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Having waited and learned, Collin Gillespie making most of time with Suns

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**Collin Gillespie’s Patient Path to NBA Success Pays Off with the Phoenix Suns**

PHILADELPHIA — Collin Gillespie knows what it takes to wait for the right opportunity. He understood this in high school, entering his senior year at Archbishop Wood relatively unheralded in the Catholic League, with college offers only from Albany, Maine, and Holy Family.

He knew it again as a freshman at Villanova, watching for six weeks during December and January before returning to a team that went on to win the national championship in 2018. And he knew it once more as a rookie in the NBA, patiently rehabbing a broken leg that delayed the start of his professional career.

So, on Tuesday, as the 26-year-old prepared to play his first NBA game in Philadelphia—three and a half years after going undrafted in 2022—the Huntingdon Valley native was comfortable with the path he had taken and the progress he has made.

“I’ve learned a lot about the NBA game since being here with Denver,” Gillespie said from the Phoenix Suns locker room before a 116-110 win over the 76ers. “I’ve gotten valuable experience on the court as well. So I think it’s just experience, being able to learn while being off the floor, while being on the floor, just a little bit of everything, trying to continue to get better every day.”

Gillespie has made the most of all that waiting, and now he’s making the most of the minutes he has earned. He is currently averaging 13.1 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 4.8 assists for the suddenly resurgent Suns. Though there has been chatter about him in the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year race, Tuesday marked the 25th straight game he has started for Phoenix, fitting in splendidly alongside high-scoring Devin Booker.

In Tuesday’s game, Gillespie scored 12 points on 3-for-6 shooting, grabbed four rebounds, and dished out four assists in 28 minutes. He put up 22 points the night before in a win at Brooklyn, helping the Suns to an 8-3 record in January.

Impressively, Gillespie has translated the flashes he showed during the 2023-24 season with Denver—and a 33-game stint last year—into sustained production, now playing 28.1 minutes per game and looking every bit the part of an NBA regular. This seamless adaptation to higher levels of competition is no surprise for those familiar with his journey.

During his collegiate career at Villanova, Gillespie did a bit of everything across 156 games. He scored 1,858 points, averaging 15 or more points per game in both the 2019-20 and 2021-22 seasons. In his final year, he shot an impressive 41.5 percent from 3-point range. Yet, despite these numbers, he went undrafted and entered the league through a two-way contract.

After signing with the Denver Nuggets, a leg fracture in a workout at Villanova cut his rookie season—on a championship team—short before it even began. But Gillespie used the time to learn by watching, much like he did as a freshman in college when injured.

“There’s a lot that you could learn about the game, about yourself, about teammates, other teams, especially when you’re just sitting and watching,” he said. “I did it when I was in college when I got hurt, so I kind of have that experience of being able to do that.”

While some may question Gillespie’s physical measurables—standing 6-foot-1, questions about his quickness or defense—there is no doubt about his makeup. Kyle Lowry, the 76ers guard and Villanova alum, calls him a “winner.” Suns coach Jordan Ott echoes that sentiment: “Ultracompetitive, has won at every level, fearless.”

Gillespie extracted everything he could from his time sitting in Denver, then did the same with limited minutes as a Nugget, and then evolved from a two-way player with the Suns to a key rotation piece on a team aiming for the playoffs.

In the 2023-24 season with Denver, he averaged 3.6 points in 9.4 minutes over 24 games. Last year with Phoenix, he improved to 5.9 points in 14.0 minutes across 33 games (nine starts), while dominating at times in the G League with 20 points per game averages. This season, he has stayed with the big club all year and has been a significant contributor to a Suns team once thought to be rebuilding after firing coach Mike Budenholzer in April and trading Kevin Durant in July.

“I always go back to his ability to shoot off the dribble, which I think is an elite skill of his and something that’s needed in today’s game with so many pick-and-rolls and so many drives,” Ott said. “He’s able to defend his position for his size. You cannot target him. He became super competitive to take those challenges, and now he just got the opportunity.”

Gillespie’s performance confirms that last year’s numbers weren’t just a product of opportunism on a sub-.500 squad. He averaged 20.8 points per 100 possessions last year, and this year—playing with better teammates who command the ball more—he’s up to 23.2 points per 100 possessions. His assists remain steady at 8.4 per 100 possessions.

Defensively, Gillespie ranks eighth in the league with 1.4 steals per 48 minutes, trailing only the 76ers’ Tyrese Maxey, who leads the NBA at 2.1 steals per game.

He credits his rapid improvement to the mindset he developed at Villanova, where “we treated it like it was our job in college, and now it is our job.” The success of his Villanova peers in the NBA vindicates that mentality.

Now, Gillespie is adapting to what the professional game requires and, as he has done everywhere else, he is flourishing.

“I think I know my role,” he said. “I play with really good players. I play with Book, and he has so much gravity on the floor. Jalen [Green] has an immense amount of gravity on the floor, able to put a ton of pressure on the rim. So just being able to play off those guys, I feel like I’m pretty good in terms of just being able to find my role, whether I need to go out there and score, whether I need to go out there and find guys, get rebounds, kind of run the offense, or just contribute to winning in any way possible.”

