Coby White still bleeds Carolina blue, so for him to compliment a former Duke player takes a lot.
But last month, after watching Hornets guard Kon Knueppel score 33 on the Bulls in Charlotte, he was lavishing praise.
“He doesn’t play like a rookie,” White said.
On Saturday, Bulls coach Billy Donovan had the same takeaway about Knueppel.
“Knueppel has been great the entire year,” Donovan said. “He can shoot it, and you can see his skill, his IQ, and he’s a better athlete than people would give him credit for coming out of Duke. He’s tough; he’s physical; he’s played really well.”
Knueppel is not alone, either. Donovan has seen more than a handful of the first-round picks from the 2025 class, and it has been impressive. The Bulls have faced VJ Edgecombe (No. 3), Knueppel (No. 4), Ace Bailey (No. 5), Jeremiah Fears (No. 7), Derik Queen (No. 13) and Asa Newell (No. 23), to name a few, and they check a lot of the boxes that Donovan looks for from young players in the NBA developmental stage.
“Just two things for me,’’ Donovan said. ‘‘How highly competitive they are physically. I think there’s a physical, mental-toughness component to it because there are so many games. And I think the other thing is the IQ. How savvy a guy is. Again, Knueppel, just from watching him on film and we were playing him [Saturday], you can just tell he has a real high IQ and just knows how to play.
“The physical and mental toughness to endure 82 games night in and night out, you’ve got to be highly competitive. Then the IQ because things are changing so quickly, you’ve got to be able to make reads on the fly.
“I think [this class is] only going to improve and become outstanding players.”
The Bulls get to face Cooper Flagg, the No. 1 overall pick, next Saturday, when the Mavericks make their only trip of the season to the United Center.
Message sent?
Patrick Williams wasn’t sure if it was just a rotation thing or if the coaching staff was trying to send him a message, but during a five-game stint at the end of December, he played less than 10 minutes in four of the games and never even got off the bench in a win over the 76ers.
Because of the injuries to White, Josh Giddey and Zach Collins, however, Williams has seen his minutes go back up into the normal range and has responded with much better results.
“Me personally, in terms of my game, not much really; I’ve always been able to do these things, but adversity always has a way of kind of dialing you in a little more,” Williams said when asked about what has changed for him since the benching. “That might have been their plan with it; I don’t know. But adversity, if you look at it the right way, always has a way of sharpening you.”
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The starting lineup with Nikola Vucevic and Jalen Smith seems to have staying power since the injury bug hit the Bulls last week, and Donovan explained why he’ll continue to march the two-big look out there even when the team is whole again.
“One of the biggest things we struggled with last year, and even this year, was teams getting a lot more bites at the apple in terms of attempts,” Donovan said. “What really impacts that is your turnovers and then giving up offensive rebounds.”
But the bug hit Smith on Saturday when he left the game in the third quarter after a collision with LaMelo Ball. He was being checked for a concussion.