"I liked everything even more than I thought I would," he said. "The players and coaches treated me like I was already part of the team."The 6-foot-7, 205-pound forward got in Friday and was happy to soon be on the court with his future teammates. "We went right to the gym to scrimmage," he said. "I feel like I connected with them right away. The scrimmage just felt good and I thought I played pretty well."
Marquis then got to spend some quality time with his future head coach. "After the scrimmage on Friday I went to dinner with the coaches and Craig Brackins who was my host," said Gilstrap. "We also went to breakfast the next morning and I got to talk a lot with Coach McDermott. I really like talking with him and I thought things went real well."
Gilstrap then got to play on his future home court and enjoyed teaming up with his host for the weekend. "I thought I played real well with Craig (Brackins). We ran the pick and roll and just seemed to click," he said. "I really loved getting to play there and I can't wait to play a game there next year."
Marquis then spent Saturday night watching the Iowa State football team defeat Kent State and he used this time to continue to bond with his future teammates. "I went to the game with Craig and the rest of the team and it was real fun," said Gilstrap. "It was great because we got to sit down near the field during the game. I mostly hung out with Craig, DG (Diante Garrett), Dominique (Buckley), Cameron (Lee), and Wes (Eikmeier). They were all really nice."
Marquis then went for breakfast with the coaches on Sunday before heading back to Florida. "I really had a great trip," he said. "I don't know when I'll be back next but I really hope I can make it for one of their basketball games during the season."