Is the Chicago media prejudiced against Tyrus?

by 1958ChiTown on Oct 11, 2007 12:49 PM CDT Comment 38 comments

[From the Diaries.

I'm inclined to agree with this theory on the media's attitude towards Noah and Tyrus as 'professionals' influencing their opinion on who should start. Now, I do think there's a story about Tyrus dissapointing the Bulls brass with a subpar offseason. But that doesn't mean Tyrus did nothing in the offseason (sometimes players think they're 'working hard' without knowing what an organization thinks is 'working hard'), nor that Noah even had a better summer (hard to do with a bum shoulder, remember?), nor (especially) how that now puts these two in competition with eachother. -Matt]

One trend of this very young season is already irking me: the seemingly irrational media bias against Tyrus Thomas.

The slanderous Sam Smith article has already been discussed ad naseum, but today John Jackson of the Suntimes joined the ranks of writers who feel compelled to subtly (but undeniably) demean Thomas.

Jackson states:

If the decision was up to me, I'd start Noah at power forward over veteran Joe Smith (who has been slowed recently by a sore knee) and second-year forward Tyrus Thomas (who started Tuesday). With his ability to pass and handle the ball, Noah is better suited to play alongside the starters. Besides, Smith and Thomas would get more scoring opportunities playing with the reserves. In and of itself, that statement isn't particularly inflammatory, but when you pair it with the following ludicrous assertion, a pattern becomes evident: That was obvious on [Noah's] first basket as a professional. After getting the ball in traffic under the basket, Noah rose up and dunked over two defenders. No one on the Bulls roster last season was capable of doing that. "NO ONE ON THE BULLS ROSTER LAST SEASON WAS CAPABLE OF DOING THAT."

What? Did he miss all of TT's incredible dunks last season? I recall Tyrus dunking "in traffic" and "over two defenders" approximately 20 times last season.

It's becoming clear that the Chicago media is intent on casting Tyrus in the role of the surly, sullen, mercurial misanthrope. Meanwhile, after ONE preseason game, they are portraying Noah as a fun-loving, goofy basketball prodigy who is willing to work hard and help the team with a smile, a laugh, and a charming boyish wink. (Sadly enough, this misconception is reinforced by Skiles' less than egalitarian comments about the two.) Jackson argues that Noah should start after a total of 23 minutes of professional action!

(By the way, as a lifelong Bulls fan and season ticket holder, I WANT Noah to succeed, but I have no idea why the media (and the coaches to a lesser extent) feels that Noah's success must come at the expense of Tyrus.)

I have an inkling that the emerging disparity in treatment has little to do with basketball and everything to do with how these two players interact with the media.

It's bad, premature reporting, IMO.

[Another editorial note: ThankYouIsiah has thoughts on this as well -Matt.]

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It's getting old.

I admit that the 1st half tuesday, had me doubting some of my Tyrus love this summer, but he settled down in the 2nd half and played fine. I think Tyrus does still need to improve his conditioning and focus, but it doesn't stop him from making positive impacts in the aggregate. I imagine it will only get worse when the national media starts to get involved.

by Scotter on Oct 11, 2007 1:25 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

I think it's

just that everyone sees what Tyrus can do and get pissed when they think he's not giving it his all to reach his potential.

But it goes both ways as well. There are a lot of Tyrus admirers out there, like our boy David Thorpe/

by Option27 on Oct 11, 2007 1:43 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Another theory

Maybe Tyrus needs to grow up a little bit. There's nothing wrong with that. He's only 21, right? It wouldn't be shocking if he were immature. Just because he can jump really high and dunk, doesn't mean he is a gifted basketball player. There's a little more to it than that.

To me, this article gives Sam Smith back a little of his credibility. It's also important to remember that Scott Skiles and not Jackson or Smith sets the lineup and makes the substitutions.

Nocioni-Khryapa in '08

by bullshooter on Oct 11, 2007 1:50 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

I think you

are correct. Noah is older (and had 4 years of college) than TT and if TT had stayed in college no doubt he would be a more mature person.

They are two totally different types of personalities. They are both needed to make this team a winner.

Racecar spelled backwards is racecar.

by sue369 on Oct 11, 2007 2:20 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Noah is 1 1/2 years older, but...

...only spent one more year in college. I think there's probably something to be said for basketball maturity, but I think it's too big of a stretch to say "no doubt he would be a more mature person." For one more year? Please.

Tell that to Travis Henry's kids or Luol Deng's charities.

Yes, of course.

by tyger1147 on Oct 11, 2007 2:56 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Noah was also raised in France and New York

and had a very famous set of parents. I am not sure that Tyrus had been out of Louisiana before going to college. That contributes a lot to the differences in maturity.

