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- New Orleans coach Monty Williams tried to balance his support of the NBA’s concussion program with his need to have star rookie Anthony Davis back on the floor. Davis suffered a concussion in a collision with teammate Austin Rivers Friday and was not with the team in Chicago Saturday. “We have to protect the players, but I think the players should have more say in how they feel. We have no idea when he is going to be back. There is a protocol that has to take place before a guy can get back on the floor. I guess what is happening in football has impacted everybody. He got touched up last night and I’m sure that happens a lot in basketball. But now they treat everybody like they have white gloves.”
- Because Davis is from Chicago (he attended Perspectives Charter High School in Chicago) he had a great deal of contact with the Bulls through the years, and Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau got to know him. “We are very concerned,” he said. “He is obviously going to be a great player. He does everything.”
- As the No. 1 pick in the 2012 draft, Davis was an immediate starter in New Orleans, while his University of Kentucky teammate Marquis Teague, the 29th player selected in the same draft, is going to have trouble getting playing time with the Bulls. He played his first 3:32 of his career Friday night in Chicago’s blowout win over Cleveland. He had three assists but no points.
- With the addition of Teague (Kentucky 2012) and Nazr Mohammed (Kentucky 1996 and 1998) to the roster, the Bulls have five NCAA champions on the team: Carlos Boozer (Duke 2001), Richard Hamilton (Connecticut 1999) and Joakim Noah (Florida 2006 and 2007) also have national titles. The Bulls also have three players who were runners-up in the tournament: Kirk Hinrich (Kansas 2003), Mohammed (Kentucky 1997) and Derrick Rose (Memphis 1998).
– Kent McDill
