White won't push himself into rookie of year race
Coby White is off to a good start with the Bulls, but he's not ready to ask Derrick Rose-style, "Why can't I be rookie of the year?"
"Nah, man, I just go out there and hoop," he said before Saturday's home opener. "Like I always say, as long as I go out there and play hard, everything will take care of itself.
"At the end of the year, if I'm in that discussion, then I'm in that discussion. If I'm not I'm not. I just know that at the end of the day, as a team I just want to accomplish our goal and that's to make the playoffs."
White made his official United Center debut on the 35th anniversary of Michael Jordan's first game as a Bull, which was a 109-93 victory over the Washington Bullets at the Stadium on Oct. 26, 1984. Orlando Woolridge was the Bulls' leading scorer that night with 28.
Coby tries coaching:
Bulls coach Jim Boylen credited Coby White for some coaching help late in Friday's win at Memphis.
"He came up to me during a free throw and said, 'Hey, let me set the screen on this one because I think they're sticking to me,'" Boylen said. "I don't know guys, that doesn't happen with a 20-year-old or 19-year-old kid at our level like that, where you're thinking not about yourself, but how you can help the team in that moment. That's big time."
White said his suggestion was a simple one: Put he and Zach LaVine in a screen-and-roll, since both had a hot hand.
"They would have had to make a split (second) decision," White said. "When we did it, they kind of got confused and Zach hits a wide-open 3 off of it. … Coach puts his trust in his players."
Hutch closer to return:
Considering Otto Porter Jr. has been on a minutes limit and left Saturday's game in the second quarter with an injury, coach Jim Boylen is anxious to get Chandler Hutchison back from a hamstring issue.
"Yeah, he's really close," Boylen said before Saturday's game. "Hutch is a big wing, Hutch is what the league is. You know, 6-7, 6-8 guy that can guard multiple positions, he can handle the ball, he can get out and run. Our multiple-ballhandling system was put in with him in mind. We will not rush him back, he is closer than ever."
WC Bulls draft three:
The Windy City Bulls chose three players in Saturday's G-League draft. They started with 7-foot center Lamous Brown from Shaw University. He's a Chicago native who went to Morgan Park High School.
They chose 6-5 guard Jordan Adams, who was a college teammate of Zach LaVine at UCLA. The third pick was 6-5 guard Trey Phills from Yale. He's the son of the late Bobby Phills, who died in a car accident on a day he was supposed to play for the old Charlotte Hornets against the Bulls.
Windy City opens the season Nov. 8 at Wisconsin, followed by the home opener the following night at the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates.