NEW YORK — Before the Bulls traveled to New York this week, coach Billy Donovan pulled aside Alex Caruso and made an unlikely comparison.
He likened Caruso to Udonis Haslem, the Miami Heat’s 19-year staple who many moons ago played for Donovan at Florida for four years. To Donovan, it was the ultimate compliment if not a natural connection: Caruso, the Bulls’ 6-foot-4 glue stick of a point guard, and Haslem, now 41 and seldom used but once a rugged 6-foot-8 big man.
Donovan wasn’t referring to their playing styles. He was spotlighting their paths. How both refused rejection by the NBA. The way each turned disappointment on his draft night — Haslem going undrafted in 2002 and Caruso following suit in 2016 — into fuel for an already raging inner fire.
“I thought Udonis Haslem was by far the best low-post offensive player in college. I mean, he was a monster,” Donovan said. “But when he got to the NBA, he couldn’t do that. And he reinvented himself. He was a guy that never shot, but he impacted the game just through his toughness and his competitiveness.
“I think guys that are smart that maybe you don’t look at as being overly talented, those are the guys that stick and last a long time. Because as a coach or watching us play, you see the value he brings every night.”
Caruso, 27, plans to stick. That’s why even though he talks like a coach and often is described as “a coach on the floor,” Caruso recoils at questions about a possible coaching future.
