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Creighton nabs 2014 forward Leon Gilmore

spt-120214-creighton

Mike Miller

Sometimes it’s hard to remember which teams switched over to new leagues. But while we’re finally wrapping our minds around the conference alignment changes, you can sometimes forget that teams are also recruiting for the new league they’re entering.

Creighton -- with its move from the Missouri Valley Conference to the Big East -- is facing the challenge of previously recruiting at a mid-major level and switching to a high-major level and the Bluejays are off to a solid start with Monday’s commitment of 2014 forward Leon Gilmore.

The commitment of Gilmore, as first reported by Evan Daniels of Scout.com, is significant for the Bluejays because they’re getting a 6'7" forward that had other high-major scholarship offers and it helps legitimize them with other high-major targets they’re recruiting.

A forward Manvel High School in Missouri City, Texas, Gilmore played for the respected Houston Hoops AAU program in the EYBL and averaged 8.1 points and 3.6 rebounds in 21 minutes of play during the EYBL as he played alongside five-star forwards like Justice Winslow, Kelly Oubre and North Carolina commit Justin Jackson. Gilmore was rated as the No. 121 prospect in the Rivals 2014 national class.

For the Bluejays to land a high-major commitment from a player that had in-state high-major scholarship offers from schools like Texas Tech and Houston means that Creighton is doing something correct on the recruiting trail as they transition to the Big East.

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