When Joakim Noah traveled with his Chicago Bulls teammates to play in Orlando in November, I had one question that he couldn’t answer. And trust me, stumping Joakim is not an easy thing to do.

I asked him if there was anyone that he could meet that would leave him star struck.

It took four months, but on his return appearance in Orlando Wednesday, he finally had an answer for me.

During a road trip to Washington last month to take on the Wizards, Noah and the Bulls made a side trip to the White House to visit with President Barack Obama.

Obama is a well-known Bulls fan from his political days in Chicago and invited the team to tour his new pad the day before the game.

It was Noah’s third trip to the White House, having gone after each of the Gators’ two national championships. This experience, however, was different for Noah, who was a bit more reluctant to make the first two trips.

“The first time was a situation where I didn’t really like what (President George Bush) represented, but at the same time I understood that it was the best for everyone,” said Noah, referring to his opposition to the war in Iraq. “I have a lot of respect for this country, it’s given me great opportunities, but I went the first time because it was for the team. This time, it was just more exciting for me.”

The Bulls were the first sports team to visit the White House during Obama’s presidency. The second will likely be the national champion UF football team.

During the visit, Noah got a chance to visit with the president and try his hand at bowling in the presidential bowling alley, which he wasn’t able to do the first two times.

“I was very proud, very honored to be the first sports team to go visit him,” he said, though he wasn’t willing to say who the better bowler is. “It was definitely exciting. I don’t think I’ve ever felt like that. It was the first time I felt really star struck.”

Noah said it was an added bonus that Obama referred to him as “Little Yannick,” after his father, tennis legend Yannick Noah.

“It was a trip that he’s such a Bulls fan,” he said. “He knew all of the players. He called Kirk (Hinrich) ‘Captain Kirk.’ He knew all the nicknames, all the stats. It was amazing.”

Obama was on hand the next night to see the team take on the Wizards. The game was delayed five minutes while he made his way past well-wishers to his front-row seat.

Chicago could have used a bit more stimulus that night, as the team laid an egg and lost 113-90.