ST. LOUIS — Gibson Jimerson is a shooter.
“He’s the greatest shooter I have ever seen, witnessed in person," SLU point guard Fred Thatch said.
It all started in Richmond, Virginia. As an 8th grader, Gibson got some advice from his coach.
“He looked at me and said ‘Gibson, you wanna play college basketball one day? Your ticket is shooting the basketball,’” Jimerson said.
But none of that happens on game night unless this 6-foot-5 sinewy sophomore goes through his almost obsessed shooting sessions. He had those sessions over the summer.
“I was probably making at least, on average, at least 700 shots a day,” he said.
“This morning, I look out the window and I was in the office breaking down film and he’s already heading out with his shoes in his hand and already got shots up,” head coach Travis Ford said.
About four hours before a recent Saint Louis University Billiken game, Gibson was getting shots up.
“Anytime I pass it to this guy, I have a feeling it’s going in,” Brandon Courtney said.
Brandon Courtney is a former Billiken player who is now on the coaching staff and works with Gibson.
In the fall, Gibson made 58 three-pointers in a row.
Point guard Yuri Collins happened to be walking by that day Gibson was on his streak. He commented on the number continuing to climb as he was watching.
“I didn’t know the number at the time, but I knew I made a lot in a row,” Jimerson said. “It started getting quiet and Yuri comes in and he’s watching. Then it gets to 58."
“I was like dang, I wish I could have made more but I kind of impressed myself a little bit cause to make that many in a row, there has to be a level of consistency with your form and I had it that day," he said.
Last year, Jimerson’s 87 three-pointers were the second most in school history.
This year, he’s on pace for about 110. That would shatter the record and he does it by shooting over 40%. That’s not just accuracy, it’s the speed, the way he catches it and ultimately shoots it.
Jimerson looks at more film than a movie reviewer, constantly critiquing.
All he is looking for is space. When you are the leading scorer with that shot and that range, you just keep running to get open.
“It’s very difficult but it’s an incredible amount of respect and it’s not a shock to us, not a surprise to us that teams are doing that,” Travis Ford said.
Gibson can tell within a fraction of a second if the ball is in or out. I asked him if as soon as it leaves his fingers if he could tell.
His simple answer: “Yep.”
It is an interesting way to spend a big chunk of your college life.
A ball and a basket.
But Gibson wouldn’t change a thing. This is where he feels he belongs.
“I enjoy the repetitive nature of it, something about making shots over and over again, I enjoy it," Jimerson said.