https://abc7chicago.com/chicago-bulls-r ... /14312738/
Jordan, Pippen, Rodman, are in the inaugural class which includes the entire 1995-96 team.
The inaugural class also includes Phil Jackson, Jerry Krause, Artis Gilmore, Jerry Sloan, Toni Kukoc, Bob Love, Chet Walker, Johnny "Red" Kerr, Tex Winter and Dick Klein.
Gutter being Gutter, I am going to share a few personal stories that no one should care about.
I'm at work, I'm bored, and I am reminiscing.
I know I have shared a few of them but I can't remember specifically which ones.
Toni Kukoc.
Toni's kid played High School Basketball with my cousin's kid. Toni's kid played at Penn with my cousin's kid (who quit the team due to an injury - so another kid could play on the team).
Toni and his wife became close with my cousin and his wife. My cousin had a huge party at his house and Toni and his wife were in attendance. Multiple people said to me - "That guy/he looks like Toni Kukoc". I responded to each of them with something snide but basically said, yeah kind of crazy how many 6 foot 10 Croatian guys who live in the same town look exactly like him.
Ron Harper.
Back when Danny Manning was on the Clippers with Harper they were in Chicago for a game. I went to the Westin Hotel with a few buddies to meet Danny to go out to dinner and then have some drinks.
We spoke briefly with Elgin Baker but Ron was in the lobby wearing a funky suit and a peace medallion.
Danny asked Ron if he wanted to join us and Ron said, "Nah, I got a stomach ache. I am going to chill and get a massage". Danny asked if he was going to get his stomach massaged and without missing a beat Ron said, "Nah, my fellow".
Luc Longley.
I worked near the Berto Center in Deerfield which was the Bools training and practice facility.
Often I would see Bools players out and about in the neighborhood.
One day I was going to get lunch and I saw Luc Longley going in to a Best Buy. There was snow and slush on the ground and it was a cold winter day. I looked down at Luc's feet and he was walking barefoot.
I asked him where his shoes were and he said, "My dogs are tired mate". I might be mistaken but I somewhat seem to recall he missed time soon after that because he was sick.
Michael Jordan.
1. First time I met him was in his townhouse on the border of Glenview and Northbrook. The Bools owned the townhouse. This was the summer after his rookie year. My buddy (KU alum) had met him and he had told my buddy to stop by his house if he was in the neighborhood. My buddy lived a few blocks from him so he was always in the neighborhood. We rang his doorbell and he told us to come in. He was on the phone and we sat in his living room where he was taping an album. We talked for a while and the conversation led to us talking about Danny Manning. I can't remember when but fairly recently I shared on here the autographed Jump Man "card" he gave me.
2. Later, Jordan moved to Highland park and he and I lived in the same town. Back in the day, people actually went to video stores to rent video tapes of movies. I walked in to the video store and MJ was in there. As I said, I had met him before but I don't think he remembered me. I reminded him and then he definitely remembered. I tried to see what movies he was renting. I asked him if he had any recommendations. He told me that he and his wife can't go to movie theaters. He elaborated and said people would come up to him in the middle of a movie and try to talk to him. His not going to movies in theaters wasn't so much that he was upset people bothered him but it was more out of respect for the other patrons/movie goers who would then be distracted.
Scottie Pippen.
The night Danny Manning scored his career high (43 points on 12/07/93), we went out to dinner after the game. Was a bunch of us including Danny's sister, two of my friends, my girlfriend, and me.
We walk by a restaurant named Houston's and see Scottie Pippen in the window. Scottie motioned to Danny and we meet him at the door. Scottie tells Danny the restaurant is closed for the evening but they are keeping the kitchen open for him. We start to walk in and Scottie puts his hand out as me and my two male buddies are walking in. He tells Danny he, his sister, and my girlfriend can come in but we can't. Danny explains we are with him. I say to Scottie that my girlfriend is with me. Scottie says, "She WAS with you". I told him how I felt about that and we (Danny, his sister, my girlfriend, my two buddies, and I) ALL left after that.
Jerry Krause.
He had the nickname Crumbs for a reason. The guy was fat and liked to eat. For a brief period of time I worked for a construction company near a town called Lincolnwood. There was a restaurant not far called Hub's. Guys in our company would go to Hub's all the time. So would Jerry Krause. The man would sit by himself and I assure you he earned the nickname Crumbs. One day we were in there and this was before cell phones had cameras. The man had Crumbs and grease all over his shirt. He had BBQ sauce on his face. He was a fucking mess. To this day, I still can remember the image vividly. I know if I had a cell phone camera I could have sold the picture and made some money. It was Jerry at his finest.
Artis Gilmore.
He lived near a buddy of mine and my buddy said he would see him shooting hoops at a playground all the time. One day we drove by and we saw Artis shooting hoops by himself. We pulled up and asked him if we could shoot with him. He was receptive but not too talkative. The man had a joint tucked behind his ear. My buddy didn't smoke weed but I did. I kept debating asking him if I could get high with him. I didn't. I regret it. I have to assume getting high with Artis Gilmore in the 80s would have been a trip.
Dennis Rodman.
When he first came to the Bulls I would see him out in bars/clubs all the time. He was very friendly. I had mutual friends who lived in the Detroit area. I would talk to him about them.
Dennis liked to go to a strip club that I would often go to. One night he walked in with Carmen Electra. They were seated near me. Of course I was more interested in her than anything else going on in the club. I got up to take a piss and went to the mens room. As I am standing at a urinal Rodman uses the urinal next to me. I flushed the urinal, washed my hands, and walked out. I looked to my right and Carmen Electra was standing there wearing a body suit looking HOT as hell. She must have seen my jaw drop because she actually smiled at me. Which was nice of her. If I was her I probably would have looked at me and been repulsed. I had no idea what if anything to say to her but I think I stood there unable to move. Dennis walked out of the mens room and saw us both standing there and he smiled. Probably seeing and knowing I was infatuated with his woman and him realizing I had a better chance of banging him than I did of banging her. Would I have sucked his dick to bang her? I like to think no but hey, as Dave Chappell, Charley Murphy, and Rick James would say, cocaine is a hell of drug.