Nocioni-Khryapa in '08

by bullshooter on Oct 11, 2007 3:08 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I agree, Noah had a very unique upringing

It is important to highlight that Noah grew up in two major cities, his dad is a very famous athlete and rock star. He was a national star on the collegiat level. He is a very unique person for his age. Hinrich was a coaches son and played 4 years in the national spotlight for one of the top coaches in the land. Duhon was a four year player for one of the all time greates coaches. Ben Wallace is full of wisdom. Deng as stated before had more life experience at 15 than most anybody. Noc has traveled the world as an international player. Thobo played international professional ball. I could go on. However, TT is simply imature. Prior to a the last couple decades, a 19 year old would have been assumed to be immature. There is nothing wrong with it. A year and half into it, I'm sure he is much more mature than he was. I'm sure he learned from the all star comments last year. He obviously learned a lot of on court majurity during the latter half of last season. By reviewing film with him, Skiles is showing him the special attention to show what TT needs to improve upon. Give it another year and a half and he will be ready to compete full time on a professional level. Until then, he will be an on again/off again talent. I believe Noah will simply get to that time earlier.

by joemoses on Oct 12, 2007 1:41 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

3 years

Actually, Noah spent 3 years in college to Tyrus's one. I think two extra years in college and playing in as many big games as Noah did, while taking on a leadership role with his team, probably have helped Noah mature more so than Tyrus. Regardless, I don't see why the media is trying to pit make it seem like they are competing for their minutes. Tyrus will be playing the four and some three, while Noah will be playing the four and some five I'm sure. If anything, they are both part of the frontcourt of the future, along with Deng.

by bigballa10 on Oct 11, 2007 3:09 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Tyrus isn't going to be playing much three

behind Deng, Noc, and maybe Thabo. And unless Wallace gets hurt, nobody is going to be playing much at center either. So the only place Noah and Tyrus are going to get time is at the PF spot. And that doesn't even take into account Smith.

Nocioni-Khryapa in '08

by bullshooter on Oct 11, 2007 3:17 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Until Tyrus went

to college he had never been out of his home town. Noah is lucky enough to have seen many parts of the world at his young age. If you can't see where that might make a difference in their maturity levels then I can't help you.

The media should not be making a popularity contest out of these two. They are both needed.

Racecar spelled backwards is racecar.

by sue369 on Oct 11, 2007 4:01 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Sue, you are exactly right.

Exactly right.

Riding the Noah bus since March 2006

by preverbal on Oct 11, 2007 9:59 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Actually, no.

Sue has proven my point.

The extra year of college proves nothing about a person's maturity. Basketball maturity? Sure. But not personal maturity. Saying Tyrus would no doubt be a better person if he stayed one more year is a ridiculous statement. A person's natural personality and upbringing combined with LIFE experiences is what gives maturity.

Travis Henry was in college for four years. Luol Deng for one. It's difficult to think of two professional athletes whose personal responsibility and maturity differ as vastly. College time has very little to do with it, and it varies so widely from person to person, that's it's meaningless.

I'm sorry you guys can't see that.

Yes, of course.

by tyger1147 on Oct 12, 2007 1:24 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Luol

had more life experiences by the age of 12 than most of us had by the age of 50. I don't think this is an example that proves your point.

Luol - political refugee at 8, lived in the Sudan, Egypt the UK and the US by the age of 15, speaks multiple languages.......

Tyrus - leaves Louisiana for the first time at the age of 18/19. Yep, that's comparable.

by KT on Oct 12, 2007 7:10 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Exactly.

Racecar spelled backwards is racecar.

by sue369 on Oct 12, 2007 12:39 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

huh?

Sue's whole point was that life experiences bring maturity. It has nothing to do with an extra year of college.

Riding the Noah bus since March 2006

by preverbal on Oct 12, 2007 11:56 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Oh, I see

you were referring to something she said further up the thread.

Well, in Tyrus' case, college may or may not have helped him mature. The life experiences that help a person mature CAN occur in college, though they don't always, but the point that Noah had a worldly upbringing whereas Thomas had a provincial one is something I think we are all agreeing on.

Riding the Noah bus since March 2006

by preverbal on Oct 12, 2007 12:00 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

There's this need to pit them against each other

against for the sake of a story when the intended future is them playing together at PF and C. And it's carrying over into the fan base. Their goal isn't trying to take each other's playing time, it's to take Joe Smith's playing time and eventually Ben Wallace's.

by Scotter on Oct 11, 2007 1:50 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

also one more Skiles gem

Scott Skiles said it was ''one of the most athletic plays I've seen since I've been the coach here.''

