True freshman Jonathan Gilling didn’t expect to play much this season.
The 6-foot-7-inch forward from Denmark didn’t expect to start and play 30 minutes a game, yet he’s already doing that for the ASU men’s basketball team.
Gilling started the last six games, averaging over 32 minutes a game.
While he’s living the dream playing basketball in the United States, he’s contributing too. He averaged 8.3 points in the last six games.
He’s shooting 41.1 percent from 3-point range this season, good for second on the team. He’s also third on the team in assists with 30 and leads the team with a 2.0 assist-to-turnover ratio.
When he’s not draining 3-point shots and dishing dimes, you can find him riding around his bike at Wells Fargo Arena before film sessions.
The State Press caught up with the sharp-shooting jokester to discuss topics ranging from his relationship with coach Herb Sendek to his optimistic feelings about the team’s future.
The State Press: How difficult was the transition from Denmark to the United States?
Jonathan Gilling: It was really hard for me to speak another language all the time. I didn’t have any routine so everything was new to me. I was really exhausted in the beginning of the year, but now, I know how things work, how people think, how my teachers are, how my friends think (and) how I feel.
This year has been really good so far for me. I’ve really learned a lot about myself as well. Next year, I’ll hopefully be able to improve. Not that I’m doing badly in school, but I would like to have a GPA over 3.0. Right now, I’m at a 2.9, but I want to bump it up. That’s my goal next year academically.
SP: How much of an emphasis was watching film with the Horsholm 79ers?
JG: We did a little bit, but I haven’t been used to do this much film because we do film everyday. It’s a great way to learn and see how you can improve. It’s not really a problem. Sometimes I’m not really concentrating all the time because the film session is one and a half hours. It’s kind of hard, but the coaches are doing a good job and I like how they work with the players and tell them what to do. I like being at film. I learn a lot.
SP: You made a pass against Oregon State that Sendek calls the play of the year.
JG: He talks about that pass all the time. He mentioned it (Monday) at practice. I don’t know why he got so excited about that play. He thought it was a nice play. I thought it was a regular pass, but he liked it so much.
SP: How’s your relationship with Sendek?
JG: I always try to make fun of him. He likes it, so I’m going to keep doing it. It’s a good relationship. In the beginning, I was quiet and I really didn’t know how the system worked. Now that I know how the system works and how he thinks, I’ve developed a better relationship.
That’s how it always is with a new relationship. Now I know when to say what to him. I know when to joke around and when to be serious. I think he recognizes that I’m a good person and a funny person, but I also know when to shut up and work hard.
SP: He said that pass displays your basketball IQ. How are you making the transition from international play?
JG: I see the floor pretty good, especially for my size, because a lot people over here as tall as me play underneath the basket. I play more outside, so I can see more of what’s going on.
My coach, when I was younger, always played me at point guard. He saw I was tall and he didn’t want me inside, so I played a lot outside. I think that’s what a lot of Europeans do. They play a lot outside when they’re younger.
If I played as my height over here, they’d always play me inside. I feel like that’s a disadvantage because many of them that are undersized and are my height play inside. I want to play inside a little bit more, but I’m happy that I’m not just an inside player at my height.
SP: How tough has this season been for the team?
JG: It’s been hard, but I think it’s nothing that we can’t deal with. We have some good players that can do a lot of stuff. We’ve just got to be more consistent. One game, Chanse (Creekmur) goes off for 24 points, and I score 17. Then the next game, I might score three and he might score three. We’ve just got to be more consistent, and I think that’s the team’s biggest problem.
When we play well, we can beat any team, but when we play bad, we can lose to any team. We’re working on that. Not to make excuses, because there are no excuses for us losing, but we’re a young team.
SP: Sendek always talks about a bright future for a young team and the incoming recruiting class. The fan base doesn’t see it that way, based on the team’s struggles.
JG: But they haven’t seen what’s going on in our practice facilities right now. I think it looks really bright also.
SP: What makes you so optimistic?
JG: Jahii (Carson), Evan (Gordon) and Bo (Barnes). We have some good practices. We’ve just got to convert (that) into games. That’s what is kind of hard right now, but we have some really good practices and we prepare really well.
We just don’t execute sometimes. Our effort level hasn’t been that great, especially in the last two games. It was actually horrible from everyone, including me. I will definitely try to play with more effort the next couple of games and the team (will) as well.
We got beat pretty bad and, as athletes, we don’t like that. We’re going to do something about it right now.
Reach the reporter at mtesfats@asu.edu
