Jack Haley's Comment: I'm A Pro Player -- Not Just Rodman's Baby- Sitter

The Chicago Bulls acquired Dennis Rodman in a trade with the San Antonio Spurs on Oct. 2.

They signed reserve center Jack Haley on Oct. 5.

On Nov. 2, Haley was placed on injured reserve for tendinitis of the left knee.

He has not played since, missing 80 regular-season games and the entire playoffs.

Is it any wonder that one of the signs in KeyArena during this championship series reads: "NBA Babysitter of the Year Award Goes to Jack Haley"?

"Oh, nice sign up there for me," Haley said, sitting courtside after a Bulls practice yesterday.

"That's the kind of stuff that irks you. I want to be known for who I am, what I do. I'm a professional basketball player. I've been in the NBA eight years. I've played at UCLA. You like to be given some credit."

Haley, though, is known as Rodman's sidekick, the player who keeps the highly strung rebounder in control. The perception was enhanced last season when they played at San Antonio.

They became friends there after Rodman appreciated Haley's kamikaze practice style. Once Haley started charting Rodman's rebounds during games, the two became inseparable.

Haley and his wife double-dated with Rodman and Madonna. When Rodman fought with San Antonio management, Haley acted as an intermediary.

So the natural assumption was Haley came to the Bulls as a calming presence for their media maven.

"To me, it's an insult," he said. "People think I take care of Dennis, I carry his bags. You can see in the games, Dennis is in total control out there."

Rodman and his flop can be seen tonight in Game 5 of the NBA Finals against the Seattle SuperSonics. Haley will not be as visible.

Some have suggested that Haley even is faking his injury, which he vehemently denies. He said the knee has had two reconstructive surgeries and has been drained numerous times.

"How many doctors have to cut into me before I'm (not) faking it?" he asked.

Apparently he needs a few more scars on the swollen knee to make a persuasive argument.

Despite the criticism, Haley is enjoying the Bulls run through the playoffs. He feels like a contributing member of the team because Chicago's Phil Jackson has let him participate in a player-coach capacity.

Haley earns icon status

"I want to be a coach, and I'm coaching with the Dream Team," he said of Jackson and his staff.

Haley needed something to do after playing only one game for the Bulls. Despite this nebulous status, his giant-sized likeness is plastered on the side of a building in downtown Chicago.

"I'm the 15th man and I'm an icon in this town," he said recently.

Only in the Windy City, where Haley has blown in on Rodman's boa feathers.

"We're completely different, but opposites attract," he said of Rodman. "What makes two friends really close? I don't know."

They arrived in the NBA from polar extremes. Haley grew up in Seal Beach, Calif., as son of a former U.S. surfing champion, Jack Haley Sr.

His father put him on a surfboard when he was 3 months old and he has surfed since. Haley did not play organized high-school sports but was the starting center at a local community college. He eventually played for UCLA.

Rodman grew up in Dallas and also did not play in high school. He played at a junior college before transferring to Southern Oklahoma State.

Now they surf together. Rodman, a tattooed, rainbow-haired, Harley-riding, leather-wearing, celeb-of-the-moment, is, like, a total dude.

Haley, whose father manufactures surfboards, gave Rodman a 10-foot, 3-inch plank as a birthday gift last year. He took his pal surfing in Huntington Beach and proclaimed: "For a first-timer, I thought he did pretty good."

Haley also is building surfboards for Bulls teammates Jud Buechler and Luc Longley as presents if they win the NBA title. (They still get the boards if they somehow blow the series to the Sonics).

Haley spends his offseasons in Hawaii and Seal Beach so he can surf as much as possible.

"I don't know if I'm the world's tallest surfer," he said. "But I think I'm one of the world's best for being 6-10."

Now, there's something in Haley's favor.