...talking about Gardner's dunk

OK, yeah it was athletic...but he makes it sound like he's never seen any of TT's plays. Maybe it wasn't, but that just sounded like a lil dig to me.

I agree wholeheartedly with you 1958...I think way too many people are hard on TT without real reason.

by ScottieCartwright on Oct 11, 2007 2:29 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Yeah, this Noah vs Thomas thing is pissing me off!

I blame Sam Smith and K.C. for a lot of this anti Tyrus stuff. First, off Tyrus is a quiet individual. Since when does quiet equal surly/sullen? Ok, he did say a silly thing concerning the dunk contest. He apologized, so let's get over it. He made a mistake.

I'm also a little concerned about Skiles attitute
toward Tyrus.Curry, Crawford, Eddie Robinson, Chandler the same way. I'm not a fan of any of those players. Skiles and Pax did the right thing in getting rid of them. However, it seems Skiles always has to have one whipping boy. Last year it was Sweetney with his weight issues.
I'm starting to wonder if Skiles is the right man for the job. Maybe if Skiles used a different approach, he would get more out of Thomas. Instead he sees Eddie Robinson. And Tyrus is not Eddie Robinson. He has a competitive edge + talent that could eventually make him the best player on the Bulls. I just feel if Phil Jackson was here, TNT would be much closer to realizing his potential. In my opinion, Phil would understand how important Tyrus is to the Bulls Championship quest. He understands that each and every player has a different personality.
Also, John Jackson is an idiot. Did he even watch any games last year. Tyrus dunked on so many players last year I lost count. TNT finally made Bulls games exciting again!!! The media simply sucks!!!
I also don't like to bring up race, but here I go. It's like he's always being portrayed as this dumb black guy who knows nothing because he never lived in a big city. He grew up in a poor small town in the deep south. He's just a highlight reel. No basketball skills. He's not a worker. He doesn't focus. It's always a negative thrown toward Tyrus. The Sun-Times and Chicago Tribune are always throwing these things out there. I never hear how Kirk Hinrich loses focus. Look how many turnovers he commits every game. And just look at Captain Kirk. Has he gained in muscle since his Kansas days. He's been in the league for 5 years. But, nobody ever says he's lazy. Kirk grew up in a small town. Did anyone ever mention how the big city might scare him silly? This is why I don't read the Sports section or listen to the insane opinions on the score or AM1000. This is because I might punch something due to frustration. Tyrus Thomas's reputation is taking a hit because of the fu**ing media!!! But sports fans, just like many others, are like sheep. They believe whatever they read or watch on TV. People don't seem to form their own opinions based on facts anymore. How sad......

Is it me or does Lebron walk like a duck?!

by GranvilleWaiters on Oct 11, 2007 11:15 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

ah, but if you DID read...

you'd know Kirk has put on muscle and commits far fewer turnovers (considering how often he has the ball) than Tyrus.

beyond those fact-checks, I won't bother.

by your friendly BullsBlogger on Oct 11, 2007 11:28 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Not enough to prevent wearing down!

so it took him 5 years to finally figure out that he needed to gain muscle??? I saw the pre-season game. He really didn't gain that much. He has a long way to go. So he improved from 2.7 turnovers/per to 2.3. Not much improvement. Anway, how many did he make during crunch time?? He's very turnover prone in the 4th quarter.

Season Ag Tm Lg G MP FG FGA 3P 3PA FT FTA ORB DRB TRB AST STL BLK TO PF PTS
+------------------+----+----+----+----+---+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+---+---+---+---+----+
2003-04 23 CHI NBA 76 35.6 4.2 10.8 1.9 4.9 1.8 2.2 0.6 2.9 3.4 6.8 1.3 0.3 2.7 3.6 12.0
2004-05 24 CHI NBA 77 36.4 5.8 14.6 1.9 5.3 2.2 2.8 0.4 3.5 3.9 6.4 1.6 0.3 2.3 3.2 15.7
2005-06 25 CHI NBA 81 36.5 5.6 13.3 1.6 4.2 3.2 3.9 0.4 3.2 3.6 6.3 1.2 0.3 2.3 3.1 15.9
2006-07 26 CHI NBA 80 35.5 5.9 13.3 1.8 4.2 3.0 3.6 0.4 3.0 3.4 6.3 1.3 0.3 2.4 3.4 16.6
+------------------+----+----+----+----+---+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+---+---+---+---+----+
4 Seasons 314 36.0 5.4 13.0 1.8 4.6 2.5 3.1 0.4 3.2 3.6 6.4 1.3 0.3 2.4 3.3 15.1
+------------------+----+----+----+----+---+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+---+---+---+---+----+

