| BIOGRAPHY |
| • Kenyon was born on Mother’s Day • Kenyon enjoys cooking • Kenyon’s favorite artist is Jay-Z The Beginning Kenyon Gamble was born May 9, 1982. He was born in Chicago, IL on the west side of the city. He is the youngest of 3 children. He has two older sisters. His parent’s got divorced when Kenyon was 2 years old, but his father and mother both played big roles in his upbringing. Kenyon was raised in one of the toughest, roughest neighborhoods in the world. The homicide rate in his neighborhood was the highest in the city many times; but despite all the hustling, drugs, prostitution, pimping, killing, and other crimes surrounding him, Kenyon was a success in the classroom, and on the basketball court as well. With southern roots from his grandparents and inner-city toughness from Chicago, Kenyon received many accolades, throughout his grade school and high school career. Kenyon had been playing ball since he could walk. He always loved to watch and play the game. Playing basketball on milk crates, bike tires, garbage cans, and roll-away goals often in Alleys and Streets was the way Kenyon got his balling in with family and friends from the neighborhood. After all the grown ups would leave the playground, Kenyon and his cousins could usually be found at Horan Playground. Eventually, Kenyon was good enough to get picked up in the daily runs at the playground and things started to fall into place. He lettered 4 years at John Marshall High School, but got most of his grooming as a player playing with Brighter Determined Children. Timothy Hall was the founder and coach of BDC and made sure Kenyon got plenty of time on the court against older and tougher opponents. His game got better on the court, and with “Big Tim” as his mentor, things were good. With the basics, and team game coming from Luther Bedford, Al Williams, and Courtney Hargrays at Marshall, Kenyon was becoming a very polished player. After a very strong summer leading into his senior year, people had started taking notice to Kenyon’s game. Marshall won many tournaments against rival teams and Kenyon was the starting center anchoring the defense and finishing very strong around the basket. His senior year, in the 1999-2000 season, was quickly halted with a dislocated and fractured elbow occurring just weeks before the start of the regular season. Having to sit out the majority of the year, Kenyon didn’t have the opportunity to get heavily recruited, but he was a honor student with a 3.5 gpa; and also a member of the National Honor society which would have paved his way to pay for college tuition. Fortunately, playing alongside All-State players Justin Bowen and Kelly Whitney, there were many scouts coming to Marshall’s west side gym. Even though Kenyon didn’t get to play much, he got to watch and compete with future NBA players Quentin Richardson, Tony Allen, Will Bynum, Luther Head, Andre Brown, Eddy Curry, Darius Miles, and Leon Smith to name a few. By going to a school in the Red-West conference in Chicago, the games were rugged, the teams were tough, and the crowds were loud and heckling. Being in such an environment was mysteriously preparing him for the world of basketball after high school. After the season, a few workouts in front of college coaches and Kenyon inked a basketball scholarship with the NCAA Division 2 Florida Tech Panthers of the Sunshine State Conference. University Life Kenyon's first year at Florida Tech proved to be a tough adjustment from his usual basketball life in Chicago. The daily battles in practice against fellow rookie, Dan Dreaden, helped Gamble to gain confidence when playing against other teams. The team did not have a very productive season in the wins and loss column, finishing with 5 wins and 22 losses (with only one win coming in conference play). The team finished near the bottom of the Conference, and were easily eliminated out of the conference playoffs in the first round. Kenyon lead the team in rebounds and blocks despite the Panthers getting toyed with on most nights. Nationally ranked teams such as Tampa, Eckerd, and Florida Southern destroyed the Panthers. After his rookie season in Melbourne, Florida; Kenyon put the word out that he wanted to transfer. After receiving many offers, Kenyon chose to go to Tuskegee University in Tuskegee Alabama, of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Tuskegee's strong academics, and legendary coach, Oliver Jones drew an instant attraction from Gamble. Oliver Jones had sent big-men ( whom were also his younger brothers) Wilbur, Caldwell, Charles, and Major Jones to the NBA from Division 2 Basketball in the SIAC. Oliver also was drafted into the NBA after his collegiate career. Gamble was given the chance to learn