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Jeff Hanisch/US Presswire

Bucks rookie Brandon Jennings has been one of the early surprises, averaging 20.5 points, six assists and 5.5 rebounds.

DEERFIELD, Ill. -- Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose could never have done what Brandon Jennings did last season.

Instead of going to college, the Milwaukee Bucks rookie point guard spent the year playing for a professional team in Italy. The move was well-publicized and Jennings started earning money before many of his peers, but Rose could never see himself doing anything like that.

"I don't see how he did it. I miss my family too much," Rose said on Monday. "It was hard going away for college, going to Memphis, about an eight-hour drive, and he's going all the way overseas -- so big ups to him. He was blessed to do that."

Rose remembers playing Jennings on the high school AAU circuit and was impressed with his game even then.

"[In] AAU, we played against each other like three times. When he played for SoCal; him and Kevin Love and all them. They beat us all three times, but they were real competitive games."

Jennings, who is off to a hot start for the Bucks (averaging almost 21 points, six rebounds and six assists a game), will undoubtedly garner a lot of attention from the Bulls' defense Tuesday night.

"He's quick, he's got the ball in his hands a lot," Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro said after Tuesday morning's shootaround. "He's shooting the ball better, so he'll be a focal point for us tonight. He gets in the open court, he puts a lot of pressure on you, so we have to contain him as best we can."

Thomas out: Tyrus Thomas was sent home from the shootaround with flu-like symptoms and may miss the Bucks game. Conspiracy theorists will wonder if Thomas is really sick or if he is still just upset about his situation. The Bulls forward didn't play in the fourth quarter of Sunday night's loss in Miami, he watched Monday's deadline go by without signing a new contract (like NBA draft-mate Rajon Rondo) and he received a pep talk from Lindsey Hunter at the end Monday's practice.

Del Negro reiterated that the young forward still may play against the Bucks.

"Tyrus is sick," Del Negro said. "We'll see how he feels tonight."

Seeing Skiles again: Joakim Noah was asked on Monday if there was any advantage in playing against former coach Scott Skiles, who is now Milwaukee's coach.

"No, I don't think so," he said. "I think that we've got to come out with the right mindset and play hard for the whole game."

As for playing the Bucks without leading scorer Michael Redd, who is out with sore knee, Noah paid his old coach a compliment on Tuesday.

"Redd's a helluva player, but Coach Skiles' teams always come ready to play," Noah said. "This is an important game for us. We have to win. We just got to come with the right mindset and come ready to play."

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