James Gist

James Clough Gist III (born October 26, 1986), is an American professional basketball player who plays for Panathinaikos Athens of the Greek Basket League. Standing at 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m), he plays at the power forward position. Born in Adana, Turkey, he played high school basketball for Our Lady of Good Counsel before enrolling to the University of Maryland to play college basketball for the Terrapins, from 2004 to 2008. Gist is considered one of the best forwards in Europe for his defensive abilities and for his dunks, alley-oops and his athletism.

High school and college basketball

Gist attended Our Lady of Good Counsel High School. In his senior season he averaged 19.5 points per game to go along with 10.3 rebounds and 3.5 blocks per game, while he also became his school's all-time leader in blocked shots with over 300. He played college basketball at the University of Maryland, where he played with the Maryland Terrapins. Gist scored a career-high 31 points against Wake Forest. Throughout the course of 4 seasons Gist appeared in 130 games for Maryland, averaging 10.9 points per game, 6.0 rebounds per game and 1.8 blocks per game. At the time of his graduation Gist was fourth all-time in blocked shots for Maryland with 231, tenth in rebounds with 783 and seventeenth in points scored with 1,414 (later surpassed by Greivis Vásquez).