Don't believe for a second that Charles Oakley isn't taking his role as mentor to the Bulls' rookies seriously.

On Thursday, Oakley cooked a full Thanksgiving dinner for rookies Tyson Chandler and Trenton Hassell, as well as fifth-year guard Ron Mercer.

"It was great," Chandler said. "Oakley's a really good cook. It was nice of him to invite me over. We had ham, chicken, sweet potatoes, stuffing, greens, string beans, pie. He cooked everything. He must have gotten up early in the morning to start cooking."

Cooking for a large number of people is listed as one of Oakley's hobbies. But the veteran power forward downplayed his role as Thanksgiving host.

"It's no big thing," he said. "You've got to eat, you know. I don't have a special dish, I just cook."

It was a welcome act from Chandler's perspective. The 19-year-old is living away from home for the first time, with his family still in Southern California. Basketball coach Tom Lewis, who is a friend of the family and came out from California to serve as Chandler's advisor and housemate, said Oakley has done an amazing job of taking Chandler under his wing.

"We had a great time," Chandler said. "We played cards, ate, sat around and talked, watched the (football) games. I had a good Thanksgiving."