from 5 former NBA players, who all played his position; he had aspirations to continue in there path to the NBA. Gamble first season, 2001-2002, at Tuskegee gave him limited minutes while splitting time with several players at the 4 and 5 positions. his mentor on the court, Amos Conyers, was the star of the team, and seen majority of the minutes. By watching Amos, and getting personal instructions, Kenyon learned what it took to be a dominant force on the court. Kefentse Booth gave Gamble constant advice, and guidance, on how to be an ideal student-athlete. With Gamble playing in spurts as a role player as a Sophomore, he was 1st on the team in Blocks, 3rd in Field Goal Percentage, and 4th in Rebounds. With two seasons of college basketball under his belt, Kenyon was introduced to the Chicago Pro Am by his mentor, Timothy Hall of BDC. Playing against professional athletes, from the NBA and Europe, proved to be the turning point in Kenyon's career. He was introduced to Rock, whom put him through vigorous workouts and had him prepared to compete against the best on any given day. Kenyon faired well against all the professionals, and All-American College players at ITT. Kenyon was going into his third year of College with a whole different mentality. New recruits Lawrence Brown, Imbert Prosper, and Eric Caston were coming to Tuskegee. Harry "Butch" Hagwood and the returning freshman class had a year of seasoning under their belt. Newcomer PJ Spears had proven to be a work horse with a deadly midrange game. The speedster, Briant Hightower as a veteran; along with Moses Butcher and Dietrick Randle with unlimited 3 point range; a solid group of Freshmen, Hi-lighted by Lionel Miller's limitless jumping ability, and Derrick Lowe's slashing ability, Tuskegee was sure to make some noise in the SIAC. Complications with two of the key components to that 2002-2003 Tuskegee Basketball team sent things into a unforeseen loop in Alabama. Kefentse Booth, -one of the Senior Captains on the team - honing a NBA skill level was sidelined due to injury; and Kenyon Gamble was forced to red-shirt, and sit out a semester of the school year b/c of an Administrative era. The team finished below .500. After sitting out an entire season, Kenyon came back a new and focused man for the 2003-2004 season, and Tuskegee took the SIAC by storm. It started from the first game when KKG had 19 points, 14 rebounds, and 7 blocks in the first game of the season. The team finished near the top of the conference as Kenyon averaged a double-double, led the entire Nation in Blocked Shots (142), and finished 18th in the Nation in Rebounds. He set a new record for Blocks in a single season in the SIAC, and led his team to an above .500 record. He captured All-SIAC conference honors (along with fellow teammate Imbert Prosper). Gamble led the team in Blocks, Rebounds, Free Throws, Field Goal Percentage, and 3 Point Percentage; he placed 2nd in Points, and also 4th in Steals. Constant tutelage by the Jones' Brothers (Oliver, Caldwell, and Charles) finally started to show in Kenyon's game, and proved to be exactly what Gamble needed to elevate his game. The daily battles with 6'9", 240 pound Travis Mayo, and the intangibles man, Umar Hamidullah, kept Kenyon headed in the right direction, and helped elevate his game even more. The NBA scouts, and other pro leagues were taking notice quickly. The only Nationally Televised game in Kenyon's career as a Golden Tiger came right on time. The team was rolling, and so was Kenyon as he posted a triple-double (19pts, 13rbs, and 10blks) on National TV. Kenyon was named MVP, and also received the Edward Bancroft Henderson Memorial Award. After Gamble's junior year at Tuskegee, the school made a coaching change. The replaced coaching legend, Oliver Jones, with the assistant coach, Ondray Wagner. Still competitive, the team did not do well with wins and losses; they dropped seven close games by a margin of 5 points, or less. Kenyon was voted All-SIAC for the second season in a row. He also garnered MVP, as he placed 5th in the Nation in Blocks, and top 25 in the Nation in Rebounds. He led the team in Field Goals, Blocks, Rebounds, as well as well as the second leading scorer on the team. His hard work paid off as he was recognized as one of the top basketball players in the Nation by being invited to two All-Star Games. The first, Annual Historical Black College Basketball All-Star Game, which was held in Macon, Georgia where Gamble garnered 16 points, 12 rebounds, and 7 blocked shots in front of thousands of fans. The second, Annual HBCU All-Star Game, in Gund Arena, in Cleveland, Ohio where he had another solid performance as celebrities, and fans alike, enjoyed another show. The Rookie Season |