Jim Boylen doesn’t want labels placed anywhere near his rookie.
The Bulls coach doesn’t want to assign Coby White a position title, won’t put a minutes restriction near him, and won’t even define how exactly he wants the guard from North Carolina to play.
Does he want White playing isolation, does he want him attacking the rim? Just play, according to Boylen.
“I don’t critic him on every moment or everything,’’ Boylen said of White’s development. “I try to let him play, let him figure it out a little bit. I don’t put titles on him or I don’t give him a position title. I don’t. I just want him to be free. I want him mentally to just use his ability and make good decisions.
“Road or home I hope those things stay the same. The fact that he played well on the road [to start the season] says more about him than anything I can say to him. His toughness, his maturity. I’ve said it before, he’s a baller. Dude balls, and I love him.’’
So that’s it. “Baller’’ is about the only label Boylen will attach to the No. 7 overall pick from the June draft.
However, if the Bulls offense continues to Jekyll and Hyde like they have throughout the preseason and through the first three regular-season games, “savior’’ might also start to be thrown around.
The 1-2 Bulls will take to the road once again on Monday, starting in the mecca of basketball that is Madison Square Garden.
The one win they have?
Yes, Zach LaVine was great in beating Memphis, scoring 37 points, but it was Boylen turning White loose in the second half that helped the Bulls overcome a deficit against the hapless Grizzlies, as the 6-foot-4 scoring machine poured in 25 points in 30 minutes of work, and oh by the way, also grabbing six rebounds.
That’s why it’s not unrealistic for White to be an early-season candidate for NBA Rookie of the Year.
The same way Derrick Rose once declared “Why not me?’’ in his MVP chase, why not White as the league’s top rookie?
“Nah, man, I just go out there and hoop,’’ White said, when asked about chasing that honor down. “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’s already in that discussion.
Yes, the sample size is small, but White entered Sunday the fourth-leading scoring rookie with 16.7 points per game, trailing only Kendrick Nunn, RJ Barrett and P.J. Washington.
That included a down game in the United Center home opener on Saturday, in which White played just 22 minutes and scored eight points.
Moving forward, it will remain on Boylen’s shoulders to continue his rookie’s development, and the coach is taking that very seriously.
That means letting him play, learn from his mistakes, and help correct those mistakes.
That’s why when White – as well as LaVine – was playing mostly isolation offense in Memphis, Boylen didn’t say a thing. The coach has preached ball movement and that “.5 mentality’’ with his offense, but stood back in the rally against the Grizzlies and let White do his thing.
Learning moments that Boylen feels will lead to more.
“That’s the challenge,’’ Boylen said. “That’s the growing moment. Greatness in this league has been defined by consistency.’’
The hope is White has started to take steps down that path.
Just don’t mention it to Boylen.
