Christian Gatewood emerged onto the scene during his sophomore season, but the junior will look to take it to another level as a junior.

Gatewood got right to work after the 2024 season, and the junior cannot wait for the task at hand now that the new season has arrived.

“I am super excited. I get to come back with the guys I love, we get to go back into it,” Gatewood said. “We had a really successful summer and fall. We got better so I am really excited to see how the season goes.”

Standing at 6-foot-5, Gatewood has spent most of his time as the Eagles “big man,” but head coach Dorrian Randolph and the staff have spent this past offseason in the lab as they look to evolve Gatewood’s game.

The goal — get the junior out from under the basket and turn him into a stretch big.

“What we are thinking is that without having him under the basket and moving him out, we are hoping that it can pull the bigs from the other team out. We have been very good at getting the basket. Finishing, we could work on, but the guards can get to the basket. With Christian being out, it opens the lane to get to the basket. Lets say if the big is adamant about staying in and protecting the drive, we are hoping Christian will be able to knock down those 15-footers which ultimately is going to pull the big out from the basket.”

Last year, Gatewood established himself as one of the county’s best.

By season’s end, Gatewood averaged eight points and 11 rebounds per game. One year later, the plan is to increase those numbers.

Although he has been in the process of changing his game, Gatewood noted how he welcomed the change.

“I think it really gives me a boost of confidence,” Gatewood said. “Last year I really came up as a nobody, I had to really forge my role. This confidence of, ‘Hey you can do this.’ It really makes me want to expand my game more to show more things that I can do.”

The junior himself shared how his new role will can lead to more success for everyone on the court.

“Shooting-wise, I have been able to get away from the basket and shoot more. Handling the ball more I can now move the ball in transition which really opens up the space. Me being only 6-foot-6 and playing with top guys, they only get taller and taller. I get to get from the basket which helps the spacing of our team a lot.”

Gatewood is one of many returning players for an experienced Eastside team in 2025.

After years on the same team, playing with his teammates has become second nature to Gatewood.

“We have already been a part of a team together so we already know how we play so we can expand upon our chemistry,” Gatewood said. “Sometimes I know where these people are before they even call it so I am able to hit them passes. That’s what you are going to see this season — a lot of good ball movement and a lot of good trust in our guys. Maybe some lobs too, you never know.”

Even in the mix of all the returners, the team did lose a handful of seniors from 2024. 

However, Gatewood wanted to let people know that even when the players exit, the standard remains.

“People think since we lost about six seniors last year [we will fall], but we also kept some real core guys,” Gatewood said. “We are always so underrated every year and I feel like we will show people that even though we lose people, we haven’t lost our culture. Eastside will always be Eastside basketball.”