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Not only did Donovan point out everything Vucevic brings to the table, but also everything he’s had to leave at the table in sacrificing for the team. The way Donovan has seen it, no player on the roster works harder than the veteran center, especially when it comes to Vucevic responding after games he’s not happy with.

Billy Donovan doesn’t play the blame game.

What he’ll participate in even less?

Putting stock into what the Bulls coach perceives as criticism for any one of his players by the fan base or on social media.

So the idea of somehow making center Nikola Vucevic the scapegoat for when things don’t go as well as they should for this Bulls team, not only didn’t sit well with Donovan, but in his eyes was 100% inaccurate.

Especially when it came to the idea that Vucevic is somehow better suited for a smaller Orlando market than Chicago from a mental toughness standpoint.

“I think his biggest challenge to me is he just holds himself where he’s just got to let stuff go … on himself,’’ Donovan said Sunday. “When he misses a shot in the lane, he’s got to be able to move past that.

“But in terms of his heart, his mental toughness of being in a bigger market, I have no issues with that. He always responds, and I give him a lot of credit. Anytime he in his mind has not played to the level that he’s wanted to play, that guy is in the gym. You don’t have to ask him, you don’t have to beg him to come in there. I mean we’re coming out of San Antonio, and he was one of the first guys in the gym [Saturday]. He’s got a full lather on before we’re starting practice, he’s getting shots, he’s working, so his work ethic is really, really good.’’

That’s been on full display this season, even when the numbers weren’t.

Vucevic was shooting 44.2% from the field, which was his worst since he came into the NBA in 2011. He was hitting only 33% from three-point range, which was his worst since he really started using the long-range shot as a weapon in that 2017-18 season. And his 16.6 points per game was also his lowest since the 17-18 season.

Donovan didn’t make excuses for it as much as he gave his honest explanation.

“I think when you have guys that have been All-Stars for a period of time and you want to win, there’s sacrifices that you have to make,’’ Donovan said. “And Vooch is a guy, the way he plays, the ball needs to find him. It needs to find him at the three-point line, it needs to find him in the post, it needs to find him in the pocket in pick-and-rolls, so he’s relying on other guys. Where maybe a Zach [LaVine] and DeMar [DeRozan], when you get them in space or you play them in pick-and-roll, get them to the elbows, those guys can really have the ball and can create. I do think Vooch has sacrificed a lot for our team and he’s finding his way.

“You also have to realize that for nine years in his career, when then the ball is just being pumped to you all the time … OK, he misses a jump hook [when he played for] Orlando, OK, the next possession it’s going to come right back down there, and the next possession is coming, and everything is being played around him. I think the three of them, their mentality has really been to do whatever they can to win, and Vooch is trying to find his spots, find his areas.’’

Going Green

Javonte Green has had no setbacks with the groin that had him on the shelf for most of January, and according to Donovan, could have his minutes restrictions lifted sooner than later.

The Bulls play Orlando on Tuesday, and if the forward comes out of that contest feeling good then Donovan said he could be back to a more “normal situation.’’

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Larkin’s Armani Ivy (25) shoots the ball over Thornton’s Vincent Rainey (2). | Kirsten Stickney/For the Sun-Times

All the scores from around the area.

Please send scores and corrections to [email protected].

Sunday, January 30, 2022

NONCONFERENCE

Glenbrook South 51, Prospect 35

Rochelle Zell at Yeshiva, 5:00

ORR

Bogan 78, Proviso West 76

Lindblom 67, Christ the King 57

Longwood 61, Danville 48

Taft vs. St. Joseph-Ogden, 1:30

Hyde Park vs. Milwaukee Science, Wis., 3:00

Lincoln Park vs. Batavia, 4:30

Hillcrest vs. Wheaton-Warrenville South, 6:00

Lake Park vs. Joliet West, 7:30

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The Bears hired Luke Getsy, left, as offensive coordinator. | AP

Getsy, who will turn 38 next month, is considered an up-and-coming offensive mind in the NFL.

The Bears are turning to Aaron Rodgers’ position coach to try to take quarterback Justin Fields to the next level. New head coach Matt Eberflus hired Packers quarterbacks coach and pass-game coordinator Luke Getsy as his offensive coordinator Sunday.

Getsy, who will turn 38 next month, worked under Packers head coach Matt LaFleur and offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett, who earlier this week was named the Broncos’ head coach. Getsy is so well-regarded that the Broncos interviewed him for their head coaching job, too.

