Vinny stresses unity
Bulls coach Del Negro wants players pulling in same direction
On Vinny Del Negro's count of three, the Bulls broke their first practice under their new coach Tuesday with one word: ''Together!''
Del Negro next had the players pair off for lunch, with the coaching staff giving each duo questions to ask each other.
(Rich Hein/Sun-Times)
''We're doing a lot of different things,'' Del Negro said. ''The better they get to know each other, the better they'll want to fight for each other. That's what it's all about: getting everybody on the same page as quick as possible. You're all together, pulling in the same direction. I'm big into, when they walk into the building, being focused on what their job is.''
Top draft pick Derrick Rose was understandably excited to get going for his first official practice. The former Simeon and Memphis star rolled out of bed at 7 a.m. to prepare for the 9:30 practice, which ran almost 2½ hours.
''This was great,'' Rose said. ''I really couldn't believe it that I'm finally in the NBA. So I got up early, thinking that I was a professional. I got here early to warm up and all that stuff. It made me feel good.''
The training staff will monitor just how good Rose's right knee tendinitis is for each of these first five two-a-day sessions. Rose had the knee wrapped in ice after the first session, which included non-contact, conditioning and shooting drills. Del Negro wants to make sure he doesn't give Rose more than he can handle, physically or mentally, during training camp.
''He's had a very demanding summer, and he's worked very hard,'' Del Negro said. ''But he's still a rookie. The point guard position is the most difficult to adapt to. We're going to monitor him, and the more comfortable he feels, the more we'll give him. He's been tremendous, and obviously we expect a lot out of him.''
General manager John Paxson told the players Monday that the fans expect a lot more from this team than the often-subpar effort of the 33-49 squad last season.
''I did mention to them [that] last year, for the first time in a long time, the thing I heard from fans was that guys don't look like they play very hard,'' Paxson said. ''[They] look like they play selfishly. That's Vinny and the staff's job. They need to get our guys back to playing competitively. Our fans have always appreciated for as long as I've been here [that] if you go out and give it all you have and are playing together, playing good, hard basketball, they can live with that.
''We all want to win. But we're coming off the heels of a 33-win season. I'm not worried about anything right now other than us getting back to playing hard and playing competitively like we have in the past. That's really the bottom line. Then everything else takes care of itself.''
Del Negro prides himself in being organized, an attribute that was on display Tuesday.
''Very organized,'' forward Luol Deng said. ''He's really good at communicating, on and off the court. He was walking around keeping everybody focused.''
Del Negro was asked if his practice plan was perfect to a ''T.''
''I don't know about to a 'T,' but I have a plan,'' he said. ''Hopefully, it will continually evolve on how I feel the team can be best used with their skills. A big job for a coach is to put your players in the most successful areas [and] hide their weaknesses. Everybody know their job and work together. As we move on, everybody will understand even more.''