TOM's Talks | Bill Wennington

championship team, with a special focus on Michael Jordan. A teammate of Jordan's and a member of three of those Bowls title teams is Bill Wennington, a seven footer from Montreal, Canada. Bill had a fifteen year professional basketball career. He also played at Saint John's University during the nineteen eighties, the heyday of college basketball's Big East Conference, and he's a member of the Canadian Basketball Hall of Fame. Here's my

chat with Bill Wennington. Welcome back in another session of Tom's Talks, and today we are really happy to have Bill Wennington and he has been working around the clock all of a sudden with these interviews about The Last Dance. People are just loving this series. It's really one of the most talked about things in sports because it's so dramatic and it's Michael Jordan and that Bowls. That was a special time and you were part of it, so

you must really enjoy it. I mean, it's not like you're the Buffalo Bills, where you're went over four of the vikings and football years ago with it may you won the championship, so you must be reveling a little bit in this as well. It is a lot of fun, and I think part of it also is the timing of it with obviously the COVID nineteen going on and

there are no sports. There's just not a lot to watch sports wise on TV right now, and it definitely has been fun and I think I hope that it can quench the thirst for sports a little bit and also quench maybe a little bit of the goat conversation with who's the best. And of course, obviously I'm very biased with Mike with Michael, because I really believe he is. He's the best that I've seen, the best that I played against before I got to the Bulls, and then once I got to play with him, saw why he

was that good. And it's been phenomenal for me great, great trip down memory Lane, Tom, I bet, and just to be able to watch it on national television with millions of people and see yourself with John Cusack or getting a cup of conky at MSG in the locker room, and those are the episodes last night and five and six. I mean, what a treat it must be to, like you say, a trip down in every land, you must

get goosebumps every now and then a little bit. I don't know if I get quite goosebumps, but it is, it is. It is a lot of fun because you remember the good times we had and how hard we worked in practice to yet where we were in You've seen it in the episodes, especially the first four. Michael is a driving force and if you weren't pulling your weight, he was going to push you. And I liked that.

I thrived in that atmosphere. I had coaches that did that to me in high school and obviously to Saint John's with the coach Conseca, and it was it was very good for me, so I understood exactly what he was doing, and obviously it worked real well for everyone because he won the three championships there with us. Well. He was so driven and you know, like had that edge.

Will Purdue had an interesting comment after he won the ninety one championship, and I know that wasn't youwhere on those teams, but you know they saw Michael crying with the trophy and he's like, we never really saw that gear him in mote like that because we only saw

the drive and the anger and the frustration. So I mean, obviously and everybody talks about Michael can be very down to earth, but you know, it just shows you that when he was in the gym, to your point, he was going to make sure everybody gave it one hundred percent and was executing and doing what they were for.

You know, it was it was like an on off switch, and the switch was turned on in training camp actually for him before that, while he was training to get ready for training camp, and it wasn't turned off until the championship was won. And you didn't see it after. You got to see it a little bit if you hung out with him, where he was down on earth and just a great guy and fun to be around in a good teammate. But during the season he was pushing you. He's pushing everyone to be the best because

he wanted to win. That there was no other goal or agenda that he had. It was just to win. And if you weren't doing your job or are enough to help him win, he had no use for you. And he was going to make your life visible. And I always liken it to a teacher in school, when they're pushing you and they're driving you, and all of a sudden, when they give up, they stopped talking, you stop stopped talking to you. And if that happens, you

knew you were in trouble with Michael. But as long as he was pushing you and getting on you, you knew that you know, you still had purpose and he still thought that you could do it. You just had to push yourself a little harder to do it more consistently. So with yourself and coach Kerr, Steve Kerr, and Judd Buchler and Nabie Pats, you guys, you know, were on

the same bus in that same world. But when you watched everything that went around at the hotel, leaving the arena and the whole what existed with people wanting to get to see and get around Michael Jordan, you must have just been looking out into the world and it's just an incredible like, wow, this is amazing. It really was amazing. There were just so many people that wanted to be around the bulls and just get a glimpse

of Michael and what he was doing. One story I like to tell is we were in Utah and Thanksgiving and after our team dinner, and you know you've been away with the team. That team always has a nice spread put out, so you have a nice Thanksgiving dinner, you celebrated as a team. And after after the team, after the meal, we decided we all wanted to go to a movie, so we all went down to the

movie theater I think you started. The movie started around five o'clock, which is an early show on Thanksgiving, so there weren't there was no one in the theater. We were seeing the first show of the day and it was epis. So we all walked in and there probably about of us, Michael, Scottie, Luke Lawley, Steve Kerr, Dicky Simpkins, Randy Brown, Tony Ku Kutch and I believe Steve Kerr was there, and uh Judd Busher was there. But it was almost like the whole team went pretty much everyone