Getsy, though, has never called plays in the NFL; LaFleur held those responsibilities.

Still, Getsy will be Eberflus’ answer to the biggest question that faced him the second he interviewed for the Bears’ coaching job. If his bet on Getsy is correct, the hiring would have the dual effects of helping Fields and hurting their rival — whether Rodgers is still playing for the Packers or not.

The Bears could pair Getsy with an experienced quarterbacks coach; Texans quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator Pep Hamilton interviewed for the coordinator job Saturday, but he could be looking to land somewhere with play-calling responsibilities.

In order to get hired, Eberflus, the former Colts defensive coordinator, needed to sell new general manager Ryan Poles on a dynamic offensive plan for Fields. Getsy emerged as a candidate on Friday and was interviewed by the Bears.

Given Rodgers’ singular skill set, it’s unclear what kind of scheme Getsy plans to run with the Bears — although an increase in run-pass option looks in Green Bay the past few years indicate he could do the same with Fields.

Getsy has never worked with Eberflus, but his history is similar to that of Poles and Ian Cunningham, the man he hired Saturday to be the Bears’ assistant GM. Cunningham had been with the Eagles since 2017, first as a college scouting director, then an assistant player personnel director and, as of last year, co-player personnel director. His hiring represents a new front office structure; former GM Ryan Pace never had an assistant GM.

Both Poles and Cunningham are former ACC offensive linemen who appeared briefly in NFL training camps in 2008 — Poles with the Bears and Cunningham with the Chiefs. Getsy started at an ACC school — Pittsburgh — before transferring to play quarterback at Akron in 2005 and 2006. He was in the 49ers’ training camp in 2007 before being cut.

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Bears chairman George McCaskey spearheaded the Bears’ search for a new general manager (Ryan Poles) and head coach (Matt Eberflus). | Elijah Harris/Provided by Chicago Bears

With new general manager Ryan Poles and new head coach Matt Eberflus hired, a look at the Bears’ process and how the results might affect the Bears next season and beyond.

The Matt Eberflus hire was …

Kind of quick. It took Ryan Poles less than 48 hours to hire his first coach after he was hired as general manager on Jan. 25 — and it was a candidate who was interviewed four days before Poles’ first interview. Even if Poles had eyed Eberflus before he ever became a Bears candidate, it just doesn’t seem like Poles’ search was very wide-ranging.

The Ryan Poles hire was …

Kind of quick. The Bears had second interviews scheduled with Patriots scouting consultant Eliot Wolf and Titans director of player personnel Monti Ossenfort, according to NFL Network, but apparently cancelled both after Poles’ second interview. It’s not unusual that team’s end the search when they find their guy. But the Bears don’t have a history of having that kind of intution.

Other than Poles and Eberflus, who would have been your picks?

But based on resumes and personal histories — without having the advantage of face-to-face interviews — I would have been interested in talking to Steelers vice president of football and business administration Omar Khan and Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll.

How will their hires affect Justin Fields?

It could give him the best chance to succeed if Poles stays true to his football background and makes the offensive line a priority. Fields needs better protection and a better running game to have a chance to reach his potential. As a defensive-minded coach with a prospect such as Fields, Eberflus surely knows the pressure is on to hire the best offensive coordinator around to nurture him.

What’s one thing Poles and Eberflus need to do differently than their predecessors?

Poles has to get the quarterback right and he’s already ahead of the game there — thanks to Ryan Pace — with Fields a better prospect than Mitch Trubisky.

Eberflus has to give the Bears an NFL-quality offense, which makes his first offensive coordinator hire absolutely critical.

What’s the best and worst thing about how the Bears handled this process?

The best thing they did was look at large pools of candidates who were interviewed by other teams — at least 13 general manager candidates and 10 coaching candidates.

The worst thing they did was run the searches too concurrently, with second coaching interviews set up before they hired a GM. The new GM should have been given more time to do a more comprehensive search for a coach.

It’s possible that with Bill Polian in the lead, the Bears found the right guy to find the right guy. But the Bears’ history says that is not likely.

What’s a best-case scenario for Poles and Eberflus in Year 1?

Aaron Rodgers leaves the Packers. Poles signs Roquan Smith to a long-term contract and Davante Adams in free agency. Eberflus puts the takeaway bite back in the defense and hires an offensive coordinator who brings out the best in Justin Fields — and the Bears go 11-6 and get a home playoff game.

