Bulls introduce Arizona Wildcat Dalen Terry to the media and NBA fans

Former Arizona Basketball player Dalen Terry was introduced by the Chicago Bulls organization on Monday.

It was a day full of action on Monday in Chicago as the Bulls introduced their first-round draft pick, Dalen Terry. “He’s played for a very good program,” explained Bulls President Artūras Karnišovas.

Before the draft, it was clear that Karnišovas and Bulls head coach Billy Donovan had long talks with both Xavier head coach Sean Miller, whom he says is a close friend, as well as Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd. And luckily, the Bulls were convinced that they had to draft Terry.

Donovan played college ball and professional ball, and he coached in college, winning back-to-back National Championships in 2006 and 2007 while coaching the Florida Gators. He then moved on to the Oklahoma City Thunder as a Head Coach, and now he’s coaching Dalen for the Bulls.

The Bulls are a young team that now has six Pac-12 players on the roster if all goes as planned:

1. Dalen Terry – Arizona
2. Zach LaVine – UCLA
3. Lonzo Ball – UCLA
4. Demar DeRozan – USC
5. Nikola Vucevic – USC
6. Troy Brown Jr. – Oregon

Both Coach Donovan and the Bulls President pointed out speaking with both Miller and Lloyd about Dalen playing at a high level for a Top Five NCAA team.

It seems being able to thrive in two systems in two years at such a young age is one of the main reasons the Bulls drafted the Wildcat. They both pointed out his drive to win games, his adaptability, his great attitude, and his flexibility when it comes to roles on the team.

Dalen explained why he is so excited to play for the Bulls, “Honestly when I worked out here, I just loved the gym, the facility, the people. It’s such a rich culture, who wouldn’t want to be (in Chicago), you know?”

Terry was drafted No. 18 overall in the first round of the 2022 NBA Draft. He shocked the world going before a lot of other players sitting in the arena waiting for their names to be called.

Dalen will wear the No. 25: “Because the late great Benji Wilson wore No. 25 — Obviously me being an Arizona Wildcat, Steve Kerr wore 25 here too — my uncle played with Benji (he passed away), he was one of his best friends, he told me the story when I was 10 years old.”

Terry was dressed in a sharp black suit with a black button-down shirt at LoLo’s Chicken and Waffles in Scottsdale Arizona surrounded by friends and family to wait for his name to be called.

Disappointed that he wasn’t invited to the event, it turns out the celebration in the restaurant was over the top, complete with an NBA/DT logo-ed repeat banner. LoLo’s erupted with joy when the No. 18 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft heard his name called.

Dalen’s father Al Terry and his mom Denise Fancy arrived in Chicago early Sunday evening. “The Chicago Bulls are a 1st class organization.” Al Terry told us, “I was really impressed with the executive team and staff. I could not be happier that Dalen is here!”

“God’s always been there for us, it’s big for him, super proud of him and all of that but he was born into this, this was the plan when he came into this world,” Dalen’s mom told The Arizona Republic right after he was drafted. She made a point to tell the world DT was drafted No. 18 as he was underrated in several mock drafts.

Zona Zealots will be following Dalen’s career starting with the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas shortly. Stay tuned, as he will continue to shock fans and the world!