals (3) while scoring 16 points ... 1.11 vs Saint Louis - Broke a tie with Greg Beckwith for the most steals in school history when he broke up a pass at midcourt with 17:18 to play in the 2nd half ... 1/5 at Rhode Island - Limited to 10 minutes in 1st half with foul trouble ... 6 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal in 2nd half ... Tied Greg Beckwith for most steals in Richmond history (227) when he intercepted a pass with 18:38 remaining in the 2nd half ... 12.29 at Alabama - Led Richmond with 21 points, 4 assists, and 3 steals ... 16th 20-point game at Richmond ... Tied Tony Dobbins for second on UR’s career steals list (223) ... Made a career-high 10 free throws on 11 attempts (tied career high) ... 12.18 at Old Dominon - Registered a game-high four steals and passed Kevin Anderson (217) for third on Richmond’s career steals list ... Drew two defenders and dished to Grant Golden at top of key for game-winning three-pointer with 2.0 seconds left ... 12.9 - Named A-10 Co-Player of the Week (along with Duquesne’s Michael Hughes) after registering 16.5 PPG, 8.5 APG, and 5.0 SPG with no turnovers and shooting 67% from the field in a pair of wins ... His third career A-10 Player of the Week Award and second of the season ... Joined Dayton’s Obi Toppin as the only players with multiple A-10 Player of the Week Awards this season ... He was also named the College Sports Madness A-10 Player of the Week ... 12.8 vs South Alabama - Scored all of his 15 points after halftime ... Tied a career high with 8 rebounds ... Added 6 steals and 7 assists while finishing without a turnover for the second straight game ... 12.3 at Hampton - Scored his 1,000th career point on a free throw at the 2:54 mark of the first half ... Became 48th player to score 1,000 career points at Richmond ... Finished with a career-high 10 assists and 0 turnovers, becoming the third Spiders with 10+ assists and no turnover in a game in the last 10 seasons (T.J. Cline - 2017, Trey Davis - 2016) ... 11.30 vs Boston College - Led Richmond in points (22), rebounds (8), assists (6), and steals (5) ... Scored 16 points after halftime, 2 fewer than Boston College (18) ... Scored 13 points during 23-2 Spiders run in 2nd half that decided game 11.26 vs Auburn - Led Richmond in assists (4) and steals (3) ... Named to the Legends Classic All-Tournament Team (8.5 PPG, 4.5 APG, 3.5 RPG, 2.0 Steals PG in 2 games) ... 11.25 vs Wisconsin - Scored all five of his points and had a steal in game’s final 3 minutes to seal win ... 11.18 - Named A-10 Co-Player of the Week (along with VCU’s Marcus Santos-Silva) after registering 22.0 PPG, 5.5 APG, 4.0 SPG and shooting 65% from the field in a pair of wins ... His second career A-10 Player of the Week Award after also winning the Award on Feb. 11, 2019 ... He was also named the College Sports Madness A-10 Player of the Week ... 11.17 vs CSUN - Scored 18 points and added 7 assists despite playing just 26 minutes, the second-fewest of his career at the time ... 11.14 vs Vanderbilt - Recorded 7 steals, 1 shy of the school record ... 22 of his team-high 26 points came in 2nd half/OT ... Tied game with 25 seconds left in OT on a drive and reverse layup ... Final steal came with 4 seconds left in OT when he intercepted a Vanderbilt pass and flipped the ball ahead to Andre Gustavson, who was fouled just before the buzzer and went on to make the game-winning free throw ... Passed John Davis for 4th on Richmond’s career steals list, finishing game with 190 ... 11.8 vs Saint Francis - Recorded team-high 8 Ast, 5 steals to go with 24 points ... second A-10 player in last 5 years with 24 Pts, 8 Ast, 5 steals in game (Jaylen Adams (SBU) - 12/9/17 ... Intercepted a pass and was fouled with 27 seconds remaining, made two ensuing free throws to force OT
PRESEASON
• Named First Team Preseason All-Atlantic 10 and Preseason All-Atlantic 10 Defensive Team in October ... Fifth Spider to earn First Team Preseason All-A-10 honors under Chris Mooney, joining Kevin Anderson (2009, 10), Kendall Anthony (2014), T.J. Cline (2016), and Grant Golden (2018) ... Second Spider to be named to Preseason All-Defensive Team twice under Chris Mooney, joining Alonzo Nelson-Ododa (2013-14)
