The Brent Barry Ticket Experiment

[duncan228]

The Brent Barry Ticket Experiment: Billy and B.J. Gilbert
Barry gives two tickets to a San Antonio father and son tandem
by Brent Barry with Ric Bucher


Courtesy Brent Barry
Brent and Billy Gilbert of San Antonio.

Last week was a good one for Billy Gilbert as far as NBA game tickets are concerned. First he was awarded floor seats to the Nov. 7 Spurs-Heat game by his company, the San Antonio-based grocery chain H-E-B, for outstanding work as one of their facility managers. A week later, he and his nine-year-old son, B.J., waited between the Houston Rockets' team hotel and their bus for that night's game against the Spurs, hoping that B.J. could get Tracy McGrady's autograph. Rockets G/F Brent Barry already was on the bus when T-Mac swept by Billy and his son, prompting Barry to climb back off the bus and offer a consolation: a pair of tickets to the game.

The gift was part of Barry's season-long plan to present his Rockets' road tickets to an unsuspecting fan in exchange for telling Barry and ESPNTheMag.com readers about his or her experience at the game and connection to the NBA.

Gilbert, 50, left the Bronx 27 years ago but remains a loyal Knicks fan. He's old enough to recall that the Knicks' Game 7 win for the 1970 le was only broadcast live on radio and that the TV broadcast of Willis Reed hobbling onto the court was tape-delayed.

B.J. has never lived anywhere but San Antonio but inherited his father's loyalty. His favorite players are "Jamal Crawford, Dwyane Wade, Steph and Nate," and Wade's inclusion has to be, in part, because B.J. wound up with one of his sweatbands after that Nov. 7 game.

Gilbert feels a particular kinship to Nate "Tiny" Archibald, more because they both attended the same junior high, Elijah D. Clark at 45th and Willis, than the fact that Gilbert describes himself as a 5' 2" scoring point guard whose career highlight came during intramurals as a New York Ins ute of Technology undergrad. He made the Jordanesque move of driving on a guy "at least six foot," going up with his right hand and switching it to his left in mid-air to finish the layup. "I got game," Gilbert says.

So does B.J., to hear him tell it, but his chances at an NBA career aren't strong. His mom, Tonja, is 4' 11".

[lefty]

Nice

I'm still hoping Bruce will bite his crooked nose for calling him " dirty " next time we're playing Houston

[hillscountry]

or a kick in calf

[pawe]

get him a quick brisket

[E20]

lol BJ