Anyone out there who is truly surprised that the Bulls selected Joakim Noah with the 9th pick in this year's NBA draft hasn't been paying attention to the team over the last five years.  In the first round, in John Paxon's tenure, the Bulls have selected Kirk Hinrich, Ben Gordon, Luol Deng, Tyrus Thomas, Thabo Sefalosha, and Joakim Noah.  The one thing they all have in common, with the exception of Sefalosha due to him being a foreign player, is NCAA Final Four experience.  Gordon has one NCAA championship ring, and Noah has two.  See a trend here??

Potential is a word that can absolutely kill an NBA general manager and/or their reputation.  Ask former big man hopefuls Shawn Bradley, Todd Fuller, Stromile Swift, Kwame Brown, and the granddaddy of all big man NBA busts, Michael Olowakandi.  What's the one thing all these guys have in common?  None of them had made it past the Sweet 16 in the NCAA tournament, and one of them didn't even go to college.

Once the number nine pick came, there weren't too many options available to fill the Bulls' need for a big man.  The other two centers available were Spencer Hawes from Washington, and Tiago Splitter from Brazil.  Seems like people have been crowning Hawes as the next George Mikan, while Splitter was not considered to even be a lottery worthy pick.  The Bulls decided to take the best player available at #9, regardless of position.  People forget that the Bulls were considering taking him with the #2 pick last year if he would've came out of Florida, so they now got him at an even better value than that.

Seems like so called draft "experts" have been slurping Hawes' potential low post scoring and passing ability.  There is that word "potential" again.  The kid is a total non-athlete with a shooter's touch who plays absolutely no defense and doesn't block shots.  Better learn how to flop, kid.  That doesn't sound like the next George Mikan.  It sounds like he could be the next Vlade Divac, at best.  He is a finesse big man.  Keep in mind that the Lakers didn't win a title until they traded Divac, and he retired into obscurity in 2005.   Hawes' team didn't even make the NIT last season, so to even suggest that Hawe's "potential" is a reason to pick him over Noah is absolutely laughable.

Finesse big men don't win NBA championships.  It's the gritty, grimey, rebounding, defensive, shot-blocking, dominant centers who usually earn that prize.  Ask Dirk Nowitzski if being a finesse big man has helped him win a title.  How about Vlade Divac ,Raef LaFrentz, or Tom Chambers?

Noah wants to be in the list of great centers that people know by one name.  Wilt.  Shaq.  Timmy.  Hakeem. Moses.  Kareem.  Mr. Robinson.  Even Big Ben.  What will Spencer Hawes be know as?  Spence?  The Haw?  I don't think so.  Plus in the city that has basically elected a democratic mayoral monarchy in the Daley family, I don't think his I "heart" Bush bumper sticker will fare too well in the City of Big Shoulders.

Noah, on the other hand, is a proven winner.  Two NCAA Division I national titles.  All heart.  Hates to lose more than he loves to win.  Never satisfied.  Yeah I got my reservations about him.  Yeah, he's French, but so is Tony Parker.  He seems to be doing well.  Yeah, he has a funky haircut, but so does Big Ben and Dennis Rodman and they have titles.  And yeah, he comes off as a jerk, but he is the kind of jerk you want on your team like A.J. Pierzynski, Barry Bonds, or Dennis Rodman.

Which lists of big men will Noah belong to when everything is said and done?  Will it be the Olowokandi list or the Shaq list?  I don't know.  But at least for now it looks like the Bulls got the next Ben Wallace and let the Sacramento Kings get the next Vlade Divac.