But speaking to reporters and in front of cameras -- a requirement for high-profile athletes -- hasn't always been so easy.

Gilchrist, 18, has battled a stutter for much of his life.

NEW ORLEANS -- St. Patrick basketball coach Chris Chavannes believes his school will be open next season and that the basketball team will feature Seton Hall commit Aquille Carr.

"We sent a letter to parents, the student body and to alumni that we are going to be independent of the Archdiocese [of Newark] and we are in the process of putting that together," Chavannes told SNY.tv Sunday in confirming a report by The Star-Ledger. "We're very confident that we'll be able to get that done in the near future."

"He hopes he'll be able to announce right after they win the NCAA championship," one source told Chad Ford. "But even if they don't win it all, he's coming. He knows he's going to be a top-5 pick. He can't pass that up."

DraftExpress.com has Kentucky's Anthony Davis and Kidd-Gilchrist first and third, respectively, in its current draft projections, with UConn's Andre Drummond at No. 2.

Like all competitors, they put their relationship on hold for a couple of hours Thursday night when they faced off in the NCAA Tournament at the KFC Yum! Center.

But now that the game is over and No. 1 overall seed Kentucky is moving on, Gordon would like to see his friend and former teammate cut down the nets next month in New Orleans.

The 6-foot-10 Drummond was the MVP as St. Thomas More of Oakdale, Conn., won the National Prep championship in New Haven.

Drummond also watched as the home-state Huskies -- the school he surprisingly enrolled in last August -- made a dramatic run through the Big East and NCAA championships.

Not the shooting death of his father, Michael Gilchrist Sr., when he was 2. Not the death of his uncle, Darrin Kidd, from a heart attack on the day Kidd-Gilchrist signed his Letter of Intent last year with Kentucky. And not the recent hospitalization of his mother, Cindy Richardson, for an undisclosed illness.

Through it all, Kidd-Gilchrist's big heart just keeps pumping faster and faster, stronger and stronger.

After suffering from a dislocated left shoulder, he collapsed on the floor of Rupp Arena.

Things did not look good for the former Elizabeth (N.J.) St. Patrick star. Not at all.

It's whether you're in the top spot when it's all over.

Nobody knows that better than Kentucky freshman Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, whose team is currently No. 1 entering Saturday's much-hyped matchup with his former Elizabeth (N.J.) St. Patrick teammate Dexter Strickland and No. 5 North Carolina at Rupp Arena.

"I would say, looking at today, he's a starter because you have to have him start the game," Kentucky coach John Calipari said Wednesday, according to the Lexington Herald-Leader. "Can't start the game like we did today."

Kentucky trailed Division 3 Transylvania 11-4 before Kidd-Gilchrist went into the game at about the four minute mark and the Wildcats went on to win 97-53. He finished with 19 points (including a dunk that made SportsCenter), seven rebounds, five assists and a block.

Hours before Michael Kidd-Gilchrist was to sign his National Letter of Intent to Kentucky last November, his uncle, Darrin, collapsed of a heart attack at 42.

"My sister-in-law called and said that DeAnte, his son, found him passed out," Cindy Richardson, Michael's mother, says in the film "Prayer For A Perfect Season," which airs Oct. 25 at 9 p.m. on HBO.

The former St. Patrick High School star will now be known as Mike Kidd-Gilchrist.

"That's the name that will be on his jersey next year," his mother, Cindy Richardson, said by phone.

But the Kentucky-bound senior wing rebounded with a win in the McDonald's All-American Game.

The 6-foot-7 Gilchrist tallied 16 points, 12 rebounds and four assists and Florida signee Brad Beal of Chaminade (St. Louis) added 17 points and four assists to lead the East team to a 111-96 win over the West before a sellout crowd of 20,019 at Chicago's United Center.

Who is the National High School Player of the Year?

"I think I have worked hard, and it would be a blessing to win," the Duke-bound Rivers said Thursday by text.

The Star-Ledger will run a live stream of the epic game between the unbeaten archrivals on NJ.com.

"We?re going to go live on Wednesday at 8 p.m." Doug Hutton, sports and marketing manager at the Ledger, said Tuesday morning by phone.

And Gilchrist has no intention of ending that streak even if the next game turns out to be the biggest game in the recent history of high school basketball.

After he put up 19 points, 11 rebounds, 2 blocks and 2 steals in St. Patrick's 69-41 victory over Gill St. Bernard's in the North Non-Public B semifinals at Rahway High School, the Kentucky-bound Gilchrist was asked if anyone could stop him.

The 6-foot-10 Drummond is the No. 1 prospect in the Class of 2012 and the Chancellors are battle-tested from playing a rigorous prep school schedule.

But Michael Gilchrist and his teammates rose to the challenge -- once again.

