BASKETBALL: Illini legend Bardo discusses new book at Pinckneyville Library
He's been an IHSA state quarterfinalist, been to the NCAA Final Four as part of the Illinois Fighting Illini, was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, played for three teams in the NBA, and currently covers college basketball for the Big Ten Network. Now, Carbondale High School graduate Stephen Bardo is looking to add to his credentials as an author with a new book entitled 'The Flyin' Illini.'
Bardo visited the Pinckneyville Library on Thursday evening to meet and talk with fans as well as sign copies of the new book, and said one of the turning points of his career came in PCHS's own Thomas Gymnasium back when he was heading into his sophomore year at Carbondale.
"I have very fond memories of Pinckneyville," Bardo said, "because there was a summer league up here when I was going into my sophomore year. They were still trying to figure out whether I was going to play sophomore, J-V or varsity."
"I believe Du Quoin was there and had Monte Kuhnert on the team, Benton came over with Randy House, it was an eight-team tournament. I went crazy - I played three games and may have averaged 30 points per game. I remember being in (Thomas Gymnasium), the way it smells, how it looked, I can remember it to this day because I was in a zone. In that tournament I kind of put myself on the map, here in Pinckneyville."
Bardo graduated from CHS in 1986 and went on to be part of the famous 'Flyin' Illini' team that made it all the way to the Final Four in 1989. The team also featured several other stars who eventually found work in the NBA including Nick Anderson, Kendall Gill, Kenny Battle and Marcus Liberty.
Bardo relayed a story of how the group came together one summer at the Nike All-American Camp in Princeton, New Jersey.
"Some of the best players in the country were invited to go there," said Bardo, "and before my senior year (at Carbondale) I was able to go out there. Typically, 30 years ago, when you went to a national camp like that, guys from the same geographic area would kind of congregate because you didn't really know each other, so guys from Illinois, we kind of hung out and formed a bond at the camp."
"One night, it might have been Kendall (Gill), or it might have been Nick (Anderson), but one of the guys said 'man, it would be really cool if we all went to Illinois.' So, we made a pact. It was a huge decision, and every last one of them kept their word, including me, so we all ended up there at the same time."
The book itself is Bardo's detailed version of events during his time with the Illini - from how he didn't get along with head coach Lou Henson to his struggles of being a southern Illinois guy mixing in with a group that was primarily Chicagoans.
After graduating from U of I in 1990, Bardo was drafted in the second round of the NBA Draft by the Atlanta Hawks at pick 41 and ended up playing for the San Antonio Spurs, Dallas Mavericks and Detroit Pistons during his career. But the thing people still stop him out in public to talk about today is that high-powered Illinois team.
"People remember that team, I still get stopped today." said Bardo. "I can go to the best coaches in the country, and when I was with ESPN when I started doing college basketball (broadcasting), I couldn't be in a place five minutes (before hearing) 'oh my God, that "Flyin' Illini" team was my favorite team!"
"I was on the Detroit Pistons when I was playing, and we were in practice, and I threw a lob to Grant Hill. He caught it and dunked it, and when he landed he said 'man, I feel like part of the "Flyin' Illini."
To get a copy of 'The Flyin' Illini' or Bardo's other book, 'How to Make the League Without Picking up the Rock,' visit his website at stephenbardo.com.