Del Negro takes charge in opening practice

As the Bulls walked off the court following their first practice of the 2008-09 season, first-year coach Vinny Del Negro barked out one final instruction:

"(Assistant coach) Mike Wilhelm has your questions!"

Does that mean Del Negro is planning to administer post-practice quizzes for his players?

"Yeah, we're doing a lot of different things," Del Negro answered. "I'm big on when they walk into the building, being focused on what their job is. Obviously, I think the better they get to know each other, the more they'll want to go fight and go to war with each other."

Tuesday's workout at the Berto Center featured two notable debuts. It was the first time Del Negro had ever conducted a full practice as an NBA coach, and No. 1 draft pick Derrick Rose made his official debut as a member of the Bulls.

While Del Negro shrugged off the launch of his coaching career by saying, "It's just basketball," Rose expressed strong sentiment about the personal milestone.

"This is great," said Rose, a lifelong Chicago native. "I woke up early around 7 o'clock. Practice was at 9:30, but I really couldn't believe it that I'm finally in the NBA. So I got up early thinking that I was a professional, getting here early, warming up and all that stuff. It made me feel good."

Del Negro and general manager John Paxson have made a point to stress that Rose will be brought along slowly. They know point guard is a difficult spot to learn, and Rose has just one year of college experience at Memphis.

At the same time, the Bulls are also setting out to mold their style of play around Rose's talents. Basically, the plan is to run the floor as much as possible and take advantage of a small, but deep, roster.

"He looked great today pushing the ball," forward Luol Deng said of Rose. "He was really paying attention, running through the plays."

Tuesday's morning practice lasted 2 hours, but Del Negro said it was mostly about conditioning and learning concepts to put into use for full-contact practice in the evening. Five double sessions are planned for the first week of training camp.

Del Negro has a reputation for being meticulously well-prepared, and Deng felt that trait was displayed at the initial practice.

"It was great," Deng said. "Very organized. Every station was on time. Guys were moving in the right place. He was moving around, keeping everybody focused."

For his part, Rose seemed willing to tackle whatever quiz questions were in store following practice.

"I think there are going to be questions like, 'What did we talk about in practice? What did he write on the board? The playbook, what's in it?'" he said. "(Del Negro) means business. It's really just to help us get better."

If one of the questions is, "Should a rookie start at point guard for an NBA team?" Rose has an answer prepared.

"If we're winning with me on the bench, winning with me in the lineup, I'll take either," he said. "As long as we win and make it to the playoffs and this city is going crazy. It really doesn't matter who's starting. As long as we're winning, I'll be happy."