John Gillon on Twitter trolls: ‘If I really suck, we can meet up any time and play one-on-one’
Jacob Greenfeld | Asst. Photo Editor
John Gillon is one of the more active social media presences on Syracuse, choosing to handle the criticism in his own way.
If you want to tell John Gillon that he sucks at basketball on Twitter, he welcomes you to a friendly game of one-on-one.
“I can’t bet any money, but I’ll be done with college after this,” Gillon said. “If you guys wanna play me for a car note or something after the season’s over, we can play, if you really feel that way. If you don’t, I wouldn’t tweet me anymore.”
On Sunday night, Gillon tweeted, “Grown men really sit on here and hate on college kids smh.” In his first season at a Power 5 school, Gillon is realizing the occasionally unpleasant world of dealing with social media as a college athlete with a sizable fan base like Syracuse’s.
Grown men really sit on here and hate on college kids smh
— John Gillon (@John_Gillon1) December 19, 2016
Syracuse (7-4) got back in the win column with a 105-57 drubbing of Eastern Michigan (6-5) on Monday night in the Carrier Dome, but the Orange has disappointed for the most part in nonconference play. A downside of that is unhappy fans taking to social media to vent their displeasures, as if their criticism will turn the ship around for head coach Jim Boeheim and company.
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“What doesn’t make sense to me is all the negativity. I’m not coming to my phone at halftime like, ‘Oh, @name-I’ve-never-played-basketball-in-my-life-before said I need to do this, so I’m gonna go make an adjustment for him,’” Gillon said. “It’s funny. Keep it coming. I’ve always been a person who hasn’t really been the most favorite, so I’ll take the hate. I’d rather it not be from my own fans, but that’s fine.”
After two scoreless games against North Florida and Connecticut, Gillon has turned it into gear. The fifth-year senior transfer from Colorado State has started the last two games in place of Tyus Battle as the freshman eases back from a left foot injury, and Gillon has scored a combined 27 points in a pair of starts, on top of a season-high 23 off the bench against Boston University the game prior.
I'd rather be hated on than to be a hater any day…
— John Gillon (@John_Gillon1) December 19, 2016
SU topped the century mark against the Eagles Monday night and eight players reached double figures. Gillon shot 4-of-9 from the field and 3-of-7 from deep while making all three of his foul shots. He also chipped in nine assists, three rebounds and turned the ball over only once for the second straight game.
For Gillon, the fan presence at Syracuse is an adjustment from that of Colorado State. There, it was mainly only one fan – a retired Navy veteran, he said – who always hounded him. Even after one 24-point outing, the man tweeted something at Gillon along the lines of, “You shoot too much.”
“It’s not like I’m calling anyone out or saying anything negative to anybody,” Gillon said. “… You don’t understand what it’s like to be an engineer unless you have to go construct something. You don’t know what it’s like to be a doctor, and you criticize someone for not doing heart surgery right and you don’t understand how hard that is, how everything comes together. You don’t see what I’m seeing on the court.”
Chase Guttman | Staff Photographer
The point guard doesn’t seek out the criticism on Twitter, per se, but he admits that as a human he’ll most likely see a tweet he’s mentioned in. This season, Gillon did delete his Twitter account after a poor performance (he doesn’t recall which) but quickly reversed course because he thought that was the “coward approach.”
“That’s not even me. I’ve never let someone’s words bother me, so why start now?” Gillon said. “So I feel like I’m copping out if I do that and let them win.”
Some players, such as Tyler Lydon, take a hiatus from Twitter during the season to avoid distraction. Others, such as Taurean Thompson, don’t even have a Twitter account.
Gillon is one of the more active social media presences on the team, choosing to handle the criticism in his own way.
“Things can only distract you if you let it,” Gillon said. “I just try to take the approach of being mentally strong in every situation.”
Published on December 19, 2016 at 10:43 pm
Contact Matt: [email protected] | @matt_schneidman