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The Bears are turning to Aaron Rodgers’ position coach to try to take Justin Fields to the next level. New head coach Matt Eberflus is expected to hire Packers quarterbacks coach and pass-game coordinator Luke Getsy as his offensive coordinator.

Getsy, who will turn 38 next month, is considered an up-and-coming offensive mind. He worked under Packers head coach Matt LaFleur and offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett, who earlier this week was named the Broncos’ head coach. Getsy is respected enough that he interviewed with the Broncos for their head coaching job, too.

Getsy, though, has never called plays in the NFL; LaFleur held those responsibilities.

Still, Getsy will be Eberflus’ answer to the biggest question that faced him the second he interviewed for the Bears’ coaching job. If his bet on Getsy is correct, the hiring would have the dual effects of helping Fields and hurting their rival — whether Rodgers is still playing for the Packers or not.

The Bears could pair Getsy with an experienced quarterbacks coach; Texans quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator Pep Hamilton interviewed for the coordinator job Saturday, but he could be looking to land somewhere with play-calling responsibilities.

In order to get hired, Eberflus, the former Colts defensive coordinator, needed to sell new general manager Ryan Poles on a dynamic offensive plan for Fields. Getsy emerged as a candidate on Friday and was interviewed by the Bears. ESPN reported Saturday night that a deal was imminent.

Given Rodgers’ singular skill set, it’s unclear what kind of scheme Getsy plans to run with the Bears — although an increase in run-pass option looks in Green Bay the past few years indicate he could do the same with Fields.

Getsy has never worked with Eberflus, but his history is similar to that of new general manager Ryan Poles and Ian Cunningham, the man he hired Saturday to be the Bears’ assistant GM. Cunningham had been with the Eagles since 2017 and spent last year as co-player personnel director.

Both Poles and Cunningham are former ACC offensive linemen who appeared briefly in an NFL training camp in 2008. Poles, a Boston College grad, was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Bears. Cunningham, who started 31 games at Virginia, had a stint with the Chiefs.

Getsy started at an ACC school — Pittsburgh — before transferring to play quarterback at Akron in 2005 and 2006. He was in the 49ers’ training camp in 2007 before being cut.

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The Bears are turning to Aaron Rodgers’ position coach to try to take Justin Fields to the next level. New head coach Matt Eberflus is expected to hire Packers quarterbacks coach and pass-game coordinator Luke Getsy as his offensive coordinator, ESPN reported Saturday night.

Getsy, who will turn 38 next month, is considered an up-and-coming offensive mind. He worked under Packers head coach Matt LaFleur and offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett, who earlier this week was named the Broncos’ head coach. Getsy is respected enough that he interviewed with the Broncos for their head coaching job, too.

Getsy, though, has never called plays in the NFL; LaFleur held those responsibilities.

Still, Getsy will be Eberflus’ answer to the biggest question that faced him the second he interviewed for the Bears’ coaching job. If his bet on Getsy is correct, the hiring would have the dual effects of helping Fields and hurting their rival — whether Rodgers is still playing for the Packers or not.

The Bears could pair Getsy with an experienced quarterbacks coach; Texans quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator Pep Hamilton interviewed for the coordinator job Saturday, but he could be looking to land somewhere with play-calling responsibilities.

In order to get hired, Eberflus, the former Colts defensive coordinator, needed to sell new general manager Ryan Poles on a dynamic offensive plan for Fields. Getsy emerged as a candidate on Friday and was interviewed by the Bears.

Given Rodgers’ singular skill set, it’s unclear what kind of scheme Getsy plans to run with the Bears — although an increase in run-pass option looks in Green Bay the past few years indicate he could do the same with Fields.

Getsy has never worked with Eberflus, but his history is similar to that of new general manager Ryan Poles and Ian Cunningham, the man he hired Saturday to be the Bears’ assistant GM. Cunningham had been with the Eagles since 2017 and spent last year as co-player personnel director.

Both Poles and Cunningham are former ACC offensive linemen who appeared briefly in an NFL training camp in 2008. Poles, a Boston College grad, was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Bears. Cunningham, who started 31 games at Virginia, had a stint with the Chiefs.

Getsy started at an ACC school — Pittsburgh — before transferring to play quarterback at Akron in 2005 and 2006. He was in the 49ers’ training camp in 2007 before being cut.

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The Chicago Bears are expected to hire Green Bay Packers quarterbacks coach Luke Getsy as their offensive coordinator, league sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Saturday.

