Sporting royalty Noah does the dirty work for Bulls

NEW YORK, (Reuters) – He may descend from sports  royalty and the glamour of a famous father and a beauty queen  mother, but Chicago Bulls center Joakim Noah is not shying away  from the dirty work in pursuit of an NBA title.
  
The 6-foot-11 (2.11 m) Noah, son of 1983 French Open  champion Yannick Noah and Cecilia Rodhe, Miss Sweden 1978, is a  pivotal cog in top-seeded Chicago’s blueprint for success in  the Eastern Conference Finals against the Miami Heat.  

League Most Valuable Player Derrick Rose may direct the  team’s offense with sensational verve, but defense is the  Bulls’ bottom line, with Noah, Luol Deng, Carlos Boozer, Taj  Gibson and Omer Asik tenacious at that end of the floor.  

Noah’s enthusiasm and energy are infectious, his fierceness  contagious on a team that led the NBA in defense and must cool  off the Heat’s Big Three of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris  Bosh to advance to the NBA Finals. Mission accomplished in Game One.  

Joakim Noah

The gap-toothed Noah, his long, frizzy hair pulled back in  a pony tail, had a game-high 14 rebounds, including eight off  the offensive glass, to help the Bulls charge past the Heat  103-82 in the opening game of their best-of-seven series. Add two blocks, two steals, four assists, nine points and  an unbridled spirit for a full picture of Noah’s worth.  

“He’s awesome,” forward Boozer told reporters. “His energy  has been great. He’s so emotional it’s phenomenal.”  
The 26-year-old Noah, taken ninth overall in the 2007 NBA  Draft after winning back-to-back U.S. national college titles  at Florida, did not travel a routine path to the NBA.  

     NOT GENTEEL
  
Noah grew up in Manhattan and attended a private United  Nations school but there is nothing genteel about his game,  which was influenced by New York City streetball tournaments  where he was dubbed “The Noble One.”
  
There is more to Noah’s sporting lineage than just Yannick,  who besides his grand slam singles and doubles crowns at the  French Open also captained France in Davis Cup and Fed Cup. 

Noah’s paternal grandfather Zacharie Noah became a  professional soccer player in France after emigrating as a  child from Cameroon, and his Sedan team won the 1961 Coupe de  France (French Cup). His grandmother, Marie-Claire, was the  former captain of the French national basketball team.  
Winning fuels his passion. 
 
After leading the Florida Gators to victory over UCLA in  2006 for the school’s first NCAA Tournament title and being  named Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four, he decided to  return the next year, where he won another title.
 
He will try to get one step closer to an NBA title when the  Bulls host the Heat for Game Two of their series in Chicago on  Wednesday.  

Heat Head coach Erik Spoelstra was impressed with Noah in  Sunday’s opening game. “(Noah’s) effort exceeded ours on many occasions and it  impacted the game,” Spoelstra told reporters. “That’s what this  series is about — endurance, mental and physical endurance.”