By: Kevin Hashiro

If one looks at the Chaminade men’s basketball record books, George Gilmore’s name is all over it. Twenty-two years after he left, his name still stands atop some of the top scoring performances in the history of the program.
 
Gilmore’s arrival to the hills of Kalaepohaku was highly anticipated. After earning junior college all-America honors at Sante Fe Community College in Florida in 1990 (where he still holds several scoring records), he spurned an offer from the University of Florida and followed his coach at Santa Fe, Daryl Lauderdale, to Chaminade.
 
“The aloha here was fantastic,” Gilmore said. “Leaving Florida, coming here and seeing the family-oriented people, that was one of the things that caught my eye. The coaching staff that (Lauderdale) brought along were my friends, but it was a combination of things brought me here to really love Hawai‘i and Chaminade.”
 
The New Smyrna Beach, Fla., native didn’t take long to make his impact felt.
 
In his first game in the 1990 EA SPORTS Maui Invitational, he scored 23 points against Iowa State. He followed that up with 28 points against Toledo then 33 versus Loyola Marymount. He went on to finish the ’90-91 season second in the nation in scoring with a 28.3 scoring average while earning Division II All-America honors.
 
The following year proved to be his landmark season when he set the Invitational scoring record by pouring in 93 points in the three-game tournament, earning him tournament Most Valuable Player honors, one of only two Chaminade players to hold that distinction.
 
That year’s EA SPORTS Maui Invitational was a favorite memory for Gilmore. “Playing in the EA SPORTS Maui Invitational, playing against the No. 1 team in the country (Arkansas), playing against the No. 1 guard in the country (Lee Mayberry), I did well,” he said. “And it happened to be on ESPN and that’s how I got my recognition at Chaminade.”
 
Gilmore scored a game-high 26 points against the Razorbacks, outdueling Mayberry, who had 18.
 
“Even though I scored a lot of points, I got recognized more by that one game that we probably should’ve won,” Gilmore said of the 99-88 loss. “In the last couple of minutes, the referees made some tough calls on us, but it did get me and a couple of other guys noticed.”
 
Gilmore didn’t stop there, hitting the 40-point barrier four times during the 1991-92 season, including a school-record 49 against Central Missouri State on December 18, 1991, a mark that still stands today.
 
Gilmore scored 880 points and averaged 31.4 points per game in his senior season while boasting a career scoring average of 30.0 ppg. All three are still school records. His amazing 1991-92 season earned him NCAA Division II National Player of the Year by Basketball Times and a spot on the prestigious NABC All-Star Game, leading to an opportunity to playing professionally overseas.
 
Today, Gilmore lives in Kaliua with his wife of 19 years, Millicent, and his sons, Kaleb and Jaron and daughter Moriah. He also helps out in the recreation area in Kailua and works at the Kapolei Detention Home where he helps to mentor at-risk youths and to help get their lives turned around.
 
“I run into a few kids that spent time in the detention home who are doing well. They walk up to me and say, ‘Hey Uncle George, thanks for guiding me in the right direction,’” said Gilmore, who can relate to troubled youths, having grown up in a similar environment himself in Florida. “I love my job, most people can’t say that, but I’ve been there for seven years and loving it.”
 
His exploits in his original home state are still remembered as he was inducted into the Florida Basketball Hall of Fame several years ago. And Gilmore still keeps Chaminade close to heart, watching with pride their success in recent years under current head coach Eric Bovaird.
 
“I love it (seeing the success of the team),” Gilmore said with a smile after seeing the Silverswords achieve back-to-back NCAA Tournament berths. “I still run into HPU and UH-Manoa guys from my time and I have some bragging rights. When we start doing well like that, it’s a good feeling.”
 
Now, Gilmore will get to watch his alma mater even closer. Kaleb, a senior at Kalaheo High School and one of the state’s top basketball players, recently signed a National Letter of Intent and will follow in his dad's footsteps to play at Chaminade as the first member of Bovaird’s 2015-16 recruiting class.