Ben Gordon returns to UConn, finds peace, pride and his name among Huskies of Honor

STORRS, Conn. — Ben Gordon looked up at the array of banners to see his name and No. 4 unveiled.

“To the young people out there, if you work hard and put your mind to it, you can do anything,” he told the 10,000 in the crowd at Gampel Pavilion. “I know it sounds cliche, but this is an example of it.”

It’s been a long time coming for Gordon, an elite shooter and huge part of UConn’s 2004 championship team, and a long journey back to this place. But it’s a good place, and he seemed to have a smile on his face from the moment he arrived. First in the UConn bookstore Friday to sign autographs and greet fans, then through his pregame embraces with his coach, Jim Calhoun, and his teammates, right through the halftime ceremony in which he was inducted into the Huskies of Honor at the UConn-St. John’s game.

“Signing some autographs, seeing the fans, people who were here when I was here,” Gordon said in a pregame chat with state reporters. “Just hearing some of the stories, some of the heart-felt congratulations. It makes me feel welcome. There’s no place like home, here at UConn.”

Gordon, from Mount Vernon, N.Y., played for UConn from 2001-04, then had a 12-year career in the NBA. His induction into UConn’s basketball Hall of Fame, joining two of his teammates, Caron Butler and Emeka Okafor, who introduced him Friday, has long been a given. The group now includes 23 players, four coaches/administrators and two full teams.

But it’s been a difficult journey for Gordon, who five years ago revealed in a Players’ Tribune essay that he was dealing with bipolar disorder and the suicidal thoughts that came with it. Last year, he was in Hartford when the 2004 team was honored, and Friday it came full circle. He hears from people everywhere, expressing appreciation for the openness with which he has discussed his mental health. Behavior connected with it led to arrests in New York, Chicago and Connecticut, but Gordon is getting the help he needs and is in a probation program that could lead to charges being erased if he continues with it.

“I’m in a good place,” he said. “And I thought it was important for me to write an article, do an interview like that because so many of us go through times of depression. A lot of athletes go through that, and it’s so hard to muster up the courage to talk about things like that. It was important for me.”

The haggard photo of Gordon that accompanied the Players’ Tribute piece alarmed some of his old friends at UConn. But in his appearances last year and on Friday, Gordon, 41, looked youthful, healthy and self-assured.

“I’m in a way better space now,” he said. “Healthy, my family is healthy, everything is going well. But I thought it was important to share that moment, and a lot of people have reached out to me. Even tonight. Sometimes, I forget about that story, but people remind me, ‘those words really helped me. I’m going through a tough time.’ So that was something that made me proud, that I spoke up about that.”

Gordon, living in Chicago, where he played the first parts of his NBA career, has three young sons, ages 6, 9 and 13. Calhoun, who stays in touch, has been encouraging him to start the next chapter of his life.

“Right now, I value my peace of mind,” he said, “staying healthy and being there for my family. Taking every day one at a time. Coach Calhoun is always trying to get me into coaching. It’s something I’ve considered. I love the game, always been a gym rat. We’ll see what happens. Right now, I’m enjoying life, enjoying my family.”

In this moment, Gordon was able to look back on his days at UConn, the triumphs and heartbreaking defeats in March, the fun and silly times with Okafor, his roommate. Both were great students, and they went back-to-back, Nos. 2 and 3 in the 2004 NBA Draft.

“My fondest memories, there are so many,” Gordon said. “It really just goes back to the comradery with my teammates over the years, the ones I won with, the ones where we didn’t make it all the way. I still have those relationships. It all started right here. Spending time in the locker room after practice. Me and Emeka, having bunk beds before we made it to our ultimate dream.”

Calhoun walked in on the interview. “Love you, Coach,” Gordon said. “Love you, too,” Calhoun responded with a hug.

“Now, he’s like a son to me,” Calhoun said.

“This is the only coach I played for that, regardless what was going on, always stayed in contact,” Gordon said. “Stayed in touch with my mom, to see what was going on. Great coach, but a better person.”

Gordon was surrounded on the court by former teammates. Taliek Brown was in the arena, as an assistant coach for St. John’s, which rallied to beat the current Huskies 68-62.

“Time flies, but being honored tonight is a great feeling,” Gordon said. “Having some of my friends and family to enjoy the process with me is something I’ll always remember. Having that moment tonight, it just validates everything I went through. … It was so long ago, but fans of the game, friends and family, they never let you forget. It’s amazing when you accomplish something you work really hard towards, it’s like an everlasting memory in life.”

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