For Bulls’ Arcidiacono, return is banner night

PHILADELPHIA » As the newcomer, as the rookie, as the two-way-contracted call-up to the Chicago Bulls, Ryan Arcidiacono knew he would be with the first group assigned to be on the Wells Fargo Center floor for warmups Wednesday.

Given what he knew was somewhere out there, he would not have wanted it any other way.

“First thing I did was look up at the banners,” he said. “It was cool.”

Arcidiacono was about to prepare for his fourth career NBA game, looking ahead to a developing pro career.

First, though, he looked at the twin Villanova NCAA championship banners, including one that he had a particular hand in winning. It was the 6-3, 208-pound point guard from Neshaminy High in Bucks County who flipped a pass to Kris Jenkins, who would hit the game-winning shot with time about to expire in the 2016 NCAA championship game, the Wildcats’ 77-74 victory over North Carolina.

That banner will that story.

“It’s cool,” Arcidiacono said before a game against the 76ers. “Just getting out there to warm up, it was my first time back since my senior night. So seeing the championship banner was a good experience. But then the focus was on the team and hopefully getting a win.”

If the championship banner was right where it was supposed to be, which was alongside the 1985 championship flag, Arcidiacono was where he should have been, too. Twoway-contract players can spend up to 45 days with their NBA team and the rest of the season in the G-League. Arcidiacono, who spent last season with the always tell Spurs’ minor-league team in Austin, Texas, estimates that he has spent 18 days with the Bulls this season.

Arcidiacono was with the Bulls for their season-opener this season, a loss in Toronto, playing five minutes but not scoring.

After spending most of the season with the G-League Windy City Bulls, he was promoted to the NBA and, last Saturday played 22:26, shot 2-for2, both three-point shots, and had eight points in a 113-97 victory in Atlanta. Two nights later, he played four minutes in New Orleans but did not score.

“It was cool just to release some stress and a little worry,” he said, of scoring his first NBA points. “I got it out of the way. I was able to knock down the free throws and a couple threes. So it was a good experience, and something I will never forget.”

Arcidiacono arrived in Philadelphia Tuesday night, then faced a choice of entertainment options. Villanova was playing at the Wells Fargo Center, where it would defeat Providence, 89-69. But his brother, Chris, was to play for Neshaminy at Bensalem.

“I didn’t get here to see Villanova, but they got the best of Providence,” Arcidiacono said. “I went to see my little brother play. They lost, but it was good to see him play.”

Arcidiacono figured plenty of friends and family would see him play Wednesday.

“I think a lot will be here from Neshaminy and from Villanova,” he said, “from Langhorne, Newtown, Bucks County. But I have to take it like it’s any other game.”

And if it were to come down to a tie game, with a second left, he had an idea of how he would react.

“Yeah,” he said, laughing. “If it comes down to that, I’ll probably be on the bench cheering.”