Updates on UVA’s NBA players: Gill, Brogdon and Anderson

By Jerry Ratcliffe

When Anthony Gill suited up for Tony Bennett’s team four years ago, he wasn’t asked to shoot from long range. The Cavaliers had plenty of others to take care of dropping bombs on the opposition.

Spending time in the EuroLeague, Gill has developed a jump shot that has been good enough to attract suitors from the NBA, specifically the Washington Wizards, who signed Gill to a two-year free agent deal.

“At UVA, we had a system that I had role in and my role was to screen and be on the post,” Gill said in his debut press conference as a Wizard this week. “I 100 percent bought into that role, seeing that I only shot two 3’s my whole [UVA] career.”

Wahoo fans probably didn’t realize or have forgotten that Gill attempted only two 3-pointers his entire time at Virginia.

“And by the way, I was 100 percent, so you can write that down,” said Gill, who always had a playful give-and-take with media. He was correct, he was 2-for-2 from behind the arc.

“That’s the type of person I am,” Gill said of his dedication to playing his role as a Cavalier. “Whatever the coach asks me, that’s what I’m going to do. If [Wizards coach] Scott Brooks comes to me and says you don’t need to shoot another 3-pointer, I want you to do this, then that’s what I’m going to do.

“When I was at UVA, before and after practice, I was working on [his shot],” Gill said. “When the time came, when a coach (in Europe) needed me to do something else, then I started shooting it. You have to trust what the coach has to say. A lot of times you may not agree. You feel like you can do a little bit more, but ultimately it’s about winning games.”

The 28-year-old has played for Khimki the past four seasons, where his offensive numbers have been impressive. Over that span he was a 66 percent shooter from inside the arc and 43 percent shooter outside, and 81 percent from the free throw line, to go with nine rebounds.

The Wizards liked him enough to give him a new life.

“For me it has been a long time [on his journey],” Gill said. “Most guys come straight from out of college and make that transition to the NBA. That’s a luxury. For me, I had to grind it out for four years overseas. I enjoyed every single second of it. I learned things that most people will never see in their lifetime. I never thought I would make a trip to Moscow, Russia or to Istanbul, Turkey. I lived in those places.”

After grinding it out, as Gill said, he felt now was the time to try to jump to the NBA.

“Sometimes when I was overseas, I was thinking there’s more to this,” Gill said. “There’s a lot more competitive nature inside me that I need to get out. I knew there was a higher level and I wanted to get there. If I was ever going to make the jump, this was going to be the year.”

Gill, who is 6-foot-8 and 230 pounds, isn’t sure what role he’ll play for Washington. Some have speculated he could play as a reserve forward or even play center when the Wizards play small ball.

Whatever, Gill is ready.

“If it means that I sit on the bench and cheer everybody on or if I get legitimate minutes and play, that’s what I’m prepared to do,” Gill said.

The man knows how to play a role.

Brogdon wins Citizenship Award

It comes as absolutely no surprise to anyone who has followed Malcolm Brogdon’s career that the former Virginia star was named as the winner of the 2019-20 J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award in a vote by the Professional Basketball Writers Association.

The award is named for the NBA’s second commissioner and presented annual to the player, coach or athletic trainer who shows outstanding service and dedication to the community.

A four-year veteran of the league, Brogdon joined other NBA and WNBA and NFL players in creating access to clean water and education for children and families in Africa through Hoops20, a program founded by Brogdon and inspired by Charlottesville’s Chris Long’s “Waterboys” organization, which started supplying clean water to Africans years ago.

Brogdon is being honored for his commitment to education, gender and health equality as well as his support for criminal justice and voting reform. Last summer, Brongdon launched the Brogdon Family Foundation with a focus on two initiatives, Hoops4Humanity and the JHA Education Project, which celebrates the legacy of Brogdon’s grandfather, former civil rights leader John Hurst Adams.

The former NBA Rookie of the Year (2016-17) and the first player drafted after the first round to win the award, became only the eighth player in NBA history to shoot at least 50 percent from the field, 40 percent from 3-point range and 90 percent from the free throw line in a season.

Anderson back to Sixers

The Philadelphia 76ers have signed Justin Anderson, originally the No. 21 overall pick of the Dallas Mavericks in the 2015 NBA Draft. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Anderson played for the Brooklyn Nets (10 games) last season and also played in the G-League last season, starting 29 games for either the Long Island Nets or the Raptors, averaging 20.6 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.7 assists in 33.6 minutes per game. He was named to the All-NBA G-League third team.

Anderson scored 50 points in one game.