Eddie Gill

Edward Gill III (born August 16, 1978) is an American former professional basketball player. Gill played college basketball at the College of Eastern Utah, Salt Lake Community College, and Weber State University. With the Weber State Wildcats, Gill was MVP of the 1999 Big Sky Conference tournament.

Not selected in the 2000 NBA draft, Gill began his professional career with the Las Vegas Silver Bandits of the IBL and debuted with the New Jersey Nets of the NBA late in the season. Gill has had a journeyman career in basketball and has played in various teams in the NBA, NBA Development League, minor leagues, and overseas. In the NBA, Gill has played for the New Jersey Nets, Memphis Grizzlies, Portland Trail Blazers, Indiana Pacers, Seattle SuperSonics, and Milwaukee Bucks all usually in reserve roles. However, Gill has been a starter and high scorer for much of his non-NBA career. Professionally, Gill has been an All-Star selection in the CBA (2004) and NBA Development League (2008) and won championships with the D-League (2009 with the Colorado 14ers) and Belgian Cup (2010 with BC Oostende).

Won a regional Emmy award for his work as an analyst on Pacers Live Pregame.

Early life and college Gill was born in Aurora, Colorado, and graduated from Overland High School in 1996. After high school, Gill enrolled at the College of Eastern Utah, a junior college in Price, Utah, and played on the basketball team, averaging 6.1 points and 2.4 assists. In 1997, Gill transferred to Salt Lake Community College and again played basketball. At Salt Lake CC, Gill had 16.4 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 6.4 assists per game. In the Round of 64 game, 14th-seeded Weber State upset third-seeded North Carolina 76–74. Gill scored 16 points despite only making 4 of 12 field goals; he also made 5 of 5 free throws and had 2 assists and 5 defensive rebounds. In Weber State's next round loss to sixth-seeded Florida, Gill scored 19 points in 5-for-14 shooting and 7-for-8 free throw shooting and also made 3 defensive rebounds and 5 assists. Weber State finished the season 25–8.

As a senior (1999–2000), Gill averaged 16.3 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 6.9 assists. In both seasons, Gill earned First-Team All-Big Sky Conference honors.

Professional career

Las Vegas Silver Bandits, Kansas City Knights, New Jersey Nets, and Italy (2000–2001) Not selected in the 2000 NBA draft, Gill began his professional career with the Las Vegas Silver Bandits of the IBL. In 31 games with Las Vegas, Gill averaged 14.1 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 6.9 assists. Gill then played in 10 games with the Kansas City Knights of the ABA and averaged 6 points and 9 assists. On March 29, 2001, Gill signed a 10-day contract with the NBA's New Jersey Nets and would sign another 10-day contract afterwards. Playing in a game against the Boston Celtics on April 15, 2001, Gill scored the eight millionth point in NBA history. With New Jersey, Gill averaged 4.9 points, 1.1 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 1.3 turnovers in 8 games. He made 39% of field goals.

