HoopsHype.com NBA Blogs - Gery Woelfel

It seemed like clockwork.

Every year while her son, Derrick, was in grade school in Chicago, Brenda Rose would get a phone call from one of his teachers. It wasn’t that Derrick had any disciplinary problems. And it wasn’t because he was struggling academically.

“My teachers would almost hate me because I rarely talked or asked questions,’’ said Rose, the Chicago Bulls’ gifted young point guard. “So they would call my mother and talk to her about that.

“They never said anything about my grades; I usually got good grades. They were wondering why I stayed to myself and didn’t talk much.’’

Now, at the age of 21, Rose is pretty much the same person. He is still rather introverted and, if he had his druthers, wouldn’t spend a lot of time conversing.

Some observers have misinterpreted Rose’s aloofness as arrogance. Nothing could be further from the truth, Rose said.

“I am shy,’’ Rose said. “I always have been. I like to stick to myself. I don’t know why I’m like that, but that’s just the way I am.

“I could probably go without talking all day. I know there are guys (in the NBA) that are always talking, that are always active. I’m not like that.’’

Rose is a man of few words on the basketball court as well. Trash-talking isn’t a part of his game. He lets his game do the talking.

Last season, as a rookie, Rose’s exquisite game spoke volumes. He more lived up to the immense hype that was heaped on him after being the No. 1 overall selection in the 2008 NBA draft. Rose averaged 16.8 points and 6.3 assists en route to Rookie of the Year honors.

More importantly, Rose was highly instrumental in the Bulls advancing to the Eastern Conference playoffs where, against the Celtics in the opening round, he was simply spectacular. Rose seemingly did everything in that electrifying seven-game series, averaging 19.7 points, 6.4 assists and 6.3 rebounds.

It was the type of prime-time performance most players would talk about for the rest of the summer. Rose isn’t like most players. His Bulls were eliminated from the playoffs. Their season had, in Rose’s humble opinion, ended prematurely.

It wasn’t the way Rose was accustomed to having his basketball seasons end. After all, throughout his entire athletic career, he’s been a winner. He won championships in grade school. He won two Illinois Class AA state championships at Simeon High School. In his one season at Memphis, the Tigers advanced to the NCAA title game.

So, when the Bulls failed to advance beyond the first round of the playoffs last season, a bitter taste formed in his mouth.

“It was definitely tough, really tough,’’ Rose said. “I wasn’t used to losing; I’ve been used to being in the championship and then not to be in it was …

“But I came to realize we still need a couple of more pieces for our team to be an NBA-championship caliber team.’’

Rose isn’t about to boldly predict the current Bulls are title bound, but he firmly believes they are on the right track to becoming a title contender. Winning an NBA title, Rose said, is almost an obsession with him.

“Most definitely, I want to win an NBA championship,’’ Rose said. “People remember you first as a person, whether you were a good person.’’

“Then, as a player, people remember you for whether you won a championship. I want to be remembered as good person and someone who won an NBA championship.’’

Rose could also be remembered as one of the premier point guards Dr. Naismith’s game has ever witnessed. Lindsey Hunter, Rose’s veteran teammate, contends Rose possesses all the necessary ingredients to be a special player.

“Derrick has the potential to be ‘The Guy’ when you talk about point guards,’’ said Hunter, now in his 17th NBA season. “He has the size, he has the agility, he has the playmaking abilities.

“And he has that ‘It’ factor, just like LeBron has the ‘It’ factor.’’

Rose hasn’t exhibited “It’’ as much as he’s wanted to this season. But there’s a viable reason for that. During a preseason game against the Indiana Pacers, Rose pulled a tendon in his right ankle.

Rose conceded the injury was “very painful’’ and that’s he’s still not 100 percent healthy. Yet, in recent games, Rose is starting to flash the form he displayed in last year’s playoffs.

In six of the Bulls’ last seven games, Rose has scored at least 19 points. He totaled 28 against Denver.

Naturally, Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro is delighted Rose is almost back to being his old self.

“He’s starting to get his leg under him again,’’ Del Negro said. “That explosion is back a little bit. Those are encouraging signs.’’

Del Negro knows as well as anyone how important Rose is to the Bulls’ fortunes, although he doesn’t want to place any undue expectations on him.

