Eric Gaines

Eric T. Gaines (born January 19, 2001) is an American basketball player. He played college basketball for the LSU Tigers and UAB Blazers.

Eric Gaines
Personal information
Born (2001-01-19) January 19, 2001
New Jersey, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Listed weight165 lb (75 kg)
Career information
High schoolLithonia (Stonecrest, Georgia)
College
  • LSU (2020–2022)
  • UAB (2022–2024)
NBA draft2024: undrafted
PositionPoint guard

Early life and high school career

Gaines was born in New Jersey and moved to Lithonia, Georgia, as a child.[1] He first played football but transitioned into basketball.[1] Gaines was taller than his teammates and primarily played as a center but utilised his speed for a playstyle that involved him grabbing a defensive rebound and beating defenders up the court with his dribble.[1]

Gaines attended Lithonia High School where he did not receive much scouting attention during his first two seasons.[1] He developed a reputation for his dunking abilities during his senior year and received comparisons to Ja Morant which Gaines attributes to increasing his recruitment offers.[1] He averaged 18.6 points, 4 assists, and 2.7 steals per game during his senior season.[2] Gaines was selected as the Atlanta Journal-Constitution All-Metro DeKalb County Player of the Year.[3][4] He was a four-star recruit and committed to playing college basketball for LSU.[1]

College career

Gaines averaged 2.5 points, 1.4 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game during his freshman season with the LSU Tigers.[5] He improved his output to nine points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game during his sophomore season while his 2.1 steals per game led the Southeastern Conference.[4][5] Gaines was primarily utilised as a distributor and defender with the Tigers.[1] He decided to transfer from the team when head coach Will Wade was fired after the 2021–22 season.[1]

On April 12, 2022, Gaines committed to play for UAB.[2][5] He averaged 11.5 points, 3.4 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game during the 2022–23 season.[6] Gaines declared for the 2023 NBA draft but withdrew on May 30, 2023.[7]

On April 5, 2024, Gaines declared for the 2024 NBA draft.[8] He went undrafted.[9]

Career statistics
Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

College
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2020–21 LSU 29113.4.222.172.7271.41.21.0.22.5
2021–22 LSU 34826.9.391.250.7933.32.92.1.59.0
2022–23 UAB 392929.1.394.343.7933.44.31.8.611.5
2023–24 UAB 353333.7.393.269.7503.95.52.3.512.3
Career 1377126.4.380.279.7733.13.61.9.59.2

References
  1. Irvine, Steve (September 12, 2022). "Point guard Eric Gaines brings his 'high risk, high reward' style to UAB basketball". 1819 News. Retrieved May 28, 2023.
  2. "UAB Adds LSU Transfer Eric Gaines to Roster". The University of Alabama at Birmingham. April 12, 2022. Retrieved May 28, 2023.
  3. Holcomb, Todd (March 26, 2020). "2019-20 High school basketball All-Metro boys team". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved May 28, 2023.
  4. Richburg, Jason (April 6, 2022). "Top College Hoopers out of Atlanta". The Signal. Retrieved May 28, 2023.
  5. Dudley, Evan (April 12, 2022). "UAB basketball adds LSU transfer Eric Gaines". Advance Local. Retrieved May 28, 2023.
  6. Almanza, Clemente (May 23, 2023). "Report: Eric Gaines worked out for the Thunder in pre-draft visit". USA Today. Retrieved May 28, 2023.
  7. Dudley, Evan (May 30, 2023). "UAB's Eric Gaines withdraws from NBA Draft". Advance Local. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
  8. Dudley, Evan (April 5, 2024). "UAB basketball's Eric Gaines declares for NBA draft". AL. Retrieved April 22, 2024.
  9. Inabinett, Mark (June 27, 2024). "Alabama prospects shut out in 78th annual NBA Draft". AL.com. Retrieved June 28, 2024.
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