Englewood native Derrick Rose wins coveted NBA award

By J. Coyden Palmer

Just two years ago, Derrick Rose was leading Simeon High School to their second straight IHSA state title in boys’ basketball. Now the 20 year-old point guard for the Bulls is leading the team through the NBA playoffs and picking up awards as he goes. Last week Rose was named the NBA Rookie of the Year. Rose joins the likes of Michael Jordan and Elton Brand as past franchise winners.

Rose ran away with the award after receiving 111 first place votes. His closest competitor was O.J. Mayo who received five votes. Rose was the number one overall selection in the 2008 NBA Draft. He said winning the award was important to him because it validated his selection as the top pick.

“When I first came into the season, my biggest thing was to get this award,” Rose said. “I was telling you all that I didn’t care, but I did. You really do want this award. There was a lot of talent out there that I had to go against. People doubted if I could do it or not so I used that as motivation throughout the season.”

Rose has made a big difference for the Bulls at the gate as well. Attendance is up from the previous year and fans believe the franchise is headed in the right direction. For the past few seasons the Bulls have been missing a guard who could penetrate the middle and kick the ball out to the array of perimeter shooters on the team. Rose has filled that void and has brought back a level of excitement to the franchise for fans.

“I will always be a basketball fan but I have to be honest, the last few years I haven’t watched the Bulls as much because they were rather boring and I thought they didn’t have a chance to win a title,” said lifelong Chicagoan and South Side resident Frank Adams. “Even when they were in the playoffs two years ago I never thought they would advance. I think Derrick makes people want to believe again, especially since he’s from Chicago. It’s great to see a kid from one of the city’s toughest neighborhoods achieve success. Perhaps he can inspire some of these other kids.”

Robert Smith was Rose’s coach at Simeon. He’s known Derrick since he was in grammar school and said not only is he a phenomenal player, but a nice young man.

“He’s soft spoken but very determined on the court because he’s a competitor and wants to win,” Smith said. “He was a kid who didn’t have any discipline problems and he’s very coachable because he wants to learn.”

Bulls General Manager John Paxton had similar thoughts when speaking of Rose. He said Derrick has the characteristics you want to see in your franchise player. He said Rose’s demeanor makes him easy to work with and you know he will stay out of trouble. The last couple of seasons the Bulls had locker room issues with some of the actions of players causing a revolt that led to the dismissal of Scott Skiles as coach and the trading of Ben Wallace to Cleveland. Rose’s leadership skills continue to develop and it’s the reason Paxson and others know they have a gem in Derrick.

“For Derrick to take the ball from Day 1 to lead our basketball team to play at the level he played at is really, really significant and certainly means that as we go forward here, we’ve got the guy that we are going to build around,” Paxson said.

The success of Rose also bodes well for Chicago Public Schools. Traditionally, the Public League has always been a hotbed for college recruiters, especially guards. CPS players have been a large part of the NBA since its merger with the ABA in the 1970s. Rose is currently going against another CPS alum in the first round of the playoffs as Kevin Garnett of the Celtics graduated from Farragut High School. The quality of play in the Public League for girls and boys pushes many to success at the next level. Last year Rose went against Crane alum Sherron Collins in the NCAA championship game. Collins’ Jayhawks won, but CPS officials were proud to see two of their own representing the league on such a national stage. Winning the award will only help to continue that tradition, Smith said.

“The success of a player like Derrick lets us as coaches know we are doing a good job at giving these kids a foundation,” Smith said. “It will keep the doors open for other kids to have the higher education experience and even beyond if they have the talent and work ethic.”
Story posted: 5/2/2009

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