“People tend to forget that Derrick’s 21 years old,’’ Del Negro said. “He’s still a very young player. People don’t tend to be patient, especially in pro sports. It takes time, especially at the point guard position.

“But Derrick is a competitor; he wants to everything right. And he wants to win.’’

Without having to say a word.

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You’ve had an incredible start to your NBA career and came close to recording a triple-double in your first game with 17 points, nine rebounds and nine assists. Are you amazed by how you’ve gotten out of the blocks?

Brandon Jennings: I think it’s just the time I put in. Every day I come in and work with the coaches and show up at the arena early with coach (Kelvin) Sampson and coach Griff (Adrian Griffin) and I think that’s starting to pay off.

In your third game, you went head to head with Derrick Rose of the Chicago Bulls, arguably the best young point guard in the game, and more than held your own. How much of a confidence booster was that?

BJ: I think every night I’m going against somebody pretty good, not just Derrick Rose. I went against Rodney Stuckey (of the Pistons) and Louis Williams (of the 76ers) and they’re good point guards as well. Every night there’s going to be a challenge and you have to get up for it.

If you were a boxer, you’d probably be in the featherweight division. Being only 170 pounds, have opposing players tried to take advantage of small build?

BJ: Yeah, they have. Last night (against the Bulls), they were running a lot of pick and rolls on me. And, when I played Rodney Stuckey, who’s a big, strong point guard, he tried to take me down to the block and tried to put his body into me and tried to use his strength against me. I know there’s going to be a lot of players who are going to try and do that against me.

It’s hard to gain strength and put on weight during an NBA season, but do you intend on working on your body down the road?

BJ: I think I will in the summertime, I’m going to try and put on some weight. But right now, I like my speed. Some veterans now, like Lindsay Hunter (of the Bulls), are telling me to slow down young fella, slow down.

What’s been the biggest difference in playing in Europe last season and playing in the NBA now?

BJ: There are a lot more talented guys in the NBA; everybody is good. It’s harder to win an NBA game. You gotta to bring it for 48 minutes, and then after that game, you’re drained and tired.

You have been compared to a lot of different players, Allen Iverson, TJ Ford, Chris Paul, etc. Detroit Pistons coach John Kuester told me you remind him of Nate “Tiny’’ Archibald. Do you even know who Archibald is?

BJ: Yes, I do. I have heard of him. I just know he was a great left-handed point guard.

Who do you think your game resembles?

BJ: I really don’t try to compare myself to anybody. I’m just trying to make my name , my mark in the league. I’ll let other people do the comparisons.

Has the rookie hazing subsided yet?

BJ: No. I still got to bring in the doughnuts, I got to pass out towels, bring in the newspapers every day, carry some bags and things like that.

Is that getting old?

BJ: No, it’s not getting old. Really, it doesn’t bother me that much anymore.

In light of your impressive start, are your teammates giving you a little more respect and not just looking at you as another rookie?

BJ: I don’t know. It’s only been three games, so it’s still early in the season. I’m just working hard every day to get better.

Your head coach, Scott Skiles, was once a pretty good point guard himself. How often do you and Skiles talk about the point guard position?

BJ: Almost every day. We watch film before and after almost every practice. Sometimes, I’ll come in early to watch film on certain situations where I didn’t do good the night before.

Is there anything that Skiles has said that has really hit home with you?

BJ: Basically, he said if you aren’t playing defense, you aren’t playing at all. That’s one of the main things that I’m trying to get better at every day. I think I’m doing a better job of keeping guys in front of me.

You’ve only played a few games, but have you gotten into any trash talking situations?

BJ: I really don’t do a lot of talking when I’m out there playing. I just focus on trying to stop my opponent that night and leading my team to victory.

You have an assortment of tattoos on your body, including prominent ones on each of your arms. What do they represent?

BJ: On my right arm, it’s laugh now, cry later. It’s for all the haters who said I would never make it in life. And there’s a man holding a ball with a city behind him, which is basically me holding a basketball with my city behind me. On the left one, it’s my mom (Alice Knox) and my brother (Terrence). It shows I’m blessed.

In training camp, you said you didn’t think you’d win the Rookie of the Year award. But considering how well you’ve played, have you changed your mind?

BJ: I’m still not changing my mind. It’s only been three games. It’s too early. We still got 79 games to go. And, you know what? It’s not really one of my goals this year. One of my goals is just to get to the playoffs.

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