Defensive Minded Gill Embraces Homecoming

Posted August 20, 2003

“I’m the happiest man in the NBA right now to come back here,” Kendall Gill proclaimed minutes after officially signing with the Chicago Bulls.

“There are only three jerseys that I’ve ever wanted to wear,” he continued, “the one at Rich Central in Olympia Fields, the one at the University of Illinois and now with the Chicago Bulls. Everything else that I’ve wanted in between really doesn’t matter now. Those are the three jerseys I’ll always cherish.”

Gill’s opportunity to return to his hometown appears to be a perfect fit for both parties involved. Bulls EVP-Basketball Operations John Paxson knows he’s getting an accomplished veteran with a defensive mindset in Gill, who gets to fulfill a dream of his in closing out his NBA career where he grew up.

“This is definitely where I want to finish up my career,” Gill said. “I don’t want to go any place else. There’s something special about being at home. Words can’t explain how I feel right now.”

One of Gill’s key roles will be to join the other Bulls veterans in leading the younger players in practice and locker room situations.

“I’m a professional and I pride myself on being a professional,” Gill stated. “I come to work everyday and I give 100 percent everyday and I expect that out of my teammates also. That’s the way I’ve been my whole career. I think that right now our league needs a lot more professionalism in the way that it projects itself. That’s something I bring. I won’t try to force it on someone, but hopefully some of the younger guys will follow my example and use it for themselves.”

Gill is among the few who have a passion for truly getting it done on the defensive end of the court. He led the NBA with 2.68 steals per game in 1999 and shares the single-game record for most steals (11 versus Miami on April 3, 1999) and he’s always up for a challenge.

“I used to love guarding Michael [Jordan] when he played,” he says. “I pride myself on my defensive ability. I had a great time guarding Kobe Bryant in the playoffs this past year and the thing is, I can still defend and do it at a high level. I’m constantly trying to improve my defensive ability. I look at video tape just about every day to see what I can do to get better. It never stops—even though I’m 35 years old, I still have a fire inside of me to improve.”

“I pride myself on my defensive ability," says Gill. "I had a great time guarding Kobe Bryant in the playoffs this past year and the thing is, I can still defend and do it at a high level." (Bill Baptist/NBAE Photos)

“The Bulls were appealing to me because they’re young and they’re very talented,” Gill said. “I felt last season when they started playing really well that this was going to be a team to be reckoned with in the next couple years—and that was before I had any idea that I would be playing for Chicago now. I feel that with Jamal Crawford, Eddy Curry, Tyson Chandler and the rest of the guys, they have a nucleus to be good for a very long time because they are so young. They have a long way to go, but they’ll grow together and get good together.”

Gill compares Chicago’s situation with three highly talented young players to one he was in at the start of his career.

“The biggest regret that I have as an NBA player is not being able to play several years with Larry Johnson and Alonzo Mourning [in Charlotte]. We only got to play together for two years, but if we had stayed together, I feel we could have won a couple of championships. Unfortunately that didn’t happen, but I see the same kind of possibility here with these guys. If they can improve and mature and stay together, this team will be right there in the championship hunt.”

All that being said, Gill acknowledges that Chandler and Curry still are only 20 and Crawford is still only 23 years of age.

“The rest of the league still views these guys as babies,” he said. “I view them as babies, too, but they are babies with a lot of potential. Eddy is physically a very, very imposing player when he wants to be. All he has to do is bring that to every game, day in and day out. Jamal is so talented at the guard position. He can play both the guard positions and he can score, he can pass, he can really do everything. If he wants it and he continues to hone his skills, he could be one of the top guys in the league at the point guard position within the next couple of years. As far as Tyson, if he works on his skill level, I see another Kevin Garnett. He has to really work on his skill level and bring that up, but I see no reason why he can’t be right there.”

Gill wonders, “You take these three players with their amount of talent and who is going to beat you? Not too many people.”

- Adam Fluck, Bulls.com