Gene Pingatore of St. Joseph High School in Westchester, Ill. will lead the West team and Bob Cimmino of Mount Vernon (N.Y.) will serve as head coach of the East team.

WEST

The 6-foot-7 Kentucky signee hit a 3-pointer, flipped in a runner and repeatedly attacked the basket en route to 25 points, 14 rebounds, 3 blocks, 2 assists and 2 steals as St. Patrick, No. 2 in the ESPN Rise Fab 50, downed in-state rival St. Benedict's, 73-65, in the marquee game of the Scholarship for Inner City Children Festival.

"Mike Gilchrist plays so hard and he does so many things," said New York recruiting expert Tom Konchalski. "He's a warrior. If I were a coach, I'd love to coach him."

But the first shot the St. Patrick senior guard attempted in the City of Palms championship turned out to be the game winner.

The 6-foot senior hit a 3-pointer from the right wing on a broken play in the final seconds to give the Celtics a 69-67 victory over Milton (Ga.) as St. Patrick won its first City of Palms crown in six finals appearances at the Fort Myers, Fla tournament.

Gilchrist, the 6-foot-7 Kentucky signee, held up his end of the bargain by dropping a career-high 34 points and 13 rebounds as Elizabeth (N.J.) St. Patrick downed Mater Dei, 71-61, in the semifinals of the City of Palms Classic in Fort Meyers, Fla.

But Duke-bound Rivers and Winter Park came up short, 63-62, to Milton (Ga.) in the other semi.

St. John's, Arizona and Texas fans can watch Henderson (Nev.) Findlay Prep against Yates (Texas) Thursday at 9 p.m. on ESPN.

Findlay features Amir Garrett, who has signed with St. John's, Arizona commit Nick Johnson and Texas commit Myck Kabongo.

But for the next year, Kevin Boyle of St. Patrick remains Gilchrist's coach.

And Boyle is expecting continued growth from his 6-foot-7 star who averaged 16.4 points and 11.5 rebounds as a junior.

"Michael will be going to the University of Kentucky," his mother, Cindy Richardson, said Saturday.

A rising senior at Elizabeth (N.J.) St. Patrick, Gilchrist recently Tweeted that he was going to take three official visits, but his mother said that was not the case.

"Absolutely not," his mother, Cindy Richardson, said Sunday.

Gilchrist played his last AAU event this summer at the Peach Jam.

Could John Calipari add No. 8 Anthony Davis as well?

"I gotta get on him, huh?" Gilchrist said last week at the Peach Jam. ?ASAP, huh??

The semifinals are set for 9 a.m. with Kentucky-bound Michael Gilchrist and Team Final from New Jersey taking on Florida commit Bradley Beal and the St. Louis Eagles and then Duke-bound Michael Gbinije and Team Takeover meeting Kentucky commit Marquis Teague and Spiece Indy Heat.

The championship game goes off at 3 p.m. and will be shown on ESPNU at 7. The Sweet 16-and-under tournament final is at 1.

They wore their gold medals around their necks all the way home.

But not long after arriving in South Carolina, the 6-foot-8, 240-pound Gilchrist presented his mother, Cindy Richardson, with his medal.

Now that he knows, Gilchrist joked that he's ready to help recruit Davis to the Wildcats.

"Oh, for real," Gilchrist said after scoring 26 points and grabbing 9 rebounds in Team Final's 60-54 victory over Mean Streets at the Peach Jam. "I didn't know. I gotta get on him, huh?

With Gilchrist and Teague having already committed to Kentucky, and Wroten leaning there, Cook is already hearing it from his roommates.

"We have the best recruiting class coming in [in 2011]," Gilchrist and Teague tell Cook, the No. 4 point guard in the Class of 2011. "You can join us."

Wroten a 6-foot-6, 205-pound point guard out of Seattle (Wash.) Garfield, says Kentucky is "on top right now."

He also listed Villanova, Washington, UConn and St. John's.

Here's my video interview with Duke-bound point guard Kyrie Irving of Elizabeth (N.J.) St. Patrick.

Irving won Co-MVP honors at the Jordan Brand Classic Saturday night along with his good friend, Harrison Barnes.

With senior point guard Brandon Knight already having chosen Kentucky on Wednesday, junior wing Michael Gilchrist said he will follow him to the Bluegrass State.

"I'll be going to the University of Kentucky. I like Coach Cal a lot, his staff and I like the fans there a lot. This is a blessing," the 6-foot-7 Gilchrist told ESPNU.

The 6-foot-7 Gilchrist has long favored Kentucky and Villanova and will make his verbal commitment as a junior. He cannot sign a Letter of Intent until November.

?Michael loves Villanova,? Cindy Richardson, Gilchrist?s mother, told the Philly Inquirer last summer. ?It?s Kentucky, Villanova. Villanova, Kentucky.?

"No he wasn't and he has no visits planned," Cindy Richardson wrote in a text.