So we get the movie, a great movie. As we're leaving, the theater is now packed lines out out the door, not because we're there, but because the movies are in and everyone wants to come to the seven o'clock show. Well, when they see Michael walk out, I kid you not,

the whole theater followed us back to the hotel. We're about four or five blocks from the hotel and everyone's following us, and Michael and Scotty had their security guards with This is about four four security guards, but it ended up Luke, myself and Tony we're keeping fans away from Michael and being extra security. By the way, Michael still hasn't paid me for that, um, but just to

keep the fan Avantgela. It was crazy. They walked all the way back to the hotel with us hung out in front of the front door for a little bit see if Michael was coming back out, and then had to hurry back to go to the movie, which already was starting. And it related for the movie, but they were willing to miss the movie that they were going to go see just to follow and see if they get close to Michael. And it was like that everywhere

we went. Unbelievable. What was it like to watch the performances and to be on the team and set the screens for him and given goes and run in the triangle and the incredible feats, not just in the playoffs, but to watch, as you say, the greatest player in the game in your opinion mine too, take to the court like that and achieve that greatness and score those points and drive you guys to victory. Well, I'm gonna

ruffle your feathers a little bit. The advantage that we had is that we practice with Mike every day and Mike practice hard every day. So contrary to Alan Iverson, who really doesn't need to practice, nor does Michael Jordan need to practice, the problem is I need to practice with Michael Jordan because when he's on the floor, it's

totally different. So in the games, it was another practice because we had done this in practice thousands of times and we've pushed ourselves in because of Michael, we practice hard, So it was really it really was a game in practice because the best part of being on that team was after practice and the Kibbots seeing that the guys had ripping each other, poking each other on who got burned in practice, who did well, who made a nice shot, who got dunked on, and all those things, and Michael's

competitive spirit kept that going. So games it was just second nature to us because we'd gone through practice and which was very much like a game situation for us. But okay, been in the playoffs and the championships when he was pushing you over the hump, because it's not easy.

Six championships, I mean, none of those games, and we all know playoff games are so hard to win, particularly on the road, and watching the swooping and the driving, and knowing that the magic Carpet ride was about you guys were going to get to your destination and just to look in high five your teammates, that had to be special. Way we have seene in practice. To watch it in front of twenty thousand people at the United Center on the road, that had to be extra special.

It was very special. But what he did in games, what he was doing in practice every day. So I don't know if I wouldn't want to say, I'm n it was phenomenal to watch. It really was, because it's one thing to do it against us in practice, but when you're doing it against the best in the NBA in the playoffs is absolutely phenomenal. But but what is really special about him, it's just his competence and the understanding, the understanding that he had that he was not going

to let us lose. There were several times where he getting in the playoffs he said, Okay, tough win, but don't worry about it. We're winning in the finals. We lost in Utah, We're coming back home and don't worry. We're gonna win the next game at home. It's done smoking a cigar and just a confidence. It kind of just spread through the whole team because we were a little oh boy, they got this one. We're in trouble. But we went back to Utah and won the game.

So it was he did stuff like that all the time. Whenever you had a little bit of doubt, he just picked it up and turned up. Now we're not losing that we're going to go out and win. And how about Phil Jackson orchestrating all this and keeping you guys together and you know, with Michael being the superstar and bringing in that offense and all those things that helped you be a championship team. Phil's the best coach I ever played for. It, and he does something better than

anyone else does. And Tom, you know, being around the NBA so long, a lot of coaches are good coaches, and it's not necessarily your offense and your extras and ohs, although that's very important, but it's how you relate to the players and how you get the players to buy into what you're doing. And Phil was absolutely the best at doing that. He had twelve egos on that team, and all twelve of those guys in college and high

