get to know thabo, by chris sheridan Options

[DutheDoduhon21]

interesting stuff:

• On the top of his left arm is a tattoo of a basketball adorned with a crown, surrounded by the words: "The game chose me." "That's a good way to say that maybe I wasn't meant to play basketball, but it chose me," he said.

• Sefolosha did not pick up a basketball until he was 11 or 12, but he liked it so much the first time he tried it at a neighbor's urging that he gave up playing soccer and volleyball.

• Sefolosha was chosen with the 13th pick in last year's draft, the Bulls making a deal with Philadelphia to trade up from No. 16 because they feared the Phoenix Suns were going to make a move to get him.

• Sefolosha was quote-unquote discovered by Bulls chief European scout Ivica Dokan, a Croatian credited with also discovering Toni Kukoc. Like Sefolosha, who went pro at 17, Dokan once played in the Swiss league.

• Sefolosha said the most difficult player he ever defended in Europe was Joe Smith. No, it's not the Joe Smith who went No. 1 overall in the 1995 NBA draft, it's the Joe Smith who was Player of the Year in the Gulf South Conference in 2000-01 for Division II Alabama-Huntsville.

• You'll hear the phrase "long-armed defender" in the days and years ahead when Sefolosha's name comes up, so it'll be good to know that his wingspan is 7 feet.

• Like all male Swiss citizens, Sefolosha is expected to become a member of the Swiss army. He has received deferrals because of his employment overseas, but he is still expected to spend six months in military training before he turns 27. And no, he does not sound too excited about it, although he did note that he'd be able to learn everything there is to know about the capabilities of an actual Swiss Army Knife.

• Sefolosha speaks with something vaguely resembling a French accent. Asked who his favorite team was growing up, he said "The Bools."

• Chicago assistant coach Jim Boylan's first professional coaching job was in Vevey, Switzerland, Sefolosha's hometown, and Boylan's oldest daughter, Jessie, was born 10 days before Sefolosha in the same town. (Thanks to information font extrordinaire K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune for that one).

• The best American players in the Swiss league when Sefolosha was a teenager were Sedale Threatt and Herb Johnson.

[TeaLeafReaderII]

Thanks for posting it... I was kind of curious about what sheridan wrote, but I don't have insider.

[DutheDoduhon21]

no problem, if he has to join the swiss army, wouldnt that mean missing time with the bulls?

[TeaLeafReaderII]

no problem, if he has to join the swiss army, wouldnt that mean missing time with the bulls?

Well he is just 22 now... so it will be some time before he is forced to do millitary training.... and when he does, I think he will be able to fit most of the 6 months in during the offseason.

[Bullseye]

Why do the Swiss need an army? They suppossed to be neutral!

[sport1016]

I actually read something else about this and Thabo can avoid army duty if he doesnt go back to switzerland until after he's 27 and keeps working in another country.

[TeaLeafReaderII]

Why do the Swiss need an army? They suppossed to be neutral!

They are hired to protect Rome.

[soxfan3530]

Here's another Thabo story from Yahoo! Sports:

Swiss watch
By Adrian Wojnarowski, Yahoo! Sports
April 23, 2007

Adrian Wojnarowski
Yahoo! Sports

DEERFIELD, Ill. – After practice Monday, England's Luol Deng and the Swiss rookie living across the street now, Thabo Sefolosha, were playing the game that the neighbors of these Chicago Bulls sometimes catch them in suburbia: kicking a ball and pretending they're European soccer stars.

This is the reason that Sefolosha wears the tattoo on his left shoulder that says, "The game chose me," a truth born out of his Switzerland roots where basketball stars are as scarce as war heroes. The man next door gave him a basketball at 11 years old, and with those long arms and that agility, he couldn't resist the lure of the sport.

"I figured," Sefolosha said Monday, "it was the better bet."

Eventually, he turned into the kind of selfless, sure European player who makes life harder for young American prospects. Out of Europe's non-traditional basketball outposts, he is part of a growing generation of Euros who shunned soccer for basketball. Switzerland didn't have a basketball star before him, but maybe they'll come now.

