DeRozan has battled Bucks' Holiday since they were kids
MILWAUKEE - DeMar DeRozan and Jrue Holiday have a spirited rivalry going this season, and it continued in Game 1 of the Bulls-Bucks playoff series.
This is a matchup that goes back a long, long way between the two Los Angeles-area natives.
"We basically grew up together, playing against each other, AAU basketball through high school," DeRozan said after Wednesday's shootaround in Milwaukee. "I knew his family, he knew my family. So we go way back to when we was kids."
Holiday has said he saw DeRozan dunk as a sixth-grader. During their senior year of high school, there was a colossal matchup between DeRozan's Compton team and Holiday's Campbell Hall squad at the Ocean View tournament in Huntington Beach, Calif.
In the ESPN recruiting rankings for the Class of 2008, Holiday was No. 4 in the country and DeRozan No. 8. Campbell Hall won that night and the rivalry continued the following year when DeRozan went to USC and Holiday to UCLA.
UCLA beat USC twice during the regular season, but the Trojans came back with a 65-55 win over UCLA in the Pac-12 tournament semifinals with DeRozan outscoring Holiday 21-1.
Both players entered the NBA a year later. Now Holiday has been given the assignment of trying to slow down DeRozan this season for Milwaukee.
"Ever since we was kids, I remember the same way he is now, he was like that when we was 12 years old," DeRozan said. "Some people are just gifted with the ability of awareness, quickness, a feel, anticipation. All those things he shows now, he always had that. I just think he's one of those players that's gifted with that ability to do the things he do defensively."
Southern California was loaded with basketball talent back then. DeRozan played against Paul George in high school and was knocked out of the CIF playoffs by Klay Thompson's Santa Margarita team. The top-ranked player in that class was Brandon Jennings, who played at nearby Compton Dominguez High School before switching to Oak Hill Academy.
DeRozan said he usually didn't have to deal with all the Holidays at the same time. Jrue's older brother Justin, who played for the Bulls, and younger brother Aaron, are also in the NBA.
"Mainly just him," DeRozan said. "It was the older brother too, but mainly just Jrue since we was the same class. Every time we played against each other it was always memorable. High school we played against each other multiple times in tournaments. Jrue was always one of my favorite players to compete against."
Floyd's sell job: Since DeMar DeRozan was reflecting on his high school days, he was also asked about the recruiting pitch Tim Floyd used to get him to commit to USC.
"I'm pretty sure it had to do something with a lot of cuss words," DeRozan said with a laugh. "He sold me on staying home and playing. So it worked. But I'm pretty sure it had a lot of cuss words in it."
That USC team, coached by Floyd, also included future Bulls Taj Gibson and Nikola Vucevic. They won the Pac-12 tourney and reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Bull horns: Bucks guard George Hill was ruled out of Game 2 with an abdominal strain. Proviso East High School product Jevon Carter helped fill during for Game 1. ... On March 31, Giannis Antetokounmpo moved past Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to become Milwaukee's all-time leading scorer.
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