Rose gets 1st taste of professional life
BULLS | Rookie 'feels great' after practice at Berto Center
After a week of talking about what it would be like to put on a Bulls uniform, Derrick Rose finally got the opportunity Thursday -- albeit a reversible black-and-white practice jersey.
Rose took the court at the Berto Center for the first time since the Bulls made him the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft for the start of summer-league minicamp.
(Sun-Times file)
''It feels great,'' he said of getting his first practice under his belt. ''It's a learning process I have to go through.''
Most of the 17 players on the summer-league roster have virtually no chance of making the team in the fall, but Tyrus Thomas, Joakim Noah and Aaron Gray are three experienced players who can aid Rose's learning process.
Not surprisingly, the three were teamed with Rose during a scrimmage late in the session.
''I felt comfortable with the players,'' the 19-year-old Rose said. ''They're real nice men.''
Rose got a crash course on the offense of new coach Vinny Del Negro before the practice, and Del Negro said his star pupil's first practice went ''very well.''
''We shouted out the plays, and his voice was right after mine,'' Del Negro said. ''His quickness and his athleticism are impressive.''
One thing Rose said he struggled with was running the pick-and-roll.
''We never really ran the pick-and-roll at Memphis,'' he said. ''I have to get comfortable with running the pick-and-roll a little more.''
The Bulls will compete in the Orlando Pro Summer League starting Monday. Their first game will be against the Miami Heat, so Rose was asked what it will be like to go against the other player the Bulls considered taking with the No. 1 pick -- Michael Beasley -- right off the bat.
''We play Miami the first game? I didn't know that,'' Rose said. ''I won't be sticking him, so you have to ask Joakim or one of the big guys.''
Earlier in the day, the Bulls finally announced Del Negro's coaching staff. Del Harris, Bernie Bickerstaff and Bob Ociepka are the newcomers and will join returnees Pete Myers and Mike Wilhelm. Ron Adams, an assistant last season, will shift to a scouting role.
Harris, 71, and Bickerstaff, 64, each has 13 years of head-coaching experience in the NBA. Harris has coached the Houston Rockets, Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers, while Bickerstaff manned the sidelines for the Denver Nuggets, Seattle SuperSonics, Washington Bullets/Wizards and Charlotte Bobcats.
Ociepka, 59, is a Chicago native and former head coach at Gordon Tech and York. He has been an NBA assistant for 19 years, most recently with the Minnesota Timberwolves.
''When I first accepted this position, I made it a top priority to surround myself with an experienced coaching staff,'' Del Negro said. ''You would be hard-pressed to find a staff with the combined number of years of experience that we have assembled.
''I already have specific ideas on how to use their past experience in our efforts to get this team where we want it to be.''
Del Negro said he won't limit any of the assistants by giving them designated roles.
''I'm not going to say this guy is an offensive coach or a defensive coach,'' Del Negro said. ''They've all been in the league a long time, and they have experience in every aspect of the game.''