Walt Beazley

ESPN: Portis Making Name For Himself Early

By Nick Friedell, ESPN Staff Writer

CHICAGO — Bobby Portis made his professional debut memorable simply by waving his arms up and down. It was the second half of an otherwise meaningless preseason opener against the Milwaukee Bucks, and Portis decided he was going to do some dirty work by jumping on the floor for a loose ball. After the play was over, the confident 20-year-old rose to his feet and did what few players, let alone rookies, do at any point in the preseason: He moved his arms up and down, exhorting the United Center crowd to make a little noise. The fans took notice and cheered, but it seems as if his teammates and the rest of the league is already taking notice as well.

“He’s great,” Bulls point guard Derrick Rose said recently. “I love his confidence. That’s big for a rookie, big for any player in this league, but big for a rookie coming in the way he’s coming in. I think that’s just going to push our bigs to play harder, and who knows what he can become one day?”

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