Getsy, 37, will join new Bears head coach Matt Eberflus, the former Indianapolis Colts defensive coordinator who was hired Thursday.

Getsy will be tasked with helping a struggling Bears offense that endured instability at quarterback, where Andy Dalton alternated as the starter with rookie Justin Fields this season. The Packers ranked eighth in the NFL in passing yards per game, while the Bears were 30th.

Getsy’s departure from Green Bay will leave another hole in the Packers’ offensive coaching staff. Earlier this week, offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett was hired as the Denver Broncos’ head coach.

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New general manager Ryan Poles took his first step toward transforming the Bears front office Saturday, sources confirmed, agreeing to hire the Eagles’ Ian Cunningham as his assistant general manager.

Cunningham had been with the Eagles since 2017, first as a college scouting director, then an assistant player personnel director and, as of last year, co-player personnel director.

The position is a departure from the Bears’ structure under Ryan Pace, where player personnel director Josh Lucas and assistant player personnel director Champ Kelly served as his primary deputies.

Prior to joining the Eagles, Cunningham spent eight years with the Ravens as a player personnel assistant, southeast area scout and southeast/southwest area scout.

Cunningham and Poles haven’t worked together before but they share similarities. Both are former ACC offensive linemen who left college the same year and appeared briefly in an NFL camp. Poles, a Boston College grad, was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Bears in 2008. Cunningham, who started 31 games at Virginia and received both an undergrad and Master’s degree from the school, had a brief stint with the Chiefs.

Jets GM Joe Douglas, a former Eagles and Bears executive, reportedly tried to bring Cunningham to the Jets in both 2019 and 2020.

Cunningham won’t be the Bears’ last major addition this week. New coach Matt Eberflus continued interviewing coaching candidates Saturday. NFL Network reported that Jaguars receivers coach Sanjay Lal interviewed for the offensive coordinator job Saturday. Texans quarterbacks coach Pep Hamilton talked to the Bears, too, while Packers quarterbacks coach/pass game coordinator Luke Getsy is the presumptive favorite.

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It’s important to remember Kirby Dach didn’t pick himself third overall.

The intense pressure and sky-high expectations — which he knows he hasn’t lived up to so far — that arise from that draft position aren’t his fault, his choice. Instead, they’re a significant burden to a kid from suburban Edmonton who just celebrated his 21st birthday last week.

But by coincidence or not, Dach’s mindset has seemingly undergone a sea change this January. He seems insistent now, and rightly so, that he alone controls his destiny on the Blackhawks and in hockey.

And right now, it has to be OK that he’s not what everyone wants him to be.

“I’ve kind of been put in a situation where I’m playing that third-line, checking, shutdown role,” he said Saturday. “If you look back at the games I’ve been playing like that, I’ve done a pretty good job in that role.

“Something that each player on this team has been doing is trying to find their own role. If that’s going to be my role, I’m going to play it like that. I’d like to score and get points, because that’s all everyone on social media thinks the game of hockey is about. [But] it’s a hard game, shutting down those lines. You’re getting the best players each night, and that’s a challenge that I want.”

In an interview back on Dec. 29, Dach sounded overwhelmed and ground down by the “outside noise” and negativity. He admitted then it was “tough to run away from” that, adding he didn’t want to be “known [for getting] a bunch of grade-A chances and can’t score.”

A few days later, however, Dach realized one method he could escape it all: by deleting social media apps, particularly Twitter and Instagram, off his phone. He immediately noticed a difference in his mental health and self-confidence.

“It was something I wanted to try, and [I] started having good games after,” he said. “After that initial week of deleting it, you stop going on your phone as much.”

In 11 games this month, Dach has tallied just one point but has allowed the fourth-fewest opponent scoring chances per minute among Hawks forwards. And that’s despite often matching up against opponents’ first lines — he took on Nathan MacKinnon, Gabriel Landeskog and Mikko Rantanen in both games against the Avalanche this past week, for example.

He also has more free time now to entertain himself in healthier ways, binge-watching “Yellowstone” and its prequel, “1883,” among several other TV shows.

And most importantly, he finally feels free to contemplate his present and future identity as a player — and be honest with himself and others while doing so.

“There’s good communication from the coaching staff, management and myself [about] what they believe I can be and what I think I can be,” he said. “[I’m] trying to find what’s the perfect fit and how it’s all going to work out down the road. Because this isn’t a one- or two-year project — this is my career. And I want to be able to develop into a player that can be here for a long time and have success.”