SOPHOMORE (2018-19) HIGHLIGHTS
• Selected Second Team All-Conference and named to All-Defense Team by Atlantic 10 ... First Spider to make All-Defense team since Darrius Garrett in 2012 and second Spiders sophomore to ever make First Team or Second Team All-Atlantic 10 (Kevin Anderson - 2009)
• Named Second Team All-District 4 (Atlantic 10) by National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) and A-10 Player of the Year by Hoops HD
• Totaled 868 points, 290 assists, and 177 steals in two seasons ... Since 1992, the only other D-I players to reach those totals by the end of their sophomores seasons are Jason Kidd and Allen Iverson
• Set Richmond records for assists (290), steals (177), and three-pointers (132) by a player in his first two seasons ... 868 points are fifth-most ever by Spider in his first two seasons
• Scored 17.9 points per game during conference play, best in the A-10 ... Over full season, averaged 16.2 points per game, fifth best in the conference
• Led A-10 and ranked seventh in D-I with 2.84 steals per game ... 88 steals were second most in a season in school history, trailing only his 89 in 2017-18
• Ranked fourth in A-10 in assists per game (5.2) and second in A-10 in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.13) ... 160 assists were fifth most in a season in school history
• Ranked third in A-10 in minutes per game (37.3), the most by a Spider since 2002 (Scott Ungerer - 38.4) ... Played 40 minutes in 12 games
• Made a team-high 74 three-point field goals, third most in the A-10 and tied for 12th most in a season in school history ... Tied school record with eight three-pointers at Dayton on January 6
* Recorded third-highest FG pct (47.2) among D-I players under six feet (among qualifiers)
GAME-BY-GAME
3/13 vs Fordham - With 6.3 seconds left, drove the length of the floor and found Nathan Cayo for the game-winning layup with 0.2 seconds remaining, his sixth assist of the game ... 3/9 vs Davidson - Scored 14 of his 17 points after halftime, including five of Richmond's 10 field goals in the second half ... Scored the only three FGs for the Spiders in the final 10 minutes of the game ... 3/2 vs VCU - Led all players with 23 points and six assists ... Gave UR its only lead of the game (45-43) with a layup with 11:23 remaining ... 2/11 - Won first career A-10 Player of the Week Award after averaging 22.5 points, 5.5 assists, 5.0 steals and shooting 64 percent while leading UR to a pair of wins ... UR joined Saint Joseph's as only A-10 schools to have multiple non-seniors win A-10 Player of the Week this season ... was also named A-10 Player of the Week by College Sports Madness ... 2/9 vs GW - Scored 14 of his 17 points in the second half ... Scored or assisted on 11 of 13 Spiders points during three-minute stretch to break game open in second half ... Also totaled five assists and four steals while committing no turnovers ... 2/6 vs George Mason - Led all players with 28 points and six steals and five rebounds and six assists tied for most on Spiders ... Reached 100 assists for the season, joining Brooklyn Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson as the only Spiders with 100 assists as both a freshman and sophomore ... Collected five of his steals in the second half, including three in a 90-second span during a 10-0 run midway through the half that secured the win ... 1/30 at Saint Louis - Played in front of a crowd of more than 30 family and friends ... Led Richmond with 24 points, his seventh career 20-point game ... Made four of five free throws in final 40 seconds to clinch the win ... 1/6 at Dayton - Led the Spiders with 24 points on a school-record tying eight three-pointers ... Became fifth different Spider to hit eight three-pointers in a game and first since Darien Brothers on Jan. 9, 2013 vs Charlotte .. 