23 Reasons Derrick Rose Was a Good Pick For the Bulls
1- He’s a scorer, averaging 15 points a game in his only season at the University of Memphis. That would have been third on the Bulls last season, but Rose’s 48% shooting from the field would have tied him with Luol Deng for the team lead.
2- He’s a passer, averaging five assists a game. Like any good player though, D-Rose stepped it up when his team needed it most, dropping nine assists in UM’s regional final win over Texas and eight in the national championship game versus Kansas.
3-He’s a defender, often times sticking the opposition’s most explosive player. People assume that because he hit the game-tying shot that Kansas guard Mario Chalmers had a great game in the final. But really he shot five for 13, had only two assists and three turnovers. And who was guarding him that night? Rose.
4-He gets to the free throw line, which is something that no other player on the Bulls roster can say with authority. In his one year of college he averaged five shots a game from the charity stripe, which would have placed him atop the Bulls stat sheet a year ago in that category.
5-He’s from Chicago, which automatically means he will be embraced by the United Center faithful and understands the pressure of playing basketball in this city.
6-He wants the ball with the clock running out and the game on the line, which is good, because it means then that Ben Gordon doesn’t have to have the ball with the clock running out and the game on the line.
7-He makes his teammates better, always a plus for a point guard. Add to that he is a combination of unselfish and determined to win, and Rose is the first Bulls player since MJ that demands his teammates respect.
8-He’s a true #1 guy, another thing the Bulls have lacked since MJ walked away in 1998. The Bulls may have been on national TV a lot the past few years, but I guarantee it wasn’t because ESPN and TNT wanted to highlight the play or Kirk Hinrich and Chris Duhon.
9-He’s a winner. In 2006, his Simeon Wolverines went 33-4 and won the state title. In ‘07, they went 33-2 and won it all again. And then this year, he led Memphis to a 38-2 record and was one free throw away from a national title. That puts his three-year mark at 104-8, two Illinois state championships and nearly an NCAA crown.
10-He’s got speed to burn, which will help the Bulls finally move into the modern NBA. No more Hinrich dribbling around the backcourt trying to set up Gordon for a fade-away with the shot clock running out or Duhon weaving under the basket hoping that Tyrus Thomas will be paying attention. The Bulls can now trust Rose to push the tempo and still have control of the game.
11-He likes the spotlight, which is good, because playing in Chicago he’ll be in it. I don’t know for certain, but I’m guessing that Memphis doesn’t have the media scrutiny towards its athletes that we here in the Windy City do.
12-He made this shot.
Do you know how difficult it is to bank in a shot from 20 feet away, falling backwards, with a hand in the face? Next time you are at the playground, just try it, even without the 6-10 defender jumping to swat the ball back at you or the pressure of a national title game on the line. Very impressive.
13-He’s the future of basketball. The NBA is starting to become a point guard dominated league, even if that was the weakest position on the floor for the world champion Celtics. Guys like Steve Nash, Chris Paul, and Deron Williams are proving how important floor generals are to a team success, and Rose is the next one in line in that mold.
14-He’s a student of the game, and has aspects of Allen Iverson, Dwyane Wade, and Tony Parker in his arsenal. How can that be a bad thing?
15-He’s got a star name: Derrick Rose. Kind of like Tom Brady in football and David Wright in baseball, there’s just something about a name that attracts the bright lights.
16-He’s got a star smile, which always helps, considering the average American thinks the NBA is full of tattoo-covered, foul mouthed thugs who don’t care about anything besides money. (Note to average America: This is not the case at all, please return to watching pro basketball.)
17- He elevates the status of the Chicago Public League, whose alums include Kevin Garnett (Farragut), Luther Head (Manley) and Quentin Richardson (Whitney Young).
18-He fills a need on the team, because Hinrich is not fit to be the starting point guard of an NBA team. I’m not sure if John Paxson will deal Capitan Kirk, let Gordon go in free agency, or finds some sorry GM that is willing to take Larry Hughes and his massive $13 million contract. Whatever happens, the fact that the Bulls have a new point guard means they are a better team.
19- He’s still three months away from his 20th birthday, meaning that it will be three or four seasons until D-Rose reaches his prime. And that means he’s going to keep getting better and better, which any Bulls fan should be ecstatic about.
20- He was by far the best player available in the draft. Michael Beasley will be a solid player, but as a 6-7 power forward he will never be a top-10 player in the league. O.J. Mayo is nice, but he lacks the explosiveness that Rose does. And Russell Westbrook will never be even half the player D-Rose will be. So really, there was no choice for Paxson.
21-He has played in big games, shown in reason number nine. But it’s an unusually rare quality in the NBA, and it can only help Rose if the Bulls make the playoffs. Players tend to get overwhelmed in their first ever game with something on the line, but considering that occurred for the newest Bull over four years ago, I’m guessing he is pretty comfortable right now.
22-He’s got maturity, something that previous Bulls first round picks Tyrus ‘only does the dunk contest for money’ Thomas and Joakim ‘marijuana and cognac’ Noah are greatly lacking.
23-He’s from Chicago. Oh, did I mention that already? Well then Derrick Rose probably understands why there are 23 items on this list then.
Tags: Ben Gordon, Chicago Bulls, Chris Duhon, Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah, Kirk Hinrich, Larry Hughes, Mario Chalmers, Memphis Tigers, Michael Beasley, Michael Jordan, NBA Draft, Simeon Wolverines, Tyrus Thomas