Passion for the game
The point guard for the University High School boys basketball team did not grow up playing the game.
Until the fifth grade, in fact, the game never crossed Inderbir Gill’s mind.
Basketball just isn’t that popular in Hoshiarpur, Punjab, India.
“When I came to this country in 1998, I had never seen a basketball game or a football game,” Gill said. “The first game I fell in love with was football really. As I made friends, my friends would all play basketball, so I started to play basketball so I could hang out with them.”
To see Gill, a 6-foot senior, drive the Titans’ offense is to see the just how far passion for the game can take a player.
“He’s a gym rat,” University Coach Marty Jessett said. “He’s in the game all the time, all year around. He just has a passion for the game.”
Which explains his transformation into the point guard for the second-place finishers in the Greater Spokane League.
“This is the first year where he’s played point guard on the varsity,” Jessett said. “We had him playing the No. 2 position (off-guard) last year.”
“I played point guard before,” Gill said. “But I was still making too many unforced errors, so last year they had me play the No. 2 spot. Whatever helps the team.”
Gill has taken that outlook on the game since he first stepped on the court.
“I didn’t have any offensive skills,” he admitted. “So I concentrated on playing defense. Even if you can’t shoot, you can still get after it on offense.”
The offensive skills have come along just fine
Gill has averaged 13.4 points per game, including a career-high 31 points against Post Falls, while piloting the Titans to a 16-5 record going into tonight’s 4A District 8 playoff game against Gonzaga Prep at Central Valley.
“My offense has come around pretty well,” Gill said. “But I still like to keep my focus on defense first.
“Before the season, when we were all sitting around talking about what the year was going to be like, Calvin Jurich kept talking about how good an offense we were going to have, how we were going to score 70 points every game. I told him we can’t do that – we have to focus on going out and playing tough defense every night. The ball won’t always fall for you, but you can always play good defense.”
To Gill, the secret to U-Hi’s success lies in its team chemistry.
“We all get along together on the court,” he said. “We don’t hang out a lot together, and we don’t spend a lot of time together during school, but we have great chemistry on the floor. We know how each other plays.”
That knowledge is what makes Gill effective as a point guard.
“I know my teammates pretty well,” he said. “I know who likes the ball, when they want the ball and how they want to get the ball. That comes from playing together.”
There have been side benefits to playing basketball.
For starters, understanding American popular culture calls for, at the very least, a rudimentary understanding of sports. The English language of every day is rich with sports metaphors.
“That’s true,” Gill said. “But at the same time, if you were to move to India and you did not understand cricket, you would be a little lost, too. Cricket is a very popular sport there, and you must understand it to understand that culture.”
The game also brings Gill out of his shell.
“My family and my friends see me on the floor during a game and they see me talking and yelling, and they can’t believe it’s me,” he admits, embarrassed. “Normally, I’m pretty shy.
“I haven’t gotten to the point where I talk that much in the huddle, but I’m working on it. But on the floor, the game just brings it out of me.”
Gill wants to keep playing beyond this year.
“I think he can definitely play college basketball,” Jessett said. “Especially at a small college. He hasn’t been getting any calls yet, but we’re going to work on that.”
With a player still relatively new to the game, Jessett said, you have to bet on them continuing to get better and better.
“He’s the kind of kid that a coach will have to decide to take a chance on,” he added. “But he’ll pay off.”