Bulls Gain Popularity World-Wide
The Bulls are growing internationally, although they may not quite have realized how popular they are becoming all over the world. Here’s what Chicago player Ben Gordon had to say after an unexpected recognition on the street in Beijing last month. “I got stopped three or four times in a row for my autograph. I was surprised, but it just shows how much the game has become global. People who aren’t even stars in the NBA are household names all over the world and may not even know it. I didn’t. It’s amazing how much the game has grown.” NBA teams are trying to grow the game internationally by holding training camps and playing exhibition games overseas. Grass-roots programs like Basketball Without Borders and coaching clinics on a number of continents are also helping to grow basketball’s popularity overseas.
The Chicago Bulls are one of the league’s most active teams in these efforts, and it’s no wonder that people everywhere are rooting for the team. Gordon ran camps in Asia, Deng traveled to Africa and China the last two summers and Chris Duhon went to China and Paris (both Deng and Duhon were working with Basketball Without Borders). The Bulls’ assistant coaches Ron Adams and Jim Boylan have extensive international experience and even ex-Bulls players Scottie Pippen and B.J. Armstrong played a part in extending the game through conducting fitness and coaching clinics in Asia over the summer. There’s plenty of hard work going in to expanding basketball’s popularity all over the world, and we have the Bulls to thank for a lot of that effort.
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Kirk Hinrich Makes an Appearance in Arlington Heights, IL
For Bulls fans that live in or around Arlington Heights, Illinois, there’s a big treat in store for you tonight. Chicago Bulls guard Kirk Hinrich will make an appearance at the city’s Circuit City tonight at 6 p.m. to sign autographs and help celebrate the store’s grand opening. Souvenirs autographed by Hinrich will also be sold at the event, with proceeds going to the city’s Boys & Girls Club. For those who love basketball (and the Bulls), this is bound to be a real treat. Hinrich started playing basketball at an early age, learning from his father, Jim, who was a high school basketball coach in Sioux City, Iowa. He finds it important to give kids exposure to the game, and to the NBA at an early age, and so he takes every chance he can to be involved in promoting the sport for kids.
Hinrich played under his father throughout his high school career. He was named Co-Iowa Mr. Basketball in 1999. He originally committed to play for Iowa State but changed his mind when coach Tim Floyd took the head coaching position for the Bulls. Hinrich decided to play at the University of Kansas, where he remained for four years before being drafted to the NBA. The star player has been with the Bulls since 2003 and the upcoming season is definitely looking promising for both Hinrich and his team.
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The Chicago Bulls Without P.J. Brown
Joel Brigham of HOOPSWORLD.com is making the case that the Chicago Bulls are going to miss their former teammate P.J. Brown more than they think – and it seems that he may be right. P.J. Brown made his last appearance as a Bull following his team’s final loss to the Detroit Pistons last spring, once again carrying the weight of being the go-to-guy for the Bulls. Not only was Brown the best Bull to speak to the media, due to his years of experience and wisdom, he was also a mentor to players like Tyrus Thomas. “Thomas learned about managing his finances, dealing with fans and the media, and of course basketball from one of the game’s most polite and hard-working statesmen.” Having Brown in the locker room benefited the Bulls in more ways than one – he was hard-working, dedicated, and a great leader.
Collier “P.J.” Brown played college ball at Louisiana Tech University before joining the New Jersey Nets as a second-round draft pick in 1992. He spent time with the Nets, the Miami Heat and the Charlotte/ New Orleans/ Oklahoma City Hornets before being traded to the Chicago Bulls in 2006. Although he only spent a short time with the Bulls, there’s no doubt that P.J. brought a different level of basketball maturity to the court and the locker room. Although he won’t be missed by some, the loss may become more apparent to the team as the upcoming season rolls along.
