Bulls top draft pick Rose greets young fan
Someone needs to tell Chicago Bulls No. 1 draft pick Derrick Rose that it's the fans that are supposed to be nervous around him, not the other way around.
The 19-year-old rookie sheepishly described his ascent from playground hoops on Chicago's South Side to the NCAA finals during a meet-and-greet with youngsters participating in a Bulls summer youth camp in Lisle on Friday.
The soft-spoken star stammered through much of his biography, but came to life when one brave camper asked about an opponent's last-second shot that sent Rose's Memphis Tigers into overtime against the Kansas Jayhawks for the NCAA men's basketball championship this year.
"I don't know, man," he said through clinched teeth and a tight grin. "It was just a crazy shot where God had to do something with that, because that was just unbelievable."
The Jayhawks went on to defeat Memphis in overtime. But that didn't knock any of the luster off Rose's cache. The Bulls made him the overall top pick a few weeks later.
"I never thought I'd be here," he said. "This was my favorite team growing up."
The young athletes sat rapt to Rose's recollections of learning the game on outdoor playgrounds and his long workouts at Memphis.
"You all are very fortunate to be here because when I was your age, we didn't have any kind of organization and we had to go out there and play against older guys," he said.
Rose said his competitive streak is what pushes him to excel.
"I'm so competitive, I want to be the first one out of the elevator," he joked.
The campers said it's a boost to hear a professional talk about working hard to achieve his goals.
"It's interesting to hear about the kind of effort he put into his game," said 16-year-old Eric Bonderud of Barrington. "It makes me feel like I could do it too if I practice as much as he did."
Rose told the group how his coach at Memphis had to kick him out of the gym after practices because he was afraid Rose would hurt himself if he kept practicing the extra three or four more hours he was used to.
The youngsters also have high hopes for the Bulls this season after meeting Rose.
"Maybe they'll be great," said 8-year-old Vishnu Chakroborty of Darien. "Because he's a great player, so then they'll have a good chance to win lots of games."