Bynum embraces leadership role with Windy City Bulls
Will Bynum definitely stands out on the Windy City Bulls roster.
The 6-foot point guard is 34, with eight years of NBA experience, and he's not done with the game yet. He wanted to continue his basketball career while living in his suburban home with his wife and three children, so joining the Bulls' D-League franchise was a natural fit.
"I'm not a prima donna or somebody who's had something given to me my entire career," said Bynum, who scored 43 points last week in a D-League Showcase game. "I've had to earn everything that I've gotten. This is no big deal for me, just a steppingstone to reach the ultimate goal."
Bynum and the Windy City Bulls will play twice this weekend at the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates - Friday against Fort Wayne and Saturday against Erie.
Although he has about eight to 10 years on most of his current teammates, Bynum says he's comfortable in his role. Being a mentor and leader has always come naturally to the South Side native.
"At a younger age, I knew what I wanted," Bynum said. "I knew exactly what I wanted, what it was going to take to get there and how I was going to get there. I don't know how I was thinking like that, that early, to be honest. It had to be God."
One of Bynum's success stories is veteran NBA guard Tony Allen of the Memphis Grizzlies. The two were friends from a young age and when Allen drifted away from school and toward the streets, Bynum pushed him to attend Crane High School and get serious about basketball.
"I've always been like that and not just Tony. I took seven or eight of my friends growing up with me to Crane," Bynum said. "They were on the streets too and they started playing basketball. A lot of those guys didn't make it to the NBA, but they went on to get college degrees, play overseas. Ultimately, I'm just happy we were able to get out of the streets of Chicago."
The basketball bond is strong on the South Side. Bynum was always close to former Bulls center Eddy Curry. Allen's younger brother Ryan, who played in college at Wisconsin-Milwaukee, was one of Derrick Rose's best friends growing up. Bynum said he lived with the Allen brothers during his high school years.
"I was around Ryan all day," Bynum said. "In college, he would tell me all the time, 'Man, my friend Derrick is nice. You need to come see him play.' I saw him play. Yeah, he was nice.
"It's crazy how it all turned out. Tony had a firsthand chance to see what I was doing when I moved in with him, then Ryan saw it and he told Derrick, and Derrick was doing it. It's kind of like the same formula.
"Being from Chicago, you have to live basketball 100 percent daily in order to even have a chance to make it."
Bynum played in college at Arizona and Georgia Tech. He was the leading scorer for Georgia Tech in the 2004 NCAA title game, when the Yellowjackets lost to Ben Gordon and Emeka Okafor's UConn team. Bynum played overseas, but also stuck in the NBA for eight seasons, mostly with the Detroit Pistons from 2008-14.
Windy City coach Nate Loenser felt Bynum's leadership and maturity was exactly what the team needed after top scorer Spencer Dinwiddie was signed by the Brooklyn Nets in December.
"If you look at his size and stature, from an NBA standpoint that's not something that's going to jump out at you on a draft board," Loenser said. "If those numbers don't jump out, there's obviously got to be something about the player and the person that's special."
Bynum's wife gave birth to the couple's third child and first son in the fall, so he figured the best place for him to be is right here. His home is about a 20-minute drive from the Sears Centre.
"At heart I'm a 100-percent basketball guy, so this was an easy decision for me, especially with the opportunity to be home," he said. "It was pretty simple for me, it wasn't that complicated."
If you go:
The Windy City Bulls have 15 home games left to play in their inaugural season at Sears Centre Arena. The home schedule:
Friday: 7 p.m., vs. Fort Wayne Mad Ants
Saturday: 7 p.m., vs. Erie BayHawks
Feb. 7: 7 p.m., vs. Grand Rapids Drive
Feb. 9: 7 p.m., vs. Raptors 905
Feb. 11: 7 p.m., vs. Long Island Nets
March 3: 7 p.m., vs. Grand Rapids Drive
March 4: 7 p.m., vs. Sioux Falls Skyforce
March 6: 7 p.m., vs. Maine Red Claws
March 8: 10 a.m., vs. Canton Charge
March 15: 7 p.m., vs. Greensboro Swarm
March 17: 7 p.m., vs. Austin Spurs
March 21: 7 p.m., vs. Westchester Knicks
March 23: 7 p.m., vs. Iowa Energy
March 28: 7 p.m., vs. Erie BayHawks
April 1: 7 p.m., vs. Maine Red claws
Tickets: Single-game prices start at $17. Call 1 (888)-732-7784; online at windycitybulls.com, searscentre.com; visit Sears Centre Arena Box Office at 5333 Prairie Stone Parkway, Hoffman Estates.