school were the elphas. They were the main guys on their team and play except for me because I played with Chris Mullen at Saint John, so I was I was used to being second fiddle. But other than that, but he still had to keep us happy and he had the ability to read your body and how you're acting to pull you up just when you had had enough. Because everyone wants to play more. There's no one that

is happy playing five minutes a game. There's no one, and if you are, then maybe maybe that's probably why you're only playing five intesea But everyone wants to play more. And every time I was ready to sit go into his office. He met me the day before and just said, hey, hang in there, you're playing great, You're doing well. We got big games come up. Rick Smiths in Indiana, Patrick Ewing in New York, Alonso Morning in Miami. You've got three big games coming up in the next two weeks.

You've got to be ready. You're doing well. Just hanging there, keep going. You got any questions, and just talk to you. And he understood that where a lot of coaches don't talk to you until there's a problem and it's and it's too hard to fix. But also he kept Michael and Scottie and Horace when Horace was here and Dennis

when Dennis was here, happy and content playing. And you saw he'd let Dennis go to Vegas for for forty eight hours, which a little bit longer than forty hours, but he understood that he had to keep Dennis happy, and Dennis was a little bit different than the rest of us and need a little bit different line. So he let that happen and really managed it really well. And that's why he was the perfect coach at the

right time for this team. Last thought on the last Dance and the Bulls, but three championships for you and that franchise and that team to be at the end in June, after one hundred some games, all the ups and downs, the thrill of victory from Bill Wennington. Let's say you it was phenomenal, and you're talking about the last one, you know what it was. Winning championships is phenomenal. When you reached a pinnacle of what you're trying to do and actually become the best at what you do

is phenomenal. And albeit I was on the best team, part part of those championship was great, but that last dance was really special because we all knew it was over and Phil wasn't coming back, Michael wasn't coming back, and most likely the team would have been broken up, and it was, and Tim Floyd was already around. We had seen pitchers, seen him in the stands actually with Jerry Krauss, getting ready, getting ready to come in the

following year. So to win that last one a goal that was set early in the season, like we always do early in training camp, they actually be four training camp started was absolutely fantastic because Phil made sure that we understood what was going on, and he actually even told us to look around and see what's happening on the outside because Normally, you're so focused, you got the blinders on. You just see the twelve guys in the coaches in front of you, and that's it. You don't

want distraction. But Phil made sure that we paid attention to the fans that we could come to the game, paid attention to the arrivals at hotels where there's thousands of people waiting to see you at three o'clock in the morning. So it really was special because it put it all in a different perspective for us, just how much was going on around us and how much we affected the city of Chicago. And for you, it wasn't always that way. In nineteen eighty five, you were a

first round draft pick at the Dallas Mavericks. This is Reunion Arena. Donald Carter is the owner of the Mavericks. I'm sure your career didn't start off like that, correct.

I don't think very many careers start off like that where you're coming in, unless unless you like Jason Caffey and you get drafted in ninety six and you joined the Chicago polls and that's the way it starts off with No, like everyone else, I went to actually a very good team in Dallas in nineteen eighty eight, we went to the Western Conference Finals and lost in seven

games to the Lakers. But this what happened in Chicago with the second three peat that I was on never happens, and it was really a special special event for all the players that were on the team in the city of Chicago. But the bonds that were made and created on that time is one of the best teams that I've been on, not just playing wise and winning wise, but people wise and just how well everyone got along. Yeah,

it was hard. We've pushed ourselves. It was going to work every day and it was a job that we wanted to complete and finish. But the bonds are there and they're strong. When you see Steve Kerr in San Francisco or Judd Busler he's been with the Knicks, what's it like to reconnect with some of these guys, like you say, because these are bonds that will last a lifetime, it's always great And as you know, tell me, we have good friends that you went through battles with like that,

it's like we haven't missed a day. Like I haven't seen Steve Kerr now since a little over a year ago, but every time he comes to the United Center where I go out to Golden State with with the Bulls, It's like we saw each other yesterday. Judd Busher is the same way. When you see them these guys, you don't get to see them a whole lot because they don't live in Chicago and I don't live well. Judd was up in New York and Steve San Francisco, but

