Noah still getting schooled
Benching another sign Bulls rookie has a lot to learn
By K.C. Johnson
Tribune staff reporter
January 12, 2008, 8:43 PM CST
ATLANTA -- Joakim Noah has been benched for shouting at assistant Ron Adams, fined for being late to team functions and openly admitted to forgetting the playbook as far back as training camp.
Former coach Scott Skiles chastised him publicly, albeit jokingly, to shut his mouth, and teammates fined him, albeit good-naturedly, for bringing the wrong doughnuts to practice.
And in these regards, Noah is pretty much your typical NBA rookie.
That doesn't excuse Noah's tardiness or insubordination, the latter of which the Bulls took seriously enough to place him on the inactive list for Friday's victory in Philadelphia. It does speak to the humbling nature and steep learning curve the NBA presents, no matter how impressive the college pedigree.
"There is a lot to learn both on and off the court, and people will humble you," Noah said. "But I've been through humbling situations before. A lot of rookies haven't had a situation where they haven't played before or haven't always been 'The Man.' But I was in a situation in college [at Florida] where I didn't play my freshman year.
"Then I went from not playing at all to being really, really hungry my sophomore year to my junior where, like, everything was so much easier. Everybody every day was like, 'Congratulations on the [NCAA] championship. You're a lottery pick, top five. You don't have anything to worry about.'
"At the same time, I had opponents looking at me saying, 'I can't wait to play this guy.' You just always have to keep working and keep learning."
Interviewing Noah might be a little like coaching him given that he's reflective and ready one minute and restless and unfocused the next. Time management and attention to detail are points coaches have stressed to him as often as, say, how to guard the screen-and-roll.
The flashes Noah has shown this season, not to mention his lottery status and guaranteed, multimillion-dollar deal, make this work in progress a valuable one.
It pleased management that Noah regretted Friday's incident with Adams.
"Emotional outbursts happen all the time in our lives," interim coach Jim Boylan said. "You say or do things that you look back and say, 'Geez, I wish I would've approached that in a different way.' He's young. And he's learning. We think it's a good lesson for him."
When Noah is on, as he was during a 17-point, six-rebound, four-assist effort Jan. 2 in Charlotte, he's on. Just as likely, he's being sent back to the locker room because he came out for pregame individual work with his jersey untucked.
"He has made a lot of strides," Boylan said. "He's focusing better on what he needs to do, time management, things like that. Guys can get stretched out too far with demands of practices and the organization and media and friends and family.
"Suddenly now, you're in a whole new world. You have money. You have all the trappings of distractions that can get to you. You need to get a grasp bit by bit on what it is you're really supposed to be doing, and that is concentrating on being the best you can be as an NBA player.
"He's a good kid. He has a good heart. I think he will see the light of all these things that we're trying to get him to do."
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