Kendall Gill
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Kendall Cedric Gill (born May 25, 1968 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American former professional basketball player who played at three different levels in the state of Illinois.
Gill attended Rich Central High School in Olympia Fields, Illinois. Graduating in 1986, as a senior Gill led Rich Central to a 2nd place finish in the IHSA class AA state boys basketball tournament. Gill led Rich Central in scoring with 54 points in the 4 games of the tournament finals, and was named to the six-player All-Tournament team.
After high school, Gill attended the University of Illinois. Playing four years for the Fighting Illini, Gill was a starter for his last three seasons. As a junior, Gill lead the Fighting Illini to the 1989 Final Four. Also among that fabled "Flying Illini" squadron were future NBA-players Nick Anderson, Marcus Liberty, Kenny Battle and Illini TV/radio broadcaster Stephen Bardo. As a senior, Gill led the Big Ten in scoring and was named a first-team All-American (UPI). Gill left Illinois as the 7th all-time leading scorer in school history.
Gill was chosen in the 1990 NBA Draft with the fifth overall pick by the Charlotte Hornets, and was named First Team All-Rookie for the 1990-91 season. Kendall also participated in a NBA Slam-Dunk Competition. Gill played in 15 seasons in the NBA for the Hornets (including two separate stints), Seattle SuperSonics, New Jersey Nets, Miami Heat, Minnesota Timberwolves, Chicago Bulls, and Milwaukee Bucks. In two different seasons Gill averaged over 20 points per game, first as a second-year player for the Hornets in 1991-92 (20.5 ppg), and again for the Nets in 1996-97 (21.8 ppg). In the 1997-98 NBA season, Gill led the league in steals as a member of the Nets. On April 3, 1999, he recorded 11 steals in a game against Miami, tying Larry Kenon's single-game record. Gill's career totals include 12,914 points in 966 regular season games.
As a means to maintain his conditioning, Gill took up boxing, eventually entering the professional ranks. Gill had his first bout on June 25, 2005 at the age of 37, and has won all three professional bouts and is ranked #449 in the world (out of 745) as a cruiserweight. Gill has expressed an interest in eventually becoming a fight promoter, and has not ruled out an NBA return, if a championship contender is interested.
Gill was added to Comcast SportsNet's studio coverage of the Chicago Bulls as analyst prior to the 2006-2007 NBA season. He joins former Bulls guard Norm Van Lier and Mark Schanowski.
He made an appearance as himself in a Nickelodeon TV Show, My Brother and Me.
[edit] External links
- IHSA 1986 Class AA Boys Summary
- Career NBA Statistics
- NBA.com player profile
- Boxing Record
- Gill joins Bulls Pre-Game Live
Categories: 1968 births | African American basketball players | American basketball players | American boxers | Charlotte Hornets players | Chicago Bulls players | People from Chicago | Cruiserweights | Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball players | Living people | Miami Heat players | Milwaukee Bucks players | Minnesota Timberwolves players | New Jersey Nets players | Seattle SuperSonics players