Losing is already taking a toll on Bulls rookie forward Caleb Wilson

NEW YORK – This is unfamiliar territory for Caleb Wilson.

And lately, it’s been a tough residency for him to live in.

Enough so that midway through the third quarter against the Knicks, Bulls coach Tiago Splitter had seen enough. Didn’t like the offense from the 20-year-old rookie, didn’t like the defense, and definitely didn’t like the body language.

So the tough-love moment resulted in Splitter sitting Wilson the rest of the game.

“You got to be more resilient,” Splitter said of the decision after Wednesday’s loss. “The game is long and I try to put myself in his shoes. Caleb probably has never been in this situation in his life. He’s always been on the winning side, winning games, and now you’ve got to be resilient even when you’re down 20, 30, 40 (points), it doesn’t matter. It’s a learning experience for sure.”

Splitter was 100% accurate on one point: Wilson has never been in this situation.

Before needing season-ending left hand surgery last year as a freshman at North Carolina, he helped lead the Tar Heels to a 19-5 record. UNC had a two-game losing streak one time.

As a senior at Holy Innocents’ Episcopal School Wilson took the program to their first-ever Georgia state championship, posting a 27-4 record and dropping a cool 33 points in the title game.

By the time Wilson & Co. play Atlanta next week, they realistically could have a 10th loss of the season in 11 games. One more loss than Wilson suffered in his previous two years of basketball combined.

Welcome to the Bulls, Rook.

“It’s never been like this for me, but I’ve just got to figure out a way through it,” Wilson admitted. “Never been through this my whole life.”

Now before outsiders start worrying that the Bulls have already broken the most talented first-year player they’ve had since Derrick Rose, take a breath. Wilson already has.

“Of course I’ve got to be resilient and help us come back from those big deficits,” Wilson said. “I have before but I just didn’t do that (Wednesday).

“It’s kind of difficult out there right now because some games it’s hard for me to get touches and things like that so I have to kind of figure out other ways to affect the game. It’s hard to catch a rhythm that way but I’ll figure it out.”

Just in case he doesn’t he also has some veteran teammates willing to help. That was the case in the locker room of Madison Square Garden after the loss, as Norman Powell was giving Wilson a few tips and reminding him to keep his head up.

“I think he takes a lot on himself, especially when we get down, you know, shouldering it and trying to do it himself,” Powell said of Wilson. “It’s all about looking within yourself and figuring out how you can get better and help impact winning.

“Being the fourth pick and coming in here, people were looking at him to kind of flip the franchise and bring some entertaining basketball. It’s a lot to shoulder but you’re going to go through it. This team has been trying to rebuild and instill a winning culture, a winning foundation, and you’re not going to do that on Day 1. You got to go through it to learn and adjust, see how we can get better.”

Competing for all four quarters is a good place for Wilson to start, but he sounded like a quick learner.

“Honestly, I feel like I should have kept playing more later in the game,” Wilson said of his early night. “I was really frustrated. Hopefully it doesn’t happen again but if it does just keep playing through it.”