"When Rip Hamilton joins the Bulls on Thursday, it won't be a totally unfamiliar situation.

Hamilton knew forward Luol Deng even before he entered the NBA, having played with Deng's brother, Ajou, on the 1999 Connecticut team that won the national championship.

Deng was in high school when he first met Hamilton.

''Rip is a terrific player,'' Deng said. ''He's going to help us out a lot. Has a lot of experience, and he's a great teammate. I've known Rip for a long time, and I'm really excited he's going to be with us.""