Joakim Noah is Getting into the Game

These days it seems like everyone is talking about Joakim Noah. The Bulls rookie power forward is just 3 preseason games into Chicago’s 2007-2008 season, and you can bet that there are a lot of eyes on him. Although Noah is still adjusting to the NBA, he’s more basketball-hungry then ever. “I wish we could play every night. I’m saying that now. Come February, many rookies don’t know what hit them.” It’s true that this season will be a whirlwind for Noah – along with the Bulls other rookies James OnCurry and Aaron Gray – but a whirlwind of excitement, learning, challenges and plenty of basketball fun. Noah is already facing the challenges of joining the windy city’s legendary team. “I’m messing up the plays a lot. It gets frustrating at times for me. The point guard or coach will call out a play, and you don’t know where you’re supposed to be. But coach told me to keep my head up and keep working hard and it will click.”

It’s no secret that hard work and practice lead to improvement, and that’s what the Bulls are expecting from Noah and the other rookies this season. Skiles calls Noah a quick learner, saying “You can tell that he wants to learn. So we’ll keep teaching him. He may end up being a bigger factor for us than we realize right now. Who knows?” It seems that Noah has Skiles’ confidence going for him, and along with that he’s got plenty of enthusiasm and seems more than eager to learn – well, what rookie wouldn’t be? Although there are a lot of Noah skeptics out there, it seems that plenty of people are willing to give the guy a chance. In a recent article sportswriter Erick Ward said, “It seems like Noah is the type of player that people hate to play against, and his exuberant personality makes it easy for opposing fans to hate, but when he is on your side his toughness and effort make him impossible to dislike.”

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