Collin Gillespie’s journey from overlooked high school player to impactful NBA starter serves as a testament to patience, hard work, and seizing the moment when the opportunity finally arrives.
https://www.pottsmerc.com/2026/01/21/having-waited-and-learned-collin-gillespie-making-most-of-time-with-suns/

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RGGI was never a good fit for Pennsylvania

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SALENA ZITO: THE UNSUNG HERO OF THE ROLLING THUNDER MINE The states currently part of RGGI are Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Virginia all decidedly blue states whose energy costs soared after joining the initiative. Pittsburgh Works Together, a building trade organization headquartered in Western Pennsylvania, points to a new study from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, which documented that every state in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative had higher electricity prices than Pennsylvania. The deal gave Republicans lower costs and relief for the state’s powerful energy industry, and it gave Shapiro a chance to champion that industry while neutralizing GOP talking points ahead of his reelection bid. “For years, the Republicans who have led the Senate have used RGGI as an excuse to stall substantive conversations about energy production. Today, that excuse is gone,” Shapiro said at his press conference last week after the budget was finalized. “It is time now to look forward, and I’m looking forward to aggressively pushing for policies that create more jobs in the energy sector, bring more clean energy onto our grid, and reduce the cost of energy for all Pennsylvanians,” he added. RGGI was never a Shapiro thing. He inherited it from Gov. Tom Wolf, a York County Democrat, who in 2019 issued an order seeking to join RGGI. It didn’t go over well. The order was challenged in court and has dragged on for years. Kim Ward, a Westmoreland County Republican and the state Senate president pro tempore, said in a statement that leaving the program “will give Pennsylvania families more certainty with their electricity rates.” Climate activists were less than thrilled. Lena Moffitt, the executive director of Evergreen Action, said Shapiro was elected to be a fighter who would not back down, but instead, he caved to Republican obstructionism. Luke Bernstein, president and CEO of the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry, said the budget agreement offered significant victories for businesses, beginning with permitting reform and the state’s exit from RGGI, “something that will provide much-needed clarity and encourage energy development and investment.” SALENA ZITO: TRUMP EXPLAINS HOW CHARLIE KIRK’S MURDER CHANGED HIS LIFE The latest energy employment data for Pennsylvania from the Department of Energy show that there are 273, 364 energy workers statewide, representing 3. 4% of all U. S. energy jobs. Of these energy jobs, 21, 580 were in electric power generation, 48, 405 in fuels, 51, 437 in transmission, distribution, and storage, 69, 990 in energy efficiency, and 81, 952 in motor vehicles. The Keystone State’s energy sector represents nearly 5% of total state employment. By steering Pennsylvania out of RGGI, Shapiro showed the kind of pragmatism and independence voters rarely see in politics today.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/3892333/regional-greenhouse-gas-initiative-never-good-fit-pennsylvania-josh-shapiro/

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Acadia is winding down for winter just as the government might reopen

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Though the federal shutdown could soon end, operations at Acadia National Park are expected to continue winding down for the winter.

The U.S. House of Representatives was expected to meet Wednesday to vote on ending the 43-day-long shutdown, but winter weather has taken precedence over the potential reopening of Maine’s only national park. On Veterans Day, snow led the park to close Summit Road on Cadillac Mountain, according to the park’s website.

Acadia does not require reservations for driving up the summit starting in November, but how late in the season the road remains open depends on weather conditions. The road may reopen before the end of the month if warmer weather melts away the ice and snow; however, it is typically closed for the winter each December 1.

Despite the shutdown, Acadia was busy in early October when the tourist season was still in full swing. Some facilities were closed due to reduced staffing caused by the shutdown, but popular attractions such as the summit of Cadillac Mountain, Sand Beach, Thunder Hole, and the Jordan Pond House remained open.

The fare-free Island Explorer Bus System, which is operated by the nonprofit group Downeast Transportation, also continued to operate during the shutdown.

Visitation to Acadia has been high this year and was on pace to exceed four million visits for only the second time ever, after first surpassing four million in 2021. The park recorded its highest number of visits for any month in July 2023, then broke that record in August.

However, the park has not released monthly visit estimates for September (before the shutdown went into effect on October 1) and has not been collecting visitation data since that date. As a result, visitation estimates for October are not expected.

Typically, visitation drops sharply in November, although the park never fully closes for the winter. The Ocean Drive section of Park Loop Road usually remains open to vehicles year-round, as do the park’s hiking trails. Additionally, the Schoodic Loop Road in the Schoodic section of the park, located on the east side of Frenchman Bay, is open throughout the winter.

The Visitors’ Center in Hulls Cove will remain closed regardless of shutdown developments, as it normally closes at the end of October. The Sieur de Monts Nature Center and the Rockefeller Welcome Center at Schoodic Point are also not expected to reopen until next spring.

Park campgrounds shut down each October, and facilities run by concession companies—including the Jordan Pond House, the Thunder Hole Gift Shop, and Wildwoods Stables—have also closed for the winter season.
https://www.bangordailynews.com/2025/11/12/hancock/hancock-government/acadia-winter-operations-wind-down-n6hjn1me0n/