Derrick Rose

Recent Q & A

Question:

hey derrick just wanted to let u know i'm a big fan all the way from africa!u shud come visit soon!what are ur hobbies?

Answer:

Hi! It's still crazy to me that I have fans all over the world, so thanks for the support. My hobbies are like most people my age... I like to watch movies, hang out with friends and family, play video games, listening to music,play ping pong, and of course, basketball!

Question:

Hi!Rose!I‘m your fan Chinese.How do you feel your tour in China?

Answer:

My tour through China was amazing. The fan support was incredible and I got to meet a lot of great people. I also got to play with some really talented players so that was fun as well. I always get treated so well that I can't wait to come back!

Question:

Hey I'm like also a huge fan of you. You're my favorite player of all-time. I plan to try out for the basketball team this year. What should I do to make the team?

Answer:

Thanks, I appreciate that. Make sure to spend the summer practicing and working as hard as you can so you're ready for the tryout. Focus on areas where you aren't as good as you'd like to be and spend a lot of time trying to improve in those areas. Good luck!

Question:

Was the Chicago Bulls always your favorite basketball team D.Rose?

Answer:

Absolutely. I grew up watching them and cheering for them. The Bulls have always been my favorite team so it's a dream come true to be able to put on the jersey and play for the people of Chicago.

Question:

Hey I am like a huge fan of you, you are my favorite basketball player of all time. I want to play in the WNBA one day can you give me some advice on how to get there?

Answer:

Thanks. I appreciate that. The best advice I can give is to just work harder than everyone else. Don't be satisfied with a good game or season. Always push yourself to get better each day. Identify areas you can get better, and work hard to improve. Good luck!

Updates

Fri, Dec 30th 2011, 15:24

Derrick Rises to Superstar Status

The Maurice Podoloff trophy stands sentry in the living room of his “little townhouse” near the Bulls’ practice facility. Every day, on the way to the Skittles machine or out the door to the Berto Center, Derrick Rose can admire what he accomplished last season.

The trophy represents the past, which makes Rose wince, and more importantly, it’s a testament to his basketball education.

“I look at it here and there,” he said, when I asked if he thinks about what he accomplished last season. “I can’t be caught up in it. That’s just from working hard. I know if I work hard every summer, I don’t have to think about it while I’m on the court. It’s just going to happen.”

Rose says basketball is about reaction — “reacting here, reacting there”— and while he talks, he starts snapping his fingers to simulate reaction. Rose is often asked if he plans his mesmerizing moves, which sent adults into childlike hysteria last season, and his answer is always the same.

“If you think too much,” he said, “you’re going to mess up.”

Rose appreciates the enormity of his ascendance last season, but now that a new season has begun, most of his time is spent reacting. You saw how he reacted in the season opener, dropping in a floater in the lane over Pau Gasol with 4.8 seconds left to beat the Lakers.

Rose might be insanely famous, and thanks to his recent contract extension, insanely wealthy, but at his core, he is just a 23-year-old kid yearning for perfection in an imperfect world. And he’s unhappy with last season, his best season, because last season was not perfect. Last season ended badly.

“It was the best year and the saddest year,” Rose told me the other day.

After a long practice and a group interview about the season opener against the Lakers, I talked to Rose in the hallway that separates the practice floor from the locker room at the Berto Center to inform him that he was named, without a vote, ESPN Chicago’s Sportsman of the Year.