16 three-point attempts was most by Spider since Kendall Anthony on Feb. 26, 2014 vs George Mason (17) ... Also led team in rebounds (six), assists (four) and steals (three) ... 12/29 at South Alabama - Tied a career-high with nine assists, becoming first Spider since Cedrick Lindsay in November 2013 with nine assists in back-to-back games ... 12/22 vs High Point - Tied career highs with nine assists and seven steals ... Seven steals were tied for third-most in game in Spiders history ... After game led D-I in steals per game at 3.5 ... Scored his 500th career point on a three-pointer with 13:49 left in second half ... 12/15 vs Oral Roberts - Recorded career-highs in rebounds (eight) and steals (seven) ... Seven steals were tied for third-most in a game in Richmond history and the most by a Spider since Tony Dobbins tied the school record with eight against UMass on Feb. 12, 2003 ... 12/1 vs Wake Forest - Played 38 minutes in return to Spiders lineup after missing two games with a groin injury ... Registered a career-high nine assists and added 14 points and five steals ... Brought Robins Center crowd to its feet when he made three field goals and collected a steal in a span of 1:15 midway through first half to break open a tie game ... 11/25 vs Hampton- Missed his first career game due to a groin injury, snapping a streak of 37 straight starts ... 11/16 vs IUPUI - Scored a career-high 31 points, including 27 in the second half, the most by any Spider in a half since Jan. 23, 2009 (David Gonzalvez, 29 in 2nd half vs Temple) ... Made 10 of his 11 field goal attempts after halftime ... Scored 17 points in first 6:30 of 2nd half, including 14 straight for the Spiders at one point
PRESEASON
• Named to A-10 Preseason All-Defensive Team at the conference's media day on October 18 ... Became the third Spider to earn Preseason All-Defensive Team honors under Chris Mooney, joining (Alonzo Nelson-Ododa - 2013-14, Kevin Anderson - 2010) ... He and George Washington's Terry Nolan (also on the 2018 team) were the first sophomores to be named A-10 Preseason All-Defensive Team since Rhode Island's Hassan Martin in 2014
• Rated as the No. 23 player in the Atlantic 10 entering the season by A10Talk.com
FRESHMAN (2017-18) HIGHLIGHTS
• Set Spiders single-season record with 89 steals, breaking mark held by Tony Dobbins (85 in 2003-04) ... Recorded most steals by D-I freshman since Marcus Smart in 2012-13 ... Averaged 2.78 steals per game, sixth most in D-I
• Played team-high 36.5 minutes per game, third most among D-I freshmen and sixth most for any player in the A-10 ... 1,167 minutes played were most by freshman in Spiders history
• Set Spiders record for assists by a freshman, finishing with 130 assists to break the mark held by Ken Atkinson (115) since 1986-87 ... 130 assists were ninth-most in a season in Spiders history ... Averaged 4.1 assists per game, 18th most by D-I freshman, second most by A-10 freshman, and 10th most of any A-10 player
• 2.41 assist-to-turnover ratio ranked fifth among D-I freshmen and third most of any A-10 player (minimum three assists per game)
• Averaged 11.4 points per game, fourth-most by a true freshman for Richmond in last 20 years and most by a Spiders true freshman since Kendall Anthony in 2011-12 (13.0) ... ranked seventh among A-10 freshmen in scoring ... 366 total points were tied for sixth most by a freshman in Spiders history
• Made 83.6 percent of his free throws (56-67), best on the team and the 10th-best single-season rate in Spiders history (minimum 50 attempts)
GAME-BY-GAME
