Sam Smith spoke to Kirk Hinrich, Carlos Boozer, and Brian Scalabrine, among others about the Bulls great ahead of Joakim Noah night.
When I was working with Derrick Rose on his autobiography, I asked him questions and he reminisced. When I asked about a favorite teammate, he mentioned his best friend Randall Hampton from high school and Joakim Noah.
Rose said he hoped his son would grow up to be like Noah, "a free spirit, a loving guy... great role model" with a special story. Rose said he loved that Noah, though the son of famous tennis star Yannick Noah, chose to make it on his own and prove himself to the point Noah literally was the equipment kid giving towels to players like Dwight Howard in order just to attend the famous summer basketball camps.