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Rose Gains Popularity, Destined for Greatness?

by Aggery Sam - CSNChicago.com - January 25, 2009

The recent news that Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose’s jersey was the fourth overall seller in the NBA—behind Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant and Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard—so far this season was an eye-opener, to say the least. It’s one thing for the second-year guard to be getting All-Star consideration, especially in light of his on-court performance over the last month and change. However, for the reticent point guard to gain this amount of popularity so early in his career is a surprise.

Not to those in his hometown. Chicago’s basketball community and hoops observers have seen indicators of future superstardom since the initial stages of his basketball development.

“We already knew that he was destined [for greatness], even when he was in the seventh and eighth grade,” said Sonny Parker, a Chicago native and former NBA player himself. “He had the same demeanor all the time, but the inner fire was there.”

“People talked about him not scoring a whole bunch of points [in high school],” continued Parker, who’s also the father of Simeon Career Academy’s (Rose’s alma mater) current star, 6-foot-6 freshman jabari Parker. “But I knew he would be an even better pro [than high school player] because of the things he knew about the game. Now the whole nation gets to see.”

“I didn’t hear about him until I was a freshman, when I saw him play against Thornton [Township High School] and I thought he was already ready for ‘the league’ [NBA},” recalled Kashaune McKinney, a senior at Rich East High School in south suburban Park Forest, Ill. “He was like a grown man, he was so fast and the way he was built.”

Despite his prep exploits—including winning multiple Illinois state championships, playing on national television and starring in summer AAU tournaments—Rose’s no-frills persona didn’t win him the notoriety of some of his peers, such as the Memphis Grizzlies’ OJ Mayo and the Miami Heat’s Michael Beasley, during his high school career. His humility and approach to the game seems to be paying off now.

“Young kids, they like how he plays—the speed, the quickness, the athleticism,” said Rod Strickland, the former DePaul and longtime NBA star, who coached Rose at Memphis. “I think they see a different thing in Derrick. They’re used to seeing players jump up and down all the time, but “D. Rose” is low key.”

“ I’ve been lucky enough to have watched him and coach against him since he was young,” added Mike Weinstein, CEO of Joy of the Game, a basketball facility in Deerfield, Ill . “What makes him special is that he’s a really humble and neat kid.”

“When he started blowing up, he still always came over and said ‘hello’ to me at games. Kids like him because he was always nice to them,” continued Weinstein, who also runs the Rising Stars AAU program, based out of Chicago’s northern suburbs. “He just goes about his business. He’s so talented, the future of the Bulls, a hometown product, always smiling and a really classy kid—people just gravitate to him, hometown product. It’s easy to root for Derrick.”

Rose’s personal traits aside, the appeal of his flashy game—contrasting with his personality—is something not lost upon his fan base. Coming off a Rookie of the Year debut season—preceded by a run to the NCAA championship game and a stellar high school career—Rose started this 2009-10 NBA campaign slowly (he was hampered by a lingering preseason ankle injury) before his absolutely scintillating recent run.

As Lawrence Norman, the Vice President for Global Basketball at adidas—who Rose endorses recognized, “Derrick is a great player and brand icon and we are thrilled that his career is off to such a great start. With his jersey among the NBA’s best sellers, it certainly shows us that fans around the world see him as we do—as one of the brightest stars in the NBA.”

“He’s always been on a big stage—in high school, at Memphis, now with Chicago,” explained Strickland, now an assistant coach at undefeated and top-ranked Kentucky. “Plus, he had a big playoff series against Boston last year. It was an epic series that people are going to be talking about for a long time.”

“He’s supposed to be a junior in college right now, so he’s close to their age. They kind of relate to him,” added Parker, who played for the Golden State Warriors and is president of the Sonny Parker Youth Foundation, a Chicago basketball organization. “During the Jordan era, some of them weren’t even born yet, so they look up to him. He’s a role model, he always had great character and he’s a local player, from the same kind of neighborhood (Englewood, on the city’s South Side) a lot of these kids are from.”

Except now more people are paying attention.

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