3/9 vs St. Bonaventure - Broke a tie with Tony Dobbins (85 in 2003-04) for the most steals in a season in Spiders history with his first steal of the game with 15:10 remaining in the first half ... Recorded steals on back-to-back possessions with with less than two minutes remaining as Spiders closed 17-point deficit to two ... 3/8 vs Duquesne - Scored a game-high 20 points as Richmond advanced to A-10 Quarterfinals ... 2/28 vs UMass - Broke Richmond's record for assists by a freshman when he assisted on a De'Monte Buckingham jumper with 10:12 remaining in the first half ... Was his 116th assist of the season, breaking the mark owned by current Brooklyn Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson since 1987 ... 2/13 at Rhode Island - Registered a steal and pulled up for a three-pointer to pull Richmond within five points in the second half ... 2/10 at St. Bonaventure - Scored 14 points, had a team-high six assists and a game-high five steals ... Became third player in D-I during 2017-18 with at least six assists and five steals in back-to-back game ... 2/7 vs VCU - Scored 13 of his team-high 18 points in the second half ... Added a game-high six assists and five steals ... Stole the ball underneath VCU's basket and laid it in to tie game at 76 with 31 seconds remaining ... 1/20 vs La Salle - Sealed the Spiders win when he crossed over his defender and buried a three-pointer with 26 seconds left to stretch the Spiders lead to six ... Made his sixth steal of the game with 14 seconds remaining and dribbled out the clock ... Tied a career high with six steals and became the first Spider with six or more steals twice in a season since Tony Dobbins in 2002-03 ... 1/17 at VCU - Totaled 11 points and a career and game-high eight assists in his first game against the Spiders biggest rival ... Had more assists than the entire VCU team (seven) ... Richmond Times-Dispatch columnist Paul Woody: "Gilyard was nothing short of excellent. In the first half he was a one-man press breaker ... In the second half, Gilyard was an orchestra conductor and the ball his baton." ... 1/9 vs Dayton - Registered six steals, tied for the fifth-most in Spiders history and most by any Spider since Cedrick Lindsay on 12/4/2013 at William & Mary ... Also added five assists while not committing a turnover, becoming the second player to have six steals, five assists, and no turnovers against a D-I opponent in 2017-18 (Darius Thompson, WKU - 12/22/17 at Austin Peay) ... 1/3 at Fordham - Forced overtime with a spectacular windmill layup with 21 seconds remaining ... 12/23 at Boston College - Breakaway layup and foul gave Spiders their first lead of the game (61-59) with 3:06 left in 2nd half ... 12/10 vs JMU - Made game-winning three-pointer with 0.4 seconds left, his fifth three-point field goal of the game ... Stole inbounds pass on JMU's final possession to seal win ... Scored career-high 23 points (16 after halftime), the first time a true freshman scored at least 23 points that early in a season for Richmond since 1998 (Charles Stephens - 23 vs Radford on November 28) ... 11/10 vs Delaware - Became first Spiders freshman to start at point guard in a season opener since Daon Merritt in 2003 ... Scored 15 of 17 points after halftime ... Scored eight straight points to trim Spiders deficit to nine points late in game after UR trailed by as many as 33 in the first half ... Joined Kendall Anthony (2011) as only Spiders freshmen to score at least 17 points in season opener in last 20 seasons
HIGH SCHOOL
• Advanced to state title game in three of his four seasons, winning Barstow's first state title since 1995 as a sophomore in 2015
• Missouri Class 3 All-State selection after sophomore, junior, and senior seasons ... named Missouri Class 3 Player of the Year in 2017
• Averaged 33.2 points and 7.0 assists per game as senior ... won DiRenna Award, given to the top high school basketball player in the Kansas City area
• Set Barstow single-game school scoring record with 50 points vs Washington on Dec. 5, 2016
• Played for Billy Thomas, who appeared in 53 NBA games over three seasons and was a third-team All-Big 12 selection following his senior season at Kansas in 1998
PERSONAL
• Son of Rodney and Tanya
• Father Rodney graduated from Ottawa University (Kan.) in 1992 as school's career leaders in assists and steals ... he was inducted into Ottawa's Athletics Hall of Fame in 2015
• Has two older siblings (Chris and Marleigh) and one younger sibling (Roman)
• Born on July 14, 1998
