Growing
up in Carbondale, Illinois, Stephen Bardo always
strived to be the best at anything he did. This
included school and especially sports where Stephen
was an All-State and honorable mention All-American
basketball player in high school and led his team
to the State tournament. All of his hard work and
dedication paid off when he received a scholarship
from the University of Illinois.
At
Illinois, Stephen started all four years at point
guard and helped the Fighting Illini reach the NCAA
tournament each season. During his successful collegiate
career Stephen was named Big Ten Defensive Player
of the year and made all conference twice. He led
the “Flyin Illini” to the Final Four
in 1989, one of the most memorable teams in NCAA
history.
After
graduating from Illinois, Stephen was drafted by
the Atlanta Hawks in the 1990 NBA draft (2nd round,
41st pick overall). All had gone according to plan
to this point but this is where Stephen’s
professional life really began. He was devastated
one night during the preseason when he was called
into the coaches’ office to learn he had been
cut from the team. In shock, and not once had he
given any thought that he would not make it straight
to the NBA, Bardo regrouped and played in the CBA
(Developmental league for the NBA). He soon returned
to his winning ways and led his team to Game 7 of
the CBA championship, only to lose in the final
seconds during his rookie season.
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A year later he played his way onto the Dallas Mavericks,
realizing yet another dream. Stephen went on to have a 10-year
career with stops in the NBA (including Detroit, Dallas, and
San Antonio), the CBA, and overseas in France, Italy, Japan,
Spain, and Venezuela. His very last game of his career, Stephen
walked off the floor with a championship, a winner!
During
the off seasons of his playing career Stephen worked with
television stations and ran his own sports marketing company,
preparing himself for the day the ball stopped bouncing. Once
the ball stopped he didn’t miss a beat. Stephen is currently
a sports reporter for CBS 2 Chicago, color analyst for college
basketball on ESPN, and color analyst for the Illini Sports
Network.
Through
Bardo Communications, Stephen shares his knowledge with organizations
across the country. His topics includes:
Winning
- Dare to be great
Teamwork -
No one player stops the game
Perform like an athlete no matter what
you’re doing
Stephen’s
intense, yet compassionate approach allows him to address
the needs of each audience. He has spoken at large corporate
functions, and school assemblies of over 1,000 students, at
small professional networking functions and many sports award
events. Through his insights and experiences, Stephen can
move audiences to action.
Stephen
lives in Chicago and is the proud father of two sons.
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