What he now sees in the mirror is a more defensive-oriented forward — perhaps in a similar mold to Flyers forward Sean Couturier, one of several role models he mentioned.

And sure, that might be a somewhat underwhelming outcome for a No. 3 pick. But he can’t adopt that as his personal problem.

“That’s where I want to get my game,” he said. “Not necessarily putting up 100 points every year, but just being a guy that obviously produces offensively — because that’s how you win games, [by] scoring more goals than the other team. But being able to shut down other lines and have that challenge each and every night, I thrive off that.”

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New Bears general manager Ryan Poles won’t have to turn on his television Sunday to know the value of a quarterback. The Chiefs, the team for which he worked for almost 13 years until the Bears hired him Tuesday, had never hosted an AFC championship game in their franchise history until they drafted quarterback Patrick Mahomes in 2017. When they throw open the gates of Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday, it will mark the fourth-straight season they’ve played a home game to try to get to the Super Bowl.

Poles was part of a Chiefs college scouting staff that drafted Mahomes, who, with Tom Brady retiring Saturday, became the defining quarterback in the sport. No matter his greatness, though, Mahomes is not nearly as instructive for Poles’ building of the Bears than the team he will be facing: the Bengals.

The lesson from both AFC finalists is the same: a transcendent quarterback can, by the pure power of his skill, turn around the fate of a franchise. The Bengals should ring more true in Chicago. As much as chairman George McCaskey would like to compare his team to the Chiefs — he’s hired a GM and coach from there in the last four years — the Bears look a lot more like the Bengals.

From 1991-2020, the Bengals had made the playoffs seven times — and not won a single game. The Bears have been nearly as inept; in the same 30-year span, they won four playoff games. Only two franchises that have fielded teams each season since 1991 have fewer playoff wins than the Bears do during that span — the Bengals and the Lions. If the Bengals win Sunday, they will go from zero playoff wins since 1991 to four — thus tying the Bears — this postseason alone.

That the Bengals are 60 minutes from a Super Bowl berth proves the power of the quarterback. Second-year star Joe Burrow masks a lot of flaws — even those of a franchise that had a reputation for being cheap and adding players with questionable character.

From 1991 on, the Bengals picked four quarterbacks in the top six of the NFL draft. Two were failures. Akili Smith, the third pick in 1999, started only 17 games over four years, winning just three times. David Klingler, the sixth pick in 1992, went 4-20 as the starter over four years. By contrast, Burrow has won seven games — as many as both men did in their Bengals career combined — since Nov. 21.

Before the Bengals made Burrow the No. 1 overall pick in 2020, they took another quarterback first overall: Carson Palmer in 2004. He started for seven seasons and lost five more games than he won. Palmer went to two Pro Bowls but was inconsistent; he led the NFL in passing touchdowns in 2005 and interceptions in 2007. At the end of the 2010 season, Palmer was so disgusted by the Bengals — who’d posted two winning seasons in 20 years — that he demanded a trade. When the Bengals wouldn’t move him, he went into quasi-retirement. He was eventually traded to the Raiders in the middle of the 2011 season.

Despite his pedigree, Palmer’s Bengals career wasn’t more accomplished than Andy Dalton, who started as a rookie because of theholdout. The third pick of the second round in 2011, Dalton went to three Pro Bowls, won nine more games than he lost and played in four wild-card round losses.

That Dalton was the best quarterback they’d drafted over the last 30 years is damning of the Bengals, given the picks they spent on Palmer, Smith and Klingler. As they were preparing to draft Burrow two years ago — the LSU national champion and Ohio native was a no-brainer — it was fair to wonder whether the Bengals, the common denominator in almost 30 years of inconsistent first-round quarterbacks, would ruin Burrow.

Quite the opposite has happened. Burrow has elevated the franchise in only his second year. If he stays healthy, he could have them in the playoffs every year for a decade.

That should be comforting for Bears fans currently wondering about Justin Fields. Four years after trading up to draft Mitch Trubisky second overall, the Bears did the same and took Fields No. 11.

If former GM Ryan Pace was right, Fields will have a chance to be one of the best quarterbacks in franchise history. If he’s wrong — and Fields didn’t do enough his rookie year to convince anyone he’d either be a star or a flop — than it won’t be because the franchise has a quarterbacks curse.

The Bengals must have felt that way over the last 30 years. Now look at them.

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