Return to Kansas City and Memphis Grizzlies (2001–2002) Returning to the Kansas City Knights in fall 2001, Gill played in 18 games and averaged 12.1 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 6.7 assists. Gill made 7 of 12 field goals (including 1 of 2 three-pointers) and made all 5 free throw attempts. He also had 5 rebounds, 7 assists, and a steal. Gill would score in double figures in only three other games: 11 on March 3 against Seattle, 11 on March 4 against Atlanta, and 10 on March 7 against Indiana. Gill played 35 games with Asheville and averaged 12.5 points and 5.2 assists. Gill returned to the NBA on February 5, 2004, by signing as a free agent with the Portland Trail Blazers. In 22 games, Gill averaged 2.3 points, 0.8 rebounds, and 0.7 assists. The following day, Gill started the game and was one of only six players used due to the suspensions from the brawl the night before. In Indiana's 86–83 loss to Orlando on November 20, Gill made 3 of 10 field goals (including 1 of 1 three-point attempt), converted 1 of 2 free throws, and had 8 points, 1 rebound, 3 assists, 3 steals, and a turnover. Gill made his postseason debut on April 23, 2005, in the Pacers' first first-round playoff game against the Boston Celtics. Gill made one field goal out of four attempts and made two free throws; in 17 minutes of play he scored 4 points and made 2 rebounds, 2 assists, a steal, and 2 turnovers. The Colorado 14ers drafted Gill as the top pick in the 2007 NBA Development League Draft. Due to a thigh injury to Darrell Armstrong, the Nets re-signed Gill on November 16. With New Jersey, Gill averaged 2.9 points, 1.7 rebounds, and 1.6 assists before the Nets waived him on December 12. Gill also started the December 5 game against New York. In 37 games with Colorado, Gill averaged 18.0 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 8.5 assists. In the 2008 NBA D-League All-Star Game on February 16, Gill played on the Red Team and scored 3 points off one three-pointer but missed 6 other field goals. He also had 3 rebounds, 7 assists, and 2 turnovers. The Blue Team won 117–99 over Red.

On March 24, 2008, the Seattle SuperSonics signed Gill to a ten-day contract, due to a depleted lineup. He played only 5 minutes against the Portland Trail Blazers in his first game on March 24. On April 3, his contract expired and was not renewed. Gill returned to the Colorado 14ers on December 8.

The Milwaukee Bucks, facing a depleted roster due to injuries, signed Gill to a 10-day contract on February 9, 2009. He signed a second 10-day contract on February 20. In 6 games for the Bucks he averaged 2.8 points and 1.8 assists in 7.2 minutes per game. In Game 1 of the D-League finals on April 21, Gill made the tying free throw to force overtime, and Colorado beat the Utah Flash 136–131 in overtime. Colorado won the D-League title in Game Two on April 23.

BC Oostende (2009–2010) In November 2009, Gill signed with the Basketball League Belgium team BC Oostende and in 26 games averaged 7 points, 3. rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 2.2 steals with 28.0% field goal shooting. Oostende won the Belgian Cup championship for the season. Gill played in 27 league games and averaged 7.1 points, 2.2 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and 1.4 steals with 40.9% field goals made. In 2 Eurocup games, Gill averaged 5 points, 1 rebound, 4 assists, and 1.5 steals. In the 28 games of the regular season he averaged 12.9 points, 3.2 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.4 steals in 29 minutes per game. Gill scored 21 in an October blowout 95–67 win over the Cairns Taipans. On November 11, Gill led Townsville with 30 points and seven assists in Townsville's 95–88 overtime upset of the Melbourne Tigers; with 2 seconds left in regulation, Gill made the tying free throw. With 73% field goals made, Gill scored 26 in a 100–93 win over the Sydney Kings on December 23. Against doctor's orders, Gill played on March 4, 2012, with 15 stitches in his right hand. He had 4 points, 3 assists, and 7 turnovers but drew a last-second charging foul to seal Townsville's three-point victory over the Melbourne Tigers.

Gill won the NBL Player of the Week twice, in rounds 6 and 12, and was also named to the 2011–12 All-NBL Third Team.

The Crocodiles made it to the 2011–12 NBL playoffs, finishing in fourth position overall for the regular season with a win–loss record of 15–13 (54.57%). On Friday 30 March 2012, the Crocodiles scored an upset 99–82 win over the New Zealand Breakers in the first game of the 2011–12 NBL postseason competition. Gill scored 21 points, 4 steals, and 3 rebounds in the win.

Gill signed with the Milwaukee Bucks on October 1 but was waived before the regular season on October 27.

Personal life Eddie Gill is married to Marisa and has two children: Eddie IV (born 2000) and Kiara (born 2002). Gill and his family have lived in Zionsville, Indiana, since 2005. Since 2016, he has served as a studio analyst for Pacers games on FOX Sports Indiana.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs