"In recent years, the likes of Jamison Battle, Justin Champagnie and Terence Davis were undrafted finds of the Raptors. There was a brief moment where Freddie Gillespie looked like the next find. The 6'10" center played his final two years of college at Baylor University, a school with no shortage of NBA players to its name. He joined as a walk-on but developed into the starting center and was Second Team All-Big 12 as a senior in 2020."
"His overall numbers are the epitome of pedestrian, and he specifically didn't have much scoring juice. It was on defense that Gillespie shone, however. He averaged 1.8 blocks and 1.2 steals per 36 minutes for Toronto, and despite being an undrafted rookie, he was already league average as a defensive player by most advanced metrics. The Raptors moved on from Gillespie"
Freddie Gillespie developed into a starting center at Baylor after joining as a walk-on and earned Second Team All-Big 12 honors in 2020. Going undrafted, he spent time in the G League before Toronto signed him to 10-day deals and a rest-of-season contract, appearing in 20 games. Gillespie offered limited scoring but stood out defensively, averaging 1.8 blocks and 1.2 steals per 36 minutes and ranking around league average by advanced defensive metrics. Toronto declined to retain him after the season, leading to further G League time, a short stint with Orlando, and a move overseas to continue his career.
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