Nearly a 3-on-3 world champ, McKinnie finds his stride with Windy City Bulls
Most every player in the D-League has followed a unique path.
For Windy City Bulls forward Alfonzo McKinnie, an important part of his path was 3-on-3 basketball. Not a Gus Macker tournament or anything like that, this was the actual world championship of 3-on-3, sponsored by USA Basketball, complete with national qualifying in Colorado Springs.
Somehow McKinnie found himself on Team USA with two other Chicago natives, DePaul product Myke Henry and former Missouri guard Stefhon Hannah.
The 3-on-3 world championship didn't get any attention here, but according it's a big deal, according to McKinnie. His team participated last October in Guangzhou, China and finished second.
"We lost in the championship game to Serbia," McKinnie said after a recent practice at Sears Centre Arena. "Three-on-3 basketball is much bigger there than I expected. All those European teams, they were like real professional 3-on-3 basketball players and they work only on 3-on-3.
"Us coming from Chicago, we all play 5-on-5 professionally, so it was a little different. For me, 3-on-3 was strictly like street ball."
Compared to the 1990s, competitive 3-on-3 basketball isn't as big in the U.S. today as it used to be. But someone thought the 6-foot-8 McKinnie might be good at it, put him on a team and his squad won a regional tournament in Chicago. Then it won the national championship in Colorado Springs, and six games in China before dropping the gold-medal game to Serbia 21-16.
"The facility was outside in the middle of a big park," McKinnie said of his China experience. "They'd put the stands and everything out, put the big lights out, have live DJs and stuff like that."
Even before the 3-on-3 world championships, McKinnie had been flying under the radar for a while. A West Side native who attended Marshall High School, McKinnie started at Eastern Illinois, then after a coaching change transferred to Wisconsin-Green Bay to play with his former Marshall teammate, Keifer Sykes.
After knee surgery, though, he played in just eight games during his junior season. As a senior, McKinnie averaged 8 points and 5.3 rebounds. His coach at Green Bay was former Hinsdale Central star Brian Wardle.
"That's how we thought of him - his best days were ahead of him and still are," said Wardle, now head coach at Bradley. "He plays with an unbelievable motor. He doesn't stop. I think that's what makes him unique. It's hard to find a guy with his size, length and athleticism that plays that hard. I wish I had him when he was 100 percent."
The 3-on-3 success helped pave the way to the D-League. To prepare for the world championships, McKinnie's Team USA worked out in Chicago with Bulls assistant Randy Brown. That led to an invitation to participate in offseason open runs at the Advocate Center, where McKinnie met Windy City Bulls coach Nate Loenser.
McKinnie attended the WC Bulls' open tryout, earned a spot on the team and is now averaging 14.8 points and 9.1 rebounds.
"In a lot of ways, he's a great success story for what the D-League is and what it's about," Loenser said of McKinnie. "He's local. He's dealt with some injuries, so he's kind of never gotten in a great routine. Made his way overseas, worked on his game this summer. The right opportunity came up. He's just continued to bring it every single day."
McKinnie appreciates being close to his family in Chicago, and doesn't mind the quieter atmosphere of Hoffman Estates.
"I love living in the suburbs," McKinnie said. "Just to be outside the city and not have to worry too much about being cautious when you go outside and knowing where to go and where not to go.
"It's a great experience just because my family can come up and everybody can watch me play. This year was probably the first year I was able to go home for Thanksgiving in like 6 or 7 years. For me to be able to do that, I've just been enjoying it."
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