BEN GORDON
On being a citizenof the U.S. and Great Britain
I was born inLondon but was only there for a year [before moving to Mount Vernon, N.Y.].I've carried both my British and my American passports since high school. Ithought it'd be cool to have dual citizenship.
On his favoriteEnglish custom
In my household wedrank at least four cups of tea a day. In addition to [my family's] accents,tea drinking was something I was always around as a kid.
On the prospect ofplaying for England in the 2012 Summer Games in London
I'd definitelyconsider it, being that Luol [Deng, who is also a British citizen] and I areBulls teammates and friends. Luol's laying the groundwork, recruiting.Hopefully with his name and my name we can get some talent to come out for theteam.
On Bulls fans
The thing thatstands out is that no matter how bad we were playing my first season, we alwayshad support. My first couple of home games, I didn't think anything of it. Iwas just like, O.K., this is the pros. But when we went on the road, I wouldlook in the stands in certain arenas, and there were like 100 people. Ithought, Well, we're not playing much better than they are, but our arena isalways packed.
On being draftedthird overall out of UConn by the Bulls
Before the draft Ithought I would go anywhere from seventh to 12th. Then on draft night, peoplewere saying 20 years ago this day, Michael Jordan was drafted by the Bulls andhe was the third pick just like me. It was all kinda weird.
On the 2004 FinalFour semifinal game against Duke
We were down 10 andmade a run at the end to come back and win. That was like our nationalchampionship because we thought we were the two best teams in the country.After we beat them, we knew we would win against Georgia Tech.
On having twoplayers from the losing Duke team, Deng and Chris Duhon, as Bulls teammates
I knew Luol wouldcome out, and of course I knew that Chris would because he was a senior, but Inever thought we'd end up on the same team. They don't ever want to talk to meabout that game.
On his threenicknames: Gentle Ben, the Closer and Madison Square Gordon
I just go by BGnow, but if I had to pick one, it'd be MSG--just because I've had success therein high school, in college and in the NBA.
On his fondness forbank shots
Growing up, youhear older guys say, "The backboard is your best friend." So when Iwould go to the gym, I'd just use the backboard to work on my touch. I guessit's a way to show your creativity while still doing something very simple.
THE 6'3",200-POUND GORDON, 23, HAS A CAREER AVERAGE OF 15.9 POINTS A GAME, INCLUDING 24AGAINST ORLANDO LAST WEEK.
PHOTO
Michael J. LeBrecht II/1Deuce3 Photography
PHOTO
BOB ROSATO