Thomas Gardner Rocks the Bulls’ Training Camp

Thomas Gardner joined the Bulls training camp last week in hopes of making the team’s roster. Gardner, the 22-year-old shooting guard who played college ball for Missouri until his junior year when he left to play for Belgium, was undrafted in the 2006 NBA Draft. Gardner earned an invitation to the Bulls training camp after performing well for Chicago’s summer league squad. In his practice with the Bulls, Gardner started at shooting guard for Ben Gordon – who was out with an ankle sprain – and Thabo Sefolosha – who had a strained right hamstring. According to press notes, Gordon “threw down an impressive fastbreak dunk in the third quarter of Tuesday’s game in LaCrosse, Wisconsin. Gardner’s dunk was replayed on ESPN’s SportsCenter about five times because he went right over the top of Milwaukee rookie Yi Jianlian.

The Portland, Oregon native is seeing his hopes rise a little higher since his outstanding performance last week. Of his playing coach Scott Skiles said, “I thought he played well. He’s a good defender. He doesn’t try to do too much. He made one of the most athletic plays I’ve seen since I’ve been coach here, running on the wing, catching that ball and punching that thing. There are some things he can do out there.” Gardner was definitely excited about his first-ever NBA game, not only did he impress Skiles; he also made it on SportsCenter, any rookie’s dream. After giving up 33-year-old rookie Joseph Blair, the Bulls roster now stands at seventeen. There’s still more time for Gardner to prove himself (as if he hasn’t done that already) – so be sure to stay tuned to see whether or not he makes the roster number 18.

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