Rose never wanted to wear No. 23 in NBA
Derrick Rose wore No. 23 in college at Memphis. But that wouldn't have been his choice for an NBA number, even if a team other than the Bulls had won the draft lottery.
"Probably not. I really wanted the No. 1," Rose said before Saturday's game. "I'm superstitious, so I really wanted No. 1 pretty bad. That was my original number, so why not wear it my whole career?
"At Memphis, (No. 23) was to remind people not to forget about Chicago."
LeBron James made news Thursday by announcing his plans to give up wearing No. 23 next season and saying he thinks it should be retired by all NBA teams in honor of Michael Jordan.
James' suggestion - and his plan to switch to No. 6, from his Olympic jersey - was met with disapproval in certain NBA cities, because Bill Russell and Julius Erving both wore No. 6.
"That number (6) should be retired," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said Friday. "You know who No. 6 is, right?"
Rivers meant Russell, not Erving.
Rose didn't want to take a side on the "Retire No. 23" initiative.
"If that's what he thinks, I can't say anything about anyone's opinion," Rose said. "If he wants to change his number, he can. It's his number to change."
Rose returns to school: Simeon High School held a ceremony on Saturday retiring the No. 25 jersey worn by Ben Wilson, Derrick Rose and several others.
Next week will mark the 25th anniversary of Wilson's shooting death. Widely regarded as the No. 1 player in the country heading into the 1984-85 season, Wilson was shot outside the school on the eve of the first game.
"I was happy just to see my old teachers, some of my classmates I haven't seen in years," Rose said.
Pargo sits out: Guard Jannero Pargo didn't play at all Saturday after arriving to the locker room about 30 minutes late.
"Nothing wrong, I just didn't see the matchups tonight," said Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro. "(Thaddeus) Young and (Andre) Iguodala played a ton of minutes. We're going to need J.P. It just wasn't his night tonight."
Speaking of six: If LeBron James is thinking ahead to free agency, he won't step on any toes by asking for No. 6 with the Bulls. The most recent players to wear that number were Shannon Brown, Randy Holcomb, Chris Jefferies, Travis Best and Khalid Reeves.
Bull horns: Referee Danny Crawford worked Saturday's game, the night after his son Drew, a Naperville Central graduate, made his Northwestern basketball debut with 2 points in 12 minutes. - Luol Deng and the Bulls will sponsor a Thanksgiving dinner for more than 700 at the Pacific Garden Mission in Chicago on Sunday.