QUOTE
"I feel real fortunate," he said after his first NBA practice. "This is all a learning process for me. It's really different. You're used to being that guy to tell the rookies how to do it. And now you're just thrown into a situation where you have no idea what's going on, and it's a whole different speed. But I accept it, and I'm real excited to be in this position."
Work habits and basketball IQ don't even make the list of management's concerns for Noah. Keeping his right shoulder healthy and making his jumper look less sickly do rank high.
Along those lines, Noah is wearing a contraption assistant coach Ron Adams devised to attempt to alter the spin on his release. And Noah arrived at the Berto Center shortly after 7 a.m. for the 8:45 a.m. practice, all to continue his daily rehabilitation on the rotator cuff.
"I don't think it will be 100 percent all year," Noah said. "But I'm happy that I didn't have to get surgery. I think it's just a question of repetition and doing rehab. If I don't do the rehab, I can definitely feel the difference in the practice."
The Bulls have the luxury of bringing along Noah at whatever pace his play dictates because they also have Smith and Thomas in a suddenly sizable frontcourt. But management likes what it saw in the off-season.
"He runs the floor very well," Skiles said. "He has good hands. He's an excellent passer. He can handle the ball like a small forward. He can guard two or three positions. He's got a relentless style that we like. Depending on how quickly he can get acclimated to the pro game, he should help."
Noah is confident enough to feel he belongs and humble enough to appreciate his situation.
"The game is definitely faster," he said. "It's also weird when you catch the ball in the post and turn around and see Ben Wallace. It's a different animal.
"But it's basketball at the same time. It felt good at one point because we ran a play called 'Through,' and we ran the exact same play in college. So I was happy I knew the play for once."
Work habits and basketball IQ don't even make the list of management's concerns for Noah. Keeping his right shoulder healthy and making his jumper look less sickly do rank high.
Along those lines, Noah is wearing a contraption assistant coach Ron Adams devised to attempt to alter the spin on his release. And Noah arrived at the Berto Center shortly after 7 a.m. for the 8:45 a.m. practice, all to continue his daily rehabilitation on the rotator cuff.
"I don't think it will be 100 percent all year," Noah said. "But I'm happy that I didn't have to get surgery. I think it's just a question of repetition and doing rehab. If I don't do the rehab, I can definitely feel the difference in the practice."
The Bulls have the luxury of bringing along Noah at whatever pace his play dictates because they also have Smith and Thomas in a suddenly sizable frontcourt. But management likes what it saw in the off-season.
"He runs the floor very well," Skiles said. "He has good hands. He's an excellent passer. He can handle the ball like a small forward. He can guard two or three positions. He's got a relentless style that we like. Depending on how quickly he can get acclimated to the pro game, he should help."
Noah is confident enough to feel he belongs and humble enough to appreciate his situation.
"The game is definitely faster," he said. "It's also weird when you catch the ball in the post and turn around and see Ben Wallace. It's a different animal.
"But it's basketball at the same time. It felt good at one point because we ran a play called 'Through,' and we ran the exact same play in college. So I was happy I knew the play for once."