Admon Gilder’s basketball career has taken him around the world, but former Gonzaga guard enjoys a little home cooking

FRISCO, Texas – Admon Gilder experienced a career first as a professional basketball player last week – playing in his hometown.

Gilder, 28, who played the 2019-20 season at Gonzaga, is a Dallas native who starred at Madison High School and was in town for a two-game stint with the NBA G League Ignite to play the Texas Legends in Frisco, 30 miles north of Dallas.

Gilder, who played at Texas A&M for three seasons before becoming a Zag for his final collegiate season, estimates he had between 40 and 50 folks in his cheering section.

“It’s my first time playing here, so just being able to play in front of my family, friends, community church members, everything, it’s great to see,” he said. “Yeah, I’d say (it was around) 40 or 50. That’s good.

“Yeah, it was a blessing. It was also good just to be home and see some familiar faces in the stands … my daughter (Kailey Nicole, 7) … just to be able to see her, has been great.”

Against the Legends on Feb. 27, Gilder played around 20 minutes before friends and family, chipping in four points, five rebounds, and four assists. In 21 games with the Ignite this season, he’s averaging 6.1 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game.

But for Ignite head coach Jason Hart, who played 341 regular-season games in the NBA for nine teams between 2000 and 2010, Gilder’s contributions haven’t simply been about numbers. “Yeah, he’s just brought a sense of (being a) veteran and professionalism. He’s a quiet dude, doesn’t really talk,” Hart said. “He just comes to work every day and he works hard. He’s a good professional.”

During his lone season in Spokane, Gilder played 33 games for the Zags, including 10 starts, and averaged 10.7 points, 2.8 rebounds, two assists, and 1.1 steals per game. Despite spending only one season playing in the Kennel, it’s one year that he will never forget.

“Yeah, it was just one of those things, when I touched foot on campus, it felt like home,” Gilder said. “That’s one of the reasons why I committed. They’ve made it a basketball school. Coming from (Texas) A&M, not saying anything bad about it, but it’s a football school. Just knowing you can go to a school where they have other sports, but the main sport is the basketball team, is unique to see.”

He’s reminded of those roots almost daily since Jeremy Pargo, who starred for the Zags from 2005 through 2009, is with the Ignite and fellow ex-Bulldog David Stockton had a short stint with the team earlier in the season.

“Yeah, he’s given me a lot. Pargo’s been an inspiration,” Gilder said. “He’s been a vocal guy, a guy that’s been able to give me advice on anything I need. When he was at Gonzaga, he was incredible. Just being able to watch him at Gonzaga to Israel to all the places he’s been in the NBA, it’s always good to have a guy like that you can always look up to and learn as much as possible from.”

This isn’t Gilder’s first swim through the sometimes-choppy waters of pro ball. Since leaving Spokane, he’s played in Finland, Poland, Israel and Canada, where he spent the 2023 season with the Calgary Surge of the Canadian Elite Basketball League. And like many who have taken their skills overseas, he considers it a huge blessing that the game he loves has allowed him to see the world.

“I’ve been able to see the world, meet new people, see new faces, experience new things. This is what I got into basketball for, to be able to change my life and experience things I’d never been able to experience,” Gilder said. “Going to those countries, I just appreciate all the opportunities every team has ever given me.”

The life of a basketball nomad, especially for a father, can often be rough. After his stint in Alberta last season, the ex-Zag wanted to play closer to home and give the G League a shot, so last fall he signed with the Ignite, a mix of up-and-coming NBA prospects and seasoned veterans.

“It’s been really beneficial just because I wanted to stay home for a year and be able to test the G League out for a chance. I’ve always wanted to do it,” Gilder said.

“Vegas is also a great place to do it. Just having older vets and younger guys, there’s a whole group of guys that I can learn from and mentor in the same way.”

Stephen Hunt is a freelance writer based in Frisco, Texas.