NBA Buzz: Reflections on Joakim Noah with Bulls

I remember watching Joakim Noah playing for Florida during their first national championship run in 2005-06. Noah was all arms and legs (and hair), running up and down the court with boundless energy, constantly earning extra possessions for the Gators with his offensive rebounding and hustle plays. The Bulls had a high draft pick that year, (courtesy of the Eddy Curry trade with the Knicks) and I was hoping they would get the chance to draft Noah. As it turned out, Noah decided to stay at Florida to enjoy the college life for another year and make a run at back-to-back national titles with Al Horford and Corey Brewer. The Bulls wound up drafting Tyrus Thomas after trading down with Portland to add Russian player Viktor Khryapa (that No. 2 pick turned out to be LaMarcus Aldridge). But that's a story for another day.

…