Is it me or does Lebron walk like a duck?!

by GranvilleWaiters on Oct 12, 2007 12:12 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

turnover stat got slashed. 2.7 rookie year

2.3 last year

Is it me or does Lebron walk like a duck?!

by GranvilleWaiters on Oct 12, 2007 12:14 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

ummm

Phil Jackson is in the same mould as Larry Brown... rookies do not get playing time... If Phil was still coaching the Bulls, you'd have fewer Tyrus highlights from last year. Skiles is bringing him along fine... not too quickly, but he's not burying him on the bench like he's Darko or anything...

by peterbredenberg on Oct 12, 2007 8:17 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Actually......

Stacey King played 21.7 minutes per game & B.J. Armstrong played 15.9 minutes per game. Both of them contributed. Others like Corey Williams, Byron Houston, Jeff Sanders, etc. were drafted so low nothing was expected of them.

Is it me or does Lebron walk like a duck?!

by GranvilleWaiters on Oct 13, 2007 8:03 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Their ROOKIE year

Is it me or does Lebron walk like a duck?!

by GranvilleWaiters on Oct 13, 2007 8:04 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I was wondering how long

it would take for somebody to say that the negative coverage on Tyrus is due to the fact he is black. Who had 15 comments.

Nocioni-Khryapa in '08

by bullshooter on Oct 12, 2007 9:20 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

there is a twinkle of racism

in the 'getting by on athleticism' box. I call it the Not Larry Bird Theorem.

by hscs on Oct 12, 2007 9:24 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

eh

I'm just disappointed that someone interpreted 'we shouldn't make this tyrus vs. noah' to mean 'how about tyrus vs. kirk?!?'

by your friendly BullsBlogger on Oct 12, 2007 9:44 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

the racial overtones

get a lot clearer that way...

Nocioni-Khryapa in '08

by bullshooter on Oct 12, 2007 9:47 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I was trying to show how there might be a hint of

RACISM in the medias treatment of Tyrus. Tyrus vs Kirk supports this theory.

Is it me or does Lebron walk like a duck?!

by GranvilleWaiters on Oct 13, 2007 7:55 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

'cept the comparison was never made

Mr. Nice Noah v. Mean Old Tyrus was getting ink. I agree that "getting by on athleticism" has a hint of racism in it, but that was never the sticking point of any of this nonsense.

by hscs on Oct 14, 2007 11:39 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Or maybe,

just maybe, both Skiles and the media want to push Thomas to his limits (without going over them, or you have another Kirilenko case), and hope that their little media "bashing" of him will push him to do even more of the right things in the future.

The Game chose him !

by Diabolo on Oct 12, 2007 2:06 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

loud substained applause

i think you hit the nail on the head diabolo! everyone can see the potential of tt, now we can only hope skiles can get it out of him, and by having noah working his ass off on every play will only help show the kid the right way to play. thomas could be a dominate player, but it's going to be up to him. i can only hope to see more good plays out of him and less chest thumping.

by wheatfield mike on Oct 12, 2007 12:01 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

celebrates too much

I'm pretty sure Nocioni is the team leader in passionate fist pumpery. And it doesn't matter at all. Damn.

by hscs on Oct 12, 2007 12:19 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Noah was a team leader

He helped lead the gators to two titles and an 18 game postseason win streak! He was the focus of media and opposing fans attention every single week. That forced him to grow up and face the real world quick. TT wasn't even a starter for LSU. Its such a different mindset between being a energy guy off the bench and being a starter and leader on a championship team.

Please don't take this as me hating on TT. I just think he is a year or more away. When big ben's contract is up TT will be the 4 and noah will play the 5.

by haze on Oct 12, 2007 9:36 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Tyrus

He'll be fine, he just needs to play hard and not handle the ball on fast breaks!!

by tyrus4prez on Oct 12, 2007 9:50 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Necessary competition

I agree with Diabolo above. Skiles is trying to heat up TT- natural born talent won't make him an all star or even a starter.

Screw the media if they don't understand Skiles intentions. But I think they do; The media sees what TT could be, and they should be harsh and critical if he lets Noah surpass him [quickly]. My main concern is that TT can handle this competition, with maturity, and doesn't turn into a pudding head.

Last season I felt TT had underdeveloped skills- and that is fine, because he was a rookie and he made it through college ball with physical ability. This year there are no excuses.

It's only preseason, so we'll see.

by chicago-homesick-blues on Oct 12, 2007 12:13 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs