Until now, what we knew about Derrick Rose came from watching his seamless command of a basketball game, knowing that somewhere behind that stoic face lurked a blink-of-an-eye crossover move followed by a no-look, no-nonsense bullet pass.
Or maybe the 6-foot-3-inch Simeon All-American would suddenly kick into turbo-drive and with his chin brushing the rim unleash some kind of monster jam.All we could know about this once-in-a-generation point guard was that he helped the Wolverines become the first Public League team to win back-to-back state championships.
Simeon’s self-imposed media ban resulted in players like Rose being perceived in a one-dimensional context.
Until now.
The end of his high school career meant Rose could begin to tell his story.
And there is quite a tale behind this soft-spoken 18-year-old senior who was the overwhelming choice as Mr. Basketball of Illinois in statewide balloting of coaches and media.
His favorite book is “Think Big,” the story of how African-American neurosurgeon Benjamin S. Carson overcame an inner-city upbringing in Detroit and Boston to attend Yale and eventually become the first to successfully separate conjoined twins.
“When he was younger, his mother made him read every day,” Rose said of Carson. “He became an honor-roll student in high school and then became a doctor. It made a big impression on me.”
The person he admires most?
“My mother [Brenda Rose],” he said. “People don’t know how much influence she’s had into my success. If I make it to the NBA, the first thing is to buy my mom a house–even before I buy myself something to eat.
“That’s the sole reason why I want to play in the NBA. She’s been working so hard her whole life. The reason I’m always so happy is because of her.”
Rose remembers dribbling a ball in the house as a little kid and shooting it into his mom’s laundry basket. After three warnings to desist, Mom came after her youngest child with the same belt that kept older brothers Dwayne, Reggie and Allan in line at their home in the rough-and-tumble Englewood community.
Reggie Rose believes baby brother got his shooting touch from him, the leaping ability from Allan and the ballhandling skills from Dwayne. And the speed?
“I don’t know because none of us is that fast,” Reggie Rose said. “Maybe it came from running away from that belt.”
Derrick Rose was smart enough to run right into the protective arms of his grandmother, Carolyn Brumfield, who died eight years ago.
“After my grandma died, I couldn’t eat for a week. I still pray to Grandma. Every time I have a bad game, I say I’m sorry to her. She was the one who influenced me to always play hard.”
Even as he walks the halls of Simeon being treated like royalty–one female student shouts out: “Derrick Rose, I love you!”–Rose never strays from his self-perception as an average teenager hitting the books.
He is getting an A in Spanish, B’s in African-American history and music and a C in literature. He carries a 3.2 grade-point average and is considered a classroom leader by Spanish teacher Dianne Harmon.
Rose’s steady girlfriend of the last two years is Dana Lambert, a junior at Young. Her twin sister, Donna, is dating Marcus Jordan, Michael’s son.
“The first time I met Michael, he said to me, `What’s your name?’ I said, `Derrick.’ Then he smiled and said: `I’m just playing. I know who you are.’ That was pretty cool.”
Rose enjoyed playing on the Jordan home court.
“It’s amazing,” he said. “He has a full-sized court in his house.”
Would Rose like to have the same? “Absolutely. I love the game so much.”
Rose averaged 18.5 points, 7.5 assists and seven rebounds this season and will attend Memphis next season.
How would Rose like to be known?
“Tell people that I’m humble and intelligent,” he said. “I stand back from all the showy stuff and don’t like all the attention on me.
“It’s something God just made for me, and I’m glad he did it.”