At 6-foot-7, with a seven-foot wingspan, Sefolosha delivered a fast and furious imprint on these NBA playoffs on Saturday. He sent Dwyane Wade back to Miami between Games 1 and 2 of these Eastern conference quarterfinals, forcing him to study tape on the first-round pick responsible for suffocating his space and shutting down his shot through three quarters in a 96-91 Chicago win.

The Bulls are deliriously deep with young talent. Thanks to the largesse of Isiah Thomas, the gift that keeps on giving – the Eddy Curry trade – provides the Bulls another unprotected lottery pick this season. General manager John Paxson has a chance to study his core of players and decide if they can grow up together, progress through the playoffs and develop into the dominant team in the East.

If not, Paxson is one of the few league executives with the young talent it would take to bring back an established star in a trade, such as Kevin Garnett, Jermaine O'Neal or Pau Gasol. Sefolosha has turned himself into one more chip for Paxson, another prospect who'll have value whenever it's time to make that monumental trade.

"Look what (Chicago is) doing," Pacers general manager Larry Bird told Sam Smith of the Chicago Tribune. "Getting guys from universities, guys who got coaching from great programs. I've been watching them up there and what they're doing, and you can see they're turning the corner."

So many franchises get a run of lottery picks and first-rounders, but few make so many smart choices with them. Under Paxson, there hasn't been a bust in the bunch. From Duke's Deng to UConn's Ben Gordon and Kansas' Kirk Hinrich to Andres Nocioni, Paxson has balanced pedigreed college players with fundamental, versatile European talents. Only the drafting of Tyrus Thomas out of LSU, the No. 2 overall choice last June, didn't fit Paxson's prototype for the Bulls.

Sefolosha's minutes were spotty in the regular season, but there's something intriguing about his game. "You get really excited, and then all of a sudden, he looks like a typical rookie again," Bulls coach Scott Skiles said. "Mentally, Thabo can be very sharp. He can be the type of player that knows the tendencies and focuses on that. … And this is one of the reasons we picked him. We think, long term, he's going to be a very good guard defender."

Sefolosha, who turns 23 on May 2, arrived in the United States after six seasons of pro ball in Europe. Initially, he had been considered a second-round pick in the 2006 draft. Before long, his workouts were impressing people. As his stature rose, he concedes, "I expected to go 20th. I wasn't expecting 13. With me, it happened very fast."

The 76ers picked Sefolosha at No. 13 for the Bulls, who worked a draft-night trade to acquire him. There's a beautiful rhythm to his game, an easiness, and perhaps it shouldn't be surprising considering that his South African father was a musician and his mother a French artist.

This summer, Sefolosha will return to Switzerland to run his own basketball camp, with Deng promising to pop over for a guest appearance from England.

"Maybe 200, 250 kids," Sefolosha said.

As a kid, his coaches gave him tapes of the NBA playoffs and finals to watch in Switzerland. He stopped kicking the ball and started bouncing it. "I think I can be an all-around player," he said.

For now, he's the long arms and fleet soccer feet that's standing between the defending NBA finals MVP and the Bulls' basket. Before these playoffs, Dwyane Wade barely knew his name. Now, Thabo Sefolosha has turned into the champ's homework assignment.

[madisonsmadhouse]

That is pretty good stuff. I have been happy with Thabo's progress, which has pretty much been lost in the much larger shadow of Tyrus Thomas. I wouldn't be surprised to see Chris Duhon moved elsewhere over the winter to free up a spot for Sef in the regular rotation next year.

[sport1016]

Absolutely. At 6'7 thabo replicates duhon's defense and then some and unlike duhon he is also probably our 4th best one on one player. That midrange jumpshot he takes off the dribble is a pretty deadly go to move, not to mention his ability to penetrate.

Remember thabo was the #13 pick, and it isnt going to be too long before he's ready to start. I think he is an absolutely perfect 6th man (assuming we resign both gordon and deng) bc he can come in for 3 positions. He could easily be a player getting 30 mins a game off the bench in the near future.

Duhon's 3.2 mil expiring contract could be useful. What could we use it for?