you don't get to see him a lot. But when you do, if the connection is there, the bond is there, it's great to see each other and you just start reliving great stories and also some news stories what's been going on since then, because we all when we're all here, we all had little kids. Now we all have adults, adult kids, and that's fun to catch up with those two. More of my conversation with Bill Wennington, including his thoughts on seventy six or Center, All Star, Joel and bead

in a Moment. In this time of social distancing, Novacare Rehabilitation is offering physical therapy from the comfort and safety of your home. Through their new tell A Rehab program. Novacare will virtually bring their services to you so you may heal, build strength, and get back to the things you love tell a rehab let you easily connect with one of Novacare's licensed therapists through web based technology that is Hippo compliant. For more information, visit novacare dot com.

Now back to my conversation with Bill Wennington. When you go back, let's talk about your days in the Big East, because the Big East has come back with Villanova and of course one of the best teams winning two championships in the NC Double as of the last four years. But you're maybe that was the of the Big East right there in the mid eighties with Chris Molan. You

mentioned Lollie Carnistecca was your coach. A magical time in college basketball and you were right in the middle of that was fun, and honestly, that's really what prepared me to go to the NBA. And my first big exposure to the big stage playing in Madison Square Garden in the Big East Finals, playing against Patrick Ewing for four years really helped me develop and maybe I understand that how hard I had to work if I wanted to continue in a basketball career, and just a lot a

lot of fun. And one of the stories I'd like to tell about the Big East it was. It wasn't even after eighty five when the Bulls went to the Final four in Villanova ended up beating Georgetown. It was eighty four where in Los Angeles and the Olympics, and I was with my team with Team Canada playing and we'd be walking around the streets in Los Angeles and people will be stopping me, going, Bill, Oh, how are you doing? Bill? What's going on? What are you doing?

All my Canadian teammates we're looking at me. How does everybody know you? You live on the East Coast. It's four thousand miles away, right, It's like, dude, playing the Big Yeast. We're on the Big East Game of the Week every week, so they've all seen me on TV and it couldn't be. It was that big back then, the Big Yeast, And it was phenomenal playing great great teams, great players, Villanova, Eddie Pickney, Robie Massimino, great coach, John Thompson, great coach. Just a lot of fun to be part

of that. You mentioned your high school coach. You went to school. You grew up in Montreal, but you went to school on Long Island. Is it the same Bob McKillop, who is Steph Curry's coach at Davidson. Absolutely say, Bob Hill just called me last month for my birthday. Still stay in touch with Bob. He's had a great career at Davidson, got that program back to what it was

back in early seventies. And obviously Steph Curry's coach and just a great man, great coach, father figure, helped me growing up, helped me become the man that I am today with his teachings both on and off the court, and really strive to make me a better player. I owe him heckload of gratitude because he really helped me get where I am. You come from Montreal and now Canadian basketball with so many young talented players in the NBA,

but not so much back then. You were kind of one of the first people that came down to the States and played and made a real good career of it, right. Yeah, I mean it was really hard to play basketball as a kid in Canada because there were no outdoor courts and there was no youth leagues. Now everyone thinks about youth league, guys don't play that much. The best players don't play that much outside anymore. They're playing in aus

and Jim's practicing everything. But back then you practice outside and there were no ports outside to practice, and so I blount to a little YMCA league and played there and got to my first exposure to basketball in those leagues there. But really it was tough for guys to play and there it wasn't on TV because if the only thing was on TV back then was hockey and baseball. In the summertime, we had the Montreal exposed and much

john than the Blue Jays in Toronto. That was pretty much it, but hockey was all you played, so not a lot of guys played. But now it's grown. Guys are playing all over the place, not that there's so many more outdoor courts, but there are more outdoor courts now. But youth basketball's picked up in Canada and it is grown by leafs and bounds. As you know, there's so many Canadians in the NBA, and one of the best big guys that ever played in Canada, with Todd McCullough,

was out in Philly with you guys. So a nice little fraternity we have and it's always good to catch up with the Canadian players. But from when I started, when I left went to Saint John's in nineteen eighty five. To all the guys that are in college in the States right now, it's mind boggling, right well, a fellow Canadian and speaking of your Chicago bowls. Now, the new general manager of the bull Mark Eversley, has taken the job.

