Rose is worthy of being No. 1 draft pick
Forget about the missed FTs — Memphis freshman was heroic all season
 Eric Gay / AP Memphis' Derrick Rose shoots over UCLA's Josh Shipp during the Final Four on April 5. |
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No, I’m not talking about what would have been had he chosen to play at Memphis next season. Be serious. There never was a chance Rose would spend another year with the Tigers. The only question is whether he will be the first player selected in the NBA draft, or the second. (The accurate answer is yet to be determined; the correct answer is “first”.)
The regret for Memphis fans should involve Rose’s feet at the free throw line with 10.8 seconds left in the NCAA championship game against Kansas. After Rose was purposefully fouled to give KU once last chance to save the game, he went to the line for a couple of free throws that could have sealed it for the Tigers. And there, on the first of two attempts, he backed away from the line as he released the ball.
We’ve all seen it before. It’s the universal signal among foul shooters that, loosely translated, means, “I’d really rather be anywhere else.” Not surprisingly, Rose didn’t make that one. Given a second chance, Rose kept his toes where they belonged and connected. That only meant Mario Chalmers’ 3-pointer forced overtime instead of mercifully ending the game right there.
Here’s how good Derrick Rose is, though: This will not be his legacy. He was so good so often in his only season as a Tiger, so heroic so commonly in his one trip to the Final Four, that it became clear he was the biggest reason Memphis got as close as it did to a national championship.
Rose scored 14 points and passed for an assist during a second-half stretch that placed Memphis (temporarily) in control of the championship game. His powerful, acrobatic finishes confirmed that he was the most talented backcourt player to reach the Final Four since—since when? Since Isiah Thomas in 1981? Does that sound too heady for you? Well, let’s check: Dwyane Wade? That’s a tough one, but yeah, I’m OK with it. Jay Williams, Mike Bibby, Kenny Anderson? Yep, Rose is the best since Isiah.
His play in San Antonio declared that he, not Kansas State’s Michael Beasley, should be the No. 1 overall pick in June’s NBA draft. I’ve talked to at least a dozen college coaches who’ve preferred Rose since at least midway through the season. At the Final Four, there was a pro scout or two leaning Rose’s way, also.
It was easy to see why. Rose destroyed star point guards D.J. Augustin of Texas and Darren Collison of UCLA in NCAA Tournament games. Rose’s totals in those matchups: 14-of-26 shooting, 46 points, three turnovers. His opponents: 5-of-27 shooting, 18 points, nine turnovers.
“There are not too many guys who have the athleticism and the strength and the size that he has. And the quickness,” said Memphis legend Penny Hardaway, a former NBA All-Star. “Only a few guys have that in the NBA. Guys like Baron Davis—real strong body, but kind of quick.”
Memphis coach John Calipari and his assistants first were tipped off to go check out Rose in a tiny gym during an AAU tournament in Houston, when Rose was 13. “I just busted out laughing,” Calipari said. “I said, ‘This kid is ridiculous.’ He was so fast.” But on smaller high school courts his speed advantage was muted. Only when Rose began to perform on the larger, 94-foot courts that are standard in college and pro basketball was it possible to see the profound advantage he enjoyed over those who would be his peers.
“He’s even faster and more athletic than we ever thought,” Tigers assistant Derek Kellogg said. “If we could play the game on a football field, it would be even better. He truly has a second level of athleticism that separates him not only from most point guards, but most players in the country. When you see him first-hand, day-to-day every day, it’s absolutely amazing. As Cal would say, he makes sit sit-down plays. Where you just sit down and say, ‘Thank goodness he’s in a Tiger uniform.’ “
There’s no doubt that playing this season for Memphis benefited Rose. Try finding a scout who proclaimed him the No. 1 prospect in this loaded class. Operating the Tigers’ dribble-drive motion allowed him to improve his decision-making ability. Playing in Conference USA probably wasn’t bad for him—it allowed him to gain confidence on the way to facing NCAA Tournament challenges.
Rose is cooperative with reporters who wish to talk basketball but never so eager when the subject is Derrick Rose. “We’ve got this luxury bus and DirecTV is on it,” Kellogg said. “And the whole team will be watching, and as soon as his picture comes on the TV he just looks away. Like, immediately turns away. It’s like he doesn’t want the attention and the credit.
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Rose did talk comfortably the day before a blowout Final Four victory over UCLA. He admitted with pride that Miami Heat coach Pat Riley left his team to scout some Tigers games and determine, in person, what Rose might be able to do for his floundering team. He explained he trained himself to be a point guard by watching videotapes and studying such NBA players as Steve Nash and Jason Kidd—as well as Deron Williams when he was “the glue” during Illinois’ brilliant 2004-05 season.
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Rose has lost only 14 games in his past five years of organized basketball and agonized over each one. Before the Kansas game, the most punishing loss was against future North Carolina guard Bobby Frasor and Brother Rice when Rose was a sophomore at Chicago’s Simeon High. That was in the Illinois quarterfinals, the winner earning the right to go “Down State” for the championship round. “I fouled out of the game,” Rose said. “We were up 13 and they came back and I knew I couldn’t do anything about it. Worst feeling of my life.”
Until Monday, April 7. He called this one “a heartbreaker.”
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