Joakim Noah can hear what you've been saying.
He's been listening to all the noise since he was just a college freshman trying to find his way at the University of Florida. He's heard people tell him all kinds of things. He wasn't good enough, he wasn't strong enough, and on and on.
Despite the chatter, he managed to lead the Gators to two NCAA championships. Then he parlayed that into a ninth overall pick in the NBA draft.
He got to Chicago in 2007 and listened as everyone questioned him once again. People said he lacked maturity, wasn't good enough (again). A bust.
But things have suddenly changed around town. The Chicago Bulls center is in the midst of the best start of his career, averaging 11 points and 11 rebounds through six games. People all over town are falling in love with his game. Noah jerseys are popping up all over the United Center. The love for Noah seems to grow by the day, and he appreciates it.
When you talk to him though, one thing comes across easier than you might think: The 24-year-old is comfortable in his own skin … whether the world likes it or not. He hears what everybody says but doesn't seem to care much about what they think. The negativity just rolls off the confident 7-footer like beads of sweat. He wants the haters to save their hatred for someone else. Someone who really deserves it.
Noah just wants to savor his NBA experience and make the most of it. But no matter what happens, let's hope he never stops speaking his mind. Unlike many NBA players, he isn't afraid to actually say what he thinks. Love him or hate him, the basketball world wouldn't be the same if you couldn't hear what he had to say:
Nick Friedell: Everybody's been talking about Derrick [Rose] possibly being in the movies. Could you ever see yourself doing something like that?
JN: (Laughs) I don't know. I never really thought about it. But if I was to be a movie star I would try to be like "The Rock," like a guy like that.
So you'd do family comedies and action movies?
JN: More action. Bad guys.
Derrick said he wanted no part of the Jackie Chan stuff. Could you see yourself in that role at all?
JN: Definitely. Like Kareem Abdul-Jabar and Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan. That would be pretty hot. (Laughs)
No comedy? Because Derrick wanted to do comedy. Could you see him doing comedies?
JN: He wanted to do comedy?
Yeah, like Vince Vaughn. He said that was one of his favorite actors.
JN: Oh, wow. Geez, see, you guys talk [with him]. I didn't even know anything about that with the young guy. I had never heard that. I don't know.
All right, we'll leave it there for now. Meanwhile, everywhere I go in town -- whether it's on a bus, a billboard -- I see your screaming face. What is it like for you to go around town seeing that?
JN: I feel like we played very well in the playoffs last year and it was definitely some of the best times in my life, in terms of just playing basketball and just competing at the highest level. And I think people really got a kick out of that playoff series. Even though we lost I think people really enjoyed it and showed we really competed. So I think that's why we're getting a little bit more attention than we did last year.
How did last year's playoff run compare for you to winning two national titles at Florida? Did it compare?
Streeter Lecka/Getty Images
Joakim Noah won two national championships with the University of Florida Gators.
JN: It didn't compare because we won [at Florida]. And at the end of the day, that really matters to me. People can be excited and put you on billboards, but in the back of your head, you know that you're not … people aren't calling you "champ." We were champions in Gainesville.
I remember going to Denny's or somewhere in Gainesville and people used to literally have tears in their eyes. Older people, younger people, black people, white people, rich people, poor people, it didn't matter. It was just like everybody had this … always wanted to share their experiences about where they were and what they were doing while the championship was going on. And what it meant to them and things like that.
But I think that in terms of competing, I think that you can compare, you can see the similarities. You're just out there on the court and people are giving it everything they got in order to win a basketball game. I felt that those were the similarities to me in the championship game compared to the playoffs. But at the end of the day, we lost the series, and in Gainesville we won.
Do you think that type of emotion you saw in Gainesville is possible in the NBA? Or is it just different comparing the college atmosphere to the pros?
JN: It's very different. There's a lot of different agendas in the NBA. It's hard because there's so much money involved and there's agents -- it's just a different atmosphere. You're under a lot more scrutiny up here. In terms of college, it's just all about -- I felt like I was lucky enough to play on a team where guys really played for the right things. It wasn't a question of who was scoring the ball or who was getting all the shots or anything like that. It was just all about winning.
I don't know if I'll ever be able to play on a team where there's really that unselfishness. Everybody understanding that winning is the only thing that matters.
Are you surprised how polarizing you've become since you left college -- in the sense that people either seem to love you or hate you?
JN: (Laughs) Yeah. I think it's been like that since college. And it's so funny how people think that they know you because of the way you are on the court, or the way you act on the court. It's so funny to me how people have such a strong opinion of me. But at the end of the day, I am who I am, and I'm comfortable with who I am. So I don't really care. It's funny to me how people really do have a strong opinion about me, though.
I know you hear some of the stuff people say in the stands. Do you ever hear some of it and laugh and go, "Are you kidding?"
JN: Oh, all the time. All the time. I love it, though. Sometimes it's funny, I'll just look over and I'll just see … I'll look over and somebody saying something and I'll just look at them and I'll see serious hate. Real, genuine hate. And I'll just usually smile and just look at them. How could somebody get so into it? It's a basketball game. And I'm into it. I'm into the basketball game. I really want to win, but there's nobody I'll say I hate. Nobody in the world I hate.
Maybe just like Hitler, people like that. People who really caused a lot of harm and pain to the world. There's not a lot of people that I can say I genuinely hate. And I see people who really hate me.
Does that hate hurt you?
JN: No, I think in the beginning in college it kind of bothered me, but I kind of got over it pretty quick. And I used to get a kick out of it. I used to think it was funny. Now it's just like I'm kind of used to it. It's just like people would say crazy things -- as long as it's not stuff about my family, it's OK.
I read where your nickname is "African Viking." Is that true?