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Ben Wallace Gives His Two Cents on the 2006-2007 Season
Ben Wallace is entering the second year of his four-year $60 million contract with the Chicago Bulls, and recently ESPN had a chance to sit down with Big Ben and ask the 6’9” center a few questions about the Bulls’ upcoming season. His prediction for the Bulls match-up in the finals this year: the Phoenix Suns. On the subject Wallace says, “Probably it will be the Suns. If the Suns are fortunate enough to get there.” When asked whether or not he would go back to the Pistons after the expiration of his contract with the Bulls, Wallace said, “I don’t really have any plans to. Even if I did, my defense wouldn’t be as good as when I left.” It looks like there is little reason for Chicago fans to worry at this point, Wallace will definitely be around for the next three years, and who knows, maybe he’ll stick around longer than that.
Other parts of the interview revealed that Wallace favors the East over the Western conference this year, attributing the conference’s success to the high level of the teams playing in it. When asked how if he would be disappointed if the Bulls don’t make it to the Eastern Conference finals, Wallace said, “Not when you do it with a young team. It takes some time to where you’re trying to go. This year, we’re planning on getting to the East finals. But if we don’t, it will be another year of experience.” Wallace’s positive outlook sets a good example for the rest of his teammates as well as for Bulls fans everywhere. We can well expect that the center will lead his team as far as they can go this season.
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Predictions for the Bulls’ Upcoming Season
If you’re a Bulls fan, you’ll be interested to hear HOOPSWORLD.com’s five predictions for their upcoming season. Joel Brigham, a writer for the website, has made five guesses about the way that the Bulls’ 2007-2008 season will go. Prediction number one: Luol Deng will be an All-Star. We’ve all seen Deng’s great success playing for Great Britain this summer and he’s becoming more of a leader (not to mention tons of improvement), so it seems to be looking pretty good for Deng at this point. Prediction number two: Ben Gordon and Kirk Hinrich will not be All-Star’s. Due to competition with Chauncey Billups and Jason Kid, it looks like Kirk Hinrich is out of luck and although Gordon is expected to be one of the East’s most prolific scorers this year, there are plenty of other talented scoring guards in the league who may outdo him.
Prediction number three: Joakim Noah will make the All-Rookie team. Noah is bound to be the best rookie center in the NBA as long as he stays healthy and gets 15-20 minutes of playing time a game. Prediction number four: Ben Wallace will average more rebounds per game than last season. Wallace’s numbers weren’t so good last year, with 10.7 rebounds and 2 blocks per game down from 11.3 boards and 2.2 blocks, but Wallace is expected to bring that old energy back to the court this season. Prediction number five: The Bulls will lose in the Eastern Conference Finals. They play hard and work hard, but the Bulls don’t have the most talented team and are known for making baby steps. According to Brigham the Bulls will win the second round series and make an Eastern Conference Finals appearance, but go home with a loss. Well, some of you Bulls fans out there might want to take a different approach – a little faith never hurt.
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Bulls Ex-Assistant Coach Displays His Art in Illinois
The Chicago Bulls ex-Assistant Coach, Johnny Bach, isn’t just known for his coaching skills anymore. Bach, who retired last year after 53 years of coaching, happens to be a very talented artist. At age 83, Bach will have his art exhibited for the first time this month at the Sevan Gallery in Skokie, Illinois. The gallery will display 32 of Bach’s watercolor paintings that include landscapes, portraits, and many of the World War II Navy vet’s favorite seascapes. Although he’s slightly apprehensive about displaying his artwork – he says he’s afraid people might not like it – he’s decided it’s finally time, saying, “I’ll take the chance. No one can be more criticized than a coach in a bad season.”
Bach was head basketball coach at Fordham for 18 years and at Penn State for 10 years before heading to the NBA. He joined the Chicago Bulls in 1986 and was a part of the Michael Jordan era, when the Bulls took three straight titles from 1991-1993. Bach left the Bulls for a short time while he went on to coach in Charlotte, Detroit and Washington. He rejoined Chicago in 2003 and finished off his coaching career in the windy city. Of his painting and coaching Bach says, “It’s something I always liked. When I was with the Bulls the first time, I made up my mind I had to do something besides coach.” Bulls fans will definitely want to check out Bach’s exhibit, and then head to a Bulls game to get a taste of his old stomping ground.
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Ben Gordon Heads to Civil Court
Ben Gordon will make an appearance in civil court next week, but don’t worry, the Chicago Bulls star isn’t in any trouble. Gordon is alleging that his former financial consultants took more than $1 million from him through an investment deal as well as through Gordon’s salary. Larry Harmon and his firm, Larry Harmon and Associates, were hired by Gordon before he entered the NBA to oversee his finances during his NBA career.
According to Gordon, Harmon coerced him into investing $1 million into a real estate deal and instead of investing Gordon’s money, used it for his own real estate venture. Gordon also claims that Harmon was taking 1.5 percent of the basketball star’s seven-figure salary after they had agreed that Harmon would be paid a flat fee. Gordon’s suit accuses Harmon and several other partners of breach of contract and fiduciary duty. The Bulls star is seeking in excess of $1 million, accrued costs and interest rates, principle and unpaid payments, as well as a trial by jury. Even with the suit going on, Gordon’s top priority is gearing up for the upcoming basketball season and there’s no doubt that he’ll tear up the court when the Bulls start their season next month.
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Bulls Coach is a Michigan State Hall of Famer
Scott Skiles, a former basketball player and current head coach for the Chicago Bulls was inducted into the Michigan State Spartans’ Hall of Fame last weekend. Skiles played point guard for Michigan State from 1982-1986 and went on to play for a number of NBA teams, including the Indiana Pacers, Orlando Magic, the Washington Bullets, and the Philadelphia 76ers. Skiles holds the NBA record for assists in one game, with thirty and was Michigan State’s all-time leading scorer with 2,145 points.
Skiles was inducted into the Spartans’ Hall of Fame in front of the Michigan State football team. In an interview with the Spartans’ website, Skiles praised his teammates and former coach, Jud Heathcote. “Jud played a major role in my individual development because he was so good working with perimeter players. He really helped me to improve my shot.” It seems that Skiles also took some coaching inspiration from Heathcote, saying, “He knew how to push players hard while using his sense of humor.” Skiles sure knows how to push the Bulls, and he’s currently gearing up for their 2007-2008 season which begins in October.
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Predicting the Future of the Chicago Bulls
The Chicago Bulls are slowly gearing up for the 2007-2008 season and basketball critics are almost positive that they’ll make it to the playoffs this year. The real question, according to Joel Brigham at Hoopsworld.com, is whether they will make it to the Eastern Conference Finals and possibly the championship round. It’s a sure thing that Luol Deng will be one of Chicago’s star players this season, as he’s been tearing up the court for Great Britain all summer. Other key players this year are Kirk Hinrich, Ben Gordon, and of course Ben Wallace. This line-up is sure to drive the Bulls to victory; the question is how the rest of the team will hold up.
The Bulls have won six NBA championships since their beginning in 1966, all of which came with the help of all-star Michael Jordan. This year making the finals depends on the new additions to Chicago – Aaron Gray, Joakim Noah, Tyrus Thomas, and Joe Smith. As long as Chicago maintains good morale and manages to develop and improve as a team, their playoff prospects are looking pretty bright. Let’s hope the Bulls are the team that represents the east in the finals this season.
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How Does the Oden Injury Affect the Bulls?
By now you’ve surely heard that Greg Oden, the number one pick in the NBA draft, is going to miss out on his first year with the Portland Trial Blazers due to a knee injury he sustained in the off season. Clearly this is bad news for the Blazers, who had nothing but high hopes for their rookie out of Ohio State. Maybe some Blazers fans even wish that Portland had drafted Kevin Durant instead. The rest of the NBA seems to be getting a break, either big or small, from this event, due to the fact that they won’t have to play against Oden. But you might be wondering at this point: How does this injury affect the Bulls? This is, after all, a Bulls blog.
Well, the Bulls don’t seem to factor into this situation much at all. Since they are an Eastern Conference team they will play the Blazers only a limited number of times this upcoming year. The only real area where the Bulls and the Oden injury seem to overlap is that we won’t get a certain NCAA Championship rematch storyline attached to the Blazers-Bulls games. As you might be aware, the Bulls drafted forward-center Joakim Noah out of Florida, which means that Oden and Noah played against each other in the 2007 NCAA title game. Oden will have to wait for his revenge.
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