New Bulls talk about Tom Thibodeau

Chicago Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau might have signed a lucrative four-year contract this offseason, but newly signed Bulls players don't expect that the coach's reputation for attention to detail or his work ethic will change at all in the 2012-13 season. New Bulls center Nazr Mohammed, who spent last season in Oklahoma City, expounded on his view of Thibodeau's mania for hard work on Sunday:

"Physically, he wants things done a certain way. He wants you to go hard. He wants to make practices so they're like game situations, so when you get in the game, you've been there, you're in shape, you already know what to do. Mentally, he really wants you to know the terminology. He wants you to know what the other team is doing. He actually quizzes you."

Once and current Bull Kirk Hinrich said that as a veteran, "you appreciate preparation as you go along." Center Kyrylo Fesenko, who spent four years with Utah, compared Thibodeau to Jerry Sloan, and guard Marko Jaric said that Thibodeau reminds him of Spurs coach Greg Popovich, since "you can see there's a system behind the success there."

The Bulls open their preseason schedule Tuesday night at home against the Memphis Grizzlies at 8 p.m. ET. The regular season begins on Oct. 31 at the United Center, with the Kings coming to town.