Jim Boylen did his best to fight back the tears, and answer the question.
The Bulls coach would soon lose out on both fronts.
Boylen, who has two teenage daughters of his own who are heavily into basketball, was asked about the death of Lakers legend Kobe Bryant in a Sunday helicopter crash, as well as Bryant’s 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, and just the emotion it took to come up with a response overwhelmed Boylen.
“Well, you know…’’ Boylen said on Monday, before his voice started cracking. “That’s a tough question to answer.’’
So he didn’t.