Michael Kidd-Gilchrist was born September 26, 1993 and is from Elizabeth, New Jersey. The 6-7 forward was rated as the #3 player in his class by ESPN.com and Rivals.com. Scout.com rated him as the #1 player at his position. In July 2010, Gilchrist, along with future Kentucky teammate Marquis Teague, were a part of the gold medal winning team in the FIBA U-17 World Championships in Hamburg, Germany.
Michael plays basketball for everyone but himself. Gilchrist's father died August 11, 1996 at the age of 30 from multiple gunshot wounds. Gilchrist committed to Kentucky on April 14, 2010, which would have been his father's 44th birthday. He wears No. 14 for Kentucky to honor his father. On July 7, 2011, Gilchrist announced via Twitter that he had legally changed his last name to Kidd-Gilchrist, in order to honor the other important man in his life, his uncle Darrin Kidd. Kidd passed away from a sudden heart attack on the day Gilchrist was set to sign his letter of intent to play at the University of Kentucky.
Mike will be featured in an upcoming HBO documentary.
Want to learn more? Here are some other great articles on our man Gillie:
- Michael Kidd-Gilchrist playing for a lot more than the name on his jersey
- Gone but never forgotten: St. Patrick's Michael Gilchrist draws inspiration from late father
Walter Cornett, of Glendale, Kentucky, is the owner and operator of Walter's Wildcat World. He founded WildcatWorld.com in 1998 making it one of the oldest Kentucky basketball fan sites in operation today.