And you know, we'll talk a little bit about the Sixers in a moment, but he comes into a situation you got not a lot of young Callen and everybody was real fun Mark here. I know he's going to do a great jout job out there in Chicago. Now.

I'm really excited for Mark. I've met him a couple of times just to say hello, really haven't spent any time with him, have not talked to him yet, and I don't think he's here in Chicago yet with the virus thing going on right now and traveling and everything, so I've not had a chance to see him or

welcome him here in Chicago. But very excited obviously. John Paxson's a good friend of mine, and John has kind of led us to believe that something like this would be happening for a little while now, and looking forward to going in a new direction see what he can do and get new minds because it's difficult tom as you know, when teams aren't doing well and you're trying to find the right answer, the right formula to get

things back on track. And I've got some new minds coming in and I like Mark a lot, and I've heard a lot of great things about him, and I'm looking forward to the changes here now. I know you guys, as it turned out of the last couple three years, didn't see a lot of indeed, but he did this year. And I know furk On Corkma has got a really

good game. But when you when you get back into the NBA and you think a little bit about the Sixers and you know the talent on the ball club, what do you think of when you think of the Philadelphia seventy six years, Well, I think you got a game change in MBI and I and I like his

game a lot because I think he's very versatile. You can play outside, but more importantly you play inside right now, and he's the guy that you can't guard down low because a lot of teams are going away from low post actions right now because analytics is taken over and it's become a three point shooting league where pretty much time you see it, every team's running the same thing.

They running a high screen role or the running a dribble weave outside to get to get a matchup they want and it's drawn kick and everyone's gonna shoot threes or Embi can post up. And when you really think about it, when you got a seven foot guy that's strong, one has the footwork he had, who can guard him in the NBA today, You know when I played back in the nineties, you had Patrick Ewing, Alonzo warning A

chem Eli, Juan Shaquille O'Neal. Every team had at least one, if not two, seven footers that could bang and pound on you. Well, if you put a six foot nine guy or six foot eight guy on himb down low, he's gonna score seventy percent of the time because his footwork and hands are so great down there, and if you put a big guy on them, then he can step out and hit some jump shots that maybe most big guys can't guard. So he's a guy that changes the numbers, at least I believe because and until you

got more big guys you can do it. He's in my opinion, he's gonna dominate for a long time because you just can't stop him with a six foot nine guy. Bill, I thank you so much. I just actually one last thing, but to stay around the game, and we both are in the game of radio broadcasting. If you will, must be a real treat to be able to stay in the NBA and travel around the league and just be able to watch this competition and lay your expertise, your

commentary in that role as the analyst for the Bulls Radio. Tom, It's it's absolutely fantastic, right. I love basketball. It's been great to me and I'm and I talked about working jobs and it's not work. If you love what you're doing. It's not worth It's hard, and it is a job, but it's not work because he enjoyed doing it. I used the line from the late great Johnny red Kerr, who was my mentor and did TV for the Bulls for many years, and he said, we got the best

job in the world. We get paid to watch and talk about basketball, and we get to go out afterwards and people buy us drinks in the bars to talk about it some more. And it's true, and it's a great game to talk about. And I love the game, and when you talk to people about basketball, you had a lot of different perspectives on it and what's good and what's not. But it's definitely been a lot of

fun in a great ride. Well, you mentioned Johnny mccurr, and I was telling you earlier that I just read his book, which not a lot of people are saying. But out of Chicago Tilden Tech played at the University of Illinois, played for the Statis Syracuse Nationals Championship where there's a rookie, played for Philadelphia and had a streak of over eight hundred consecutive games. A first coach of the Bowls, first first coach of the Phoenix Suns, one of the true big guys early in his career. Johnny

ray Kerr was a legend at that time. Absolutely, I'm a great guy and a great great friend. Is tough loss for us here in Chicago when he passed, but just a phenomenal human being and missing dearly. Well Bill, we thank you so much, and I know you're doing a lot of this so we appreciate it and enjoy the last episodes and hopefully we'll see you soon at an NBA arena. Take care and we appreciate your time.

Thank you, Tom, always a pleasure. Thanks for listening to Tom's talks with me Tom McGinnis on the seventy six Yeers podcast network. Check for new episodes every weekend.