Gilchrist has been with his AAU team, Team Final, at the Boo Williams Nike Invitational in Virginia for the past several days. On Friday night, he had 13 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists when they lost to Each One Teach One, 76-69.

'No, no he hasn't committed to Kentucky," Efrem Knight said Sunday afternoon by phone. "Everything's still the same."

Asked when Brandon might make a decision, Efrem said, "Probably in a couple of weeks."

The 6-foot-7 Gilchrist of Elizabeth (N.J.) St. Patrick lists Oregon, Villanova, Texas, Kentucky, Michigan and Georgia Tech, according to Alex Schwartz of the NBE Basketball Report.

?I like Villanova a lot,? Gilchrist said.

Joseph, a 6-foot-3 senior guard from Findlay (Nev.) Prep ranked No. 3 among point guards in 2010, was not at the game but he is considering both UConn and Villanova, along with Texas, Minnesota and UNLV.

"[I'm just gonna commit] whenever I feel 100 percent. . . . I am not sure if I am gonna pick out of the [full list of] five. I have no set time," Joseph told Alex Schwartz of Rivals.com while playing this past weekend at the Primetime Shootout in Trenton, N.J.

As expected, Elizabeth (N.J.) St. Patrick was officially banned from the New Jersey state basketball tournament and put on two years probation Friday by its state association.

Head coach Kevin Boyle, found guilty of holding illegal preseason workouts - so his players could be seen by college coaches - was suspended for three games.

The Celtics won despite a huge controversy swirling around the program.

St. Patrick will be declared ineligible for the upcoming New Jersey state tournament at a New Jersey Interscholastic?Athletic Association?hearing this week because it allegedly held illegal preseason practices, according to a source with direct knowledge.

Head coach Kevin Boyle will receive a three-game suspension and the program faces two years of probation, the source added.

"The?recommendation is for a three-game suspension for Boyle and the team can't play in the [state] tournament and [faces] two years probation," the source said.

St. Patrick coach Kevin Boyle, pictured at left with LeBron James, plans to donate the gate from Thursday night's 8 o'clock game against Elizabeth at Kean University to victims of the earthquake in Haiti. The Celtics are ranked No. 4 nationally and feature Duke-bound point guard Kyrie Irving and superstar junior Michael Gilchrist.

"Obviously the Haitian thing wasn't planned but we have probably 10-15 percent of our student population is Haitian," Boyle said. "And [former St. Pat's and current Philadelphia 76ers standout] Sam Dalembert was originally born in Haiti. He came from Port-au-Prince."

Duke-bound guard Kyrie Irving had 30 points for St. Pat's.

Undecided senior guard Cory Joseph scored 23 points on 8-for-16 shooting and 9 rebounds for Findlay.

Irving earned MVP honors by posting 24 points,?7 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals to lead St. Patrick to a 70-50 rout of Christian Brothers Academy in the Boardwalk Hoop Group showcase at Monmouth University's Multipurpose Activity Center.

Irving had 16 points on 7-for-11 shooting in the first half as the Celtics (10-0) took a 40-17 lead.

The top junior in the nation, Gilchrist had been out with a right knee strain suffered in a win over Union Jan. 2. He underwent an MRI on Jan. 5.

"He played [Thursday] night," St. Pat's coach Kevin Boyle said. "He ran in practice, worked out and then he got the OK to give it a go. I gave him about 10-15 minutes [in the game] to see how he reacted and he seemed fine."

Sterling Gibbs, a point guard out of Seton Hall Prep pictured at left, Myles Mack of Paterson (N.J.) Catholic and Tyler Harris of Half Hollow (N.Y.) Hills West were all behind the Pirates bench at the Prudential Center.

"It was a good game," Mack said. "Seton Hall pulled it out. I love the atmosphere but when the student body gets back it's going to be better."

Michael Gilchrist, the No. 1 junior in the nation out of Elizabeth (N.J.) St. Patrick High School, will miss approximately two weeks with a right knee strain after his MRI results came back negative Friday.

The 6-foot-7 Gilchrist could miss the Celtics' nationally televised game against Findlay (Nev.) Prep? Jan. 18 in the Hoophall Classic in Springfield, Mass. St. Pat's and Findlay are ranked 2 and 3, respectively, in the latest PrepNation.com poll.

The 6-7 Gilchrist injured the knee Tuesday night during the Celtics' 62-46 victory over Union.

"My heart dropped for him because he's a kid," Celtics coach Kevin Boyle told The Ledger Thursday after the team's 66-44 win over Linden at Kean College. "You worry. As a team, obviously you don't want to see anybody injured. You feel awful for the kid because he's a junior. You only have so many games in high school and he's so excited about the season."

Gilchrist was trying to get an MRI on Wednesday, a source said.

Gilchrist took a pass and cut to the basket and then his knee collided with that of a defender.