JN: (Laughs) Well, my mom said in an interview, she said, "He's an African Viking," but nobody calls me "African Viking"; my mom just said that in an interview one time, and I guess the reporters thought it was kind of unique, so they just kept using it.
So aside from "African Viking," do you have a nickname you go by?
JN: My boys used to call me "Sticks" because I was skinny. But I'm not that skinny anymore, so I don't know. My friends still call me that sometimes back in New York. My family called me "Youx."
Youx -- where did that come from?
JN: My little sister thought Joakim was a little bit too complicated, I guess. So she called me Youx, and it just stuck.
What's the biggest difference for you right now, compared to when you entered the league two years ago?
JN: I would say eating breakfast.
You think that really helped?
JN: I think it made a huge difference. Just being more comfortable with understanding what it takes to play 82 games during the regular season. Just getting in a routine, knowing when to eat your meals before the game. Not just eating chicken fingers and french fries before the game. Having a good healthy meal a couple hours before. Eating breakfast every morning.
No breakfasts off -- especially before you get to practice. Because we practice at 10, if you don't eat breakfast and we don't get out of here until about 2:30, 3, that means you haven't eaten all day, and plus all the calories that you lose. I need to maintain my weight so I know that for me, the biggest adjustment from now compared to the first couple years is eating breakfast.
What's your go-to breakfast?
JN: Steak and potatoes. (Smiles) Steak and potatoes.
Do you ever miss Gainesville and being able to live with all your buddies?
JN: I do. I'll always miss Gainesville. I always had so many memories and good times out there. I go back as soon as I have an [opportunity]. I think I went back three times this summer. I go back for a football game and I go back for the elite camp for Coach Donovan. And I think that's something I'm going to do every year because I want to give back.
They gave me so much over there. I got so much love over there. The coaching staff and the people over there did so much for me. I feel like I'll just try to go back and pay my respects.
Is it better going back to campus as the starting center for the Bulls or being the man on campus as the center for the Gators?
JN: Oh, man. Come on. (Smiles) It's not even a comparison. It's definitely slower. It's not the same. We were like the Beatles out there when we were on campus. We're definitely not the Beatles anymore. People still show us a lot of love, but not the way it was when we were winning those championships, that's for sure.
Speaking of love in Gainesville, how do you describe the popularity of Tim Tebow to somebody who may not know the situation?
JN: Oh my God. Tebow's love is ridiculous. I think the difference between him and us is we went out a lot more than he did. His [love] is so much more ridiculous. It's like [he's] an iconic figure. I thought we were popular, but it wasn't a situation where it was just out of control. We could do things. I think for him it's just like a situation where he might walk in somewhere and he can't have a good time. We could have a good time.
And be with everybody else …
JN: And be with everybody else. And enjoy it. And it was OK. I think with Tebow, he needs a place where he needs to be a little bit more secluded. But he seems to be enjoying it, and he's somebody who is humble. He's somebody who is about the right [stuff]. The right things. I think everything is going to work out for him.
What is the one thing that people misunderstand about you the most?
Randy Belice/Getty Images
Bulls center Joakim Noah says facing players like Yao Ming is "an unbelievable feeling."
JN: The way I am on the court is not how I am off the court. Sometimes people will come up to me and start screaming or just trying to get all jacked up and hyper and stuff like that. And I'm like, "Dude, what's your problem? Why are you acting like that?"
And I realize because they see me do things like that on the court. And they think that I'm just like this Energizer Bunny all the time. But I'm just like that on the court sometimes. I'm just laid-back and I want to chill sometimes, too. I might not act like that on the court, but off the court, there's times where I'm hyped and I'm excited and I want to have fun, but life is not all about being this energy bunny.
Do you think that freaks people out, when you're just going about your day relaxing and they realize that you're not the same person that you are on the court?
JN: I don't know. I guess you'd have to ask them. But, it's OK. Like I said, I'm comfortable with who I am. I'm not trying to impress nobody. I usually speak my mind and I'm not afraid about what other people are going to say.
When you stop playing, what do you want to do?
JN: I just want to chill on the beach. Have lots of kids. Live in a bungalow. Nice and comfortable. Just chill.
Do you want to get away from the public eye?
JN: Who knows? One thing that coach Donovan always taught me was just live in the moment and enjoy it. Enjoy it and enjoy all of this. There were times where, especially during my junior year, I felt like it was a little bit overwhelming for me. And there were times when it was just hard for me and I wasn't enjoying it because I was thinking about the NBA and I was thinking about the wrong things.
All [Donovan] would tell me every day was, "Just enjoy it. Just live in the moment." As the season went on my junior year -- and even now in the NBA -- I'm enjoying this. I'm enjoying every moment. I realize that I'm in a very privileged situation, playing basketball for millions of dollars. Playing in big games, playing against the best players in the world. There's nothing better. I feel very lucky and fortunate and I'm just enjoying it, man. I'm just living in the moment.
Has anything about the whole NBA experience surprised you?
JN: To me, the most surprising thing is just going up against people that you idolized growing up. And then you see how they are in real life and just realize they got their pros, they got their cons. They got their vices. They're just people. Just like everybody. Nobody's perfect.
And I think that the older you get and the more you're in this situation you realize … To me, growing up, I look at somebody like Kevin Garnett and he was somebody that I grew up just admiring. I used to wear his jersey. And then all of a sudden you're on the court with him and you just want to rip his head off. You hate him so much on the court. You can't stand him.
To me, that was something that was surprising. You know you're going to play against them, but it hits you once you're on the court with these guys. Like, "Wow, you're really playing against the best in the world." Like Tim Duncan, KG, Yao Ming, Shaq, LeBron. Playing against these guys … it's an unbelievable feeling.
They're human, in other words.
JN: Yeah, they're human. But pretty good basketball players.
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