Berto Center holds many great memories of Bulls

Oct. 18--Close to three weeks into Bulls' training camp and it still feels odd to type Advocate Center rather than Berto Center.

That may seem oddly wistful for a non-descript, windowless building tucked into a Deerfield office complex off a side road.

But then again, few have had a brown bag of Christmas Eve leftovers delivered to that nondescript building's door for a newspaper-deadline-beating dinner, as I have.

That moment occurred after Tim Floyd's infamous exit news conference in 2001, one of two Christmas Eve coaching dismissals over the 22 seasons that the Bulls called Berto Center home. At least Scott Skiles gave phone interviews on his way out of town in 2007, sparing more delivered holiday leftovers.

And most of the Berto Center memories are far happier or at least more humorous.

It may be strange to romanticize a building. But for four full seasons and part of a fifth, the most famous athlete on the planet plied his trade in the hangar-like structure, trading baskets and jabs with other Hall of Famers like Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman and Phil Jackson.

Michael Jordan didn't always slow and idle his car as he left the Berto Center parking lot. But surely there are grown adults who still tell stories of skipping school and being there for the times he did.

Jordan's first retirement news conference in October 1993 took place on the Berto Center court. So did Derrick Rose's "Why can't I be the MVP of the league" declaration, Jerry Krause's taken-out-of-context "organizations win championships" comment and so many other memorable moments.

Jackson said goodbye by gunning his Harley Davidson outside the glass doors with red-trim handles and rode off into a hazy Chicago afternoon in June 1998 to win five more championships with the Lakers. Pippen simply said "I gave it my all" as he officially retired in October 2004 in a casual ceremony on the Berto Center floor.

And it wasn't NBA draft night unless the smell of Jerry Reinsdorf's cigar smoke invaded every nook and cranny of the building, including the media room.

And about that media room. A lowered curtain many attributed to the sleuth-like Krause prohibited practice from being viewed. The small cubicles gave the room the feel of an insurance office.

But framed newspaper clippings detailed the organization's rich history as well. Though not scenic, it always felt a good place to write, as if the room had ghosts.

And sometimes things did disappear. In one of the most humorous anecdotes from the building's history, Ron Artest ripped a framed photo of himself out of a hallway after Krause traded him to the Pacers for Jalen Rose on Feb. 19, 2002, tucking it under his arm and leaving a gaping hole in the drywall.

"They won't be needing this anymore," Artest said as he walked outside.

The Advocate Center, next to the Bulls'United Center home court, is gorgeous. It provides the team creature comforts and updated equipment.

It also, just upon entrance, has a plaque recognizing Sheri Berto, for whom the last building obviously was named and to whom the Advocate Center is dedicated. The longtime assistant to Reinsdorf, the White Sox and Bulls chairman, Berto passed away in 1991 at age 40 after doctors and nurses overlooked internal bleeding following surgery to have a nonmalignant tumor removed from her uterus.

In November 2010, her husband, Graziano, now remarried, and daughter, Tina, were gracious in sharing their stories of what the Berto Center meant to them.

"I can't believe that all these years later, she's still in people's minds," Tina said then. "I couldn't ask for anything more."

The plaque inside the Advocate Center ensures that will continue. And the memories of time spent inside the Berto Center will remain.

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