How Derrick Rose Separated Himself from the Rest

Derrick Rose
Source: www.derrickrose-1.com

Derrick Rose was part of one of the strongest high school batches in recent history, the ’07 batch. And when all of them graduated, he wasn’t even considered as the best prospect from this particular batch. But four years later, here he is now as the reigning NBA Most Valuable Player. And what makes it more interesting is that he has only just begun. Yet, even so, he had to go through a lot of pain just to be where he is right now.

When D- Rose was in high school, people knew he was good but none of them thought that he would be this “GOOD”. In fact, during the McDonald’s All- American game, all eyes were on Oregon native Kevin Love and sweet shooting O.J. Mayo. Then, after the game, it was 6’8 scoring machine Michael Beasley who bagged the MVP award. In other words, as great as D- Rose was in high school, he was just simply one of the guys.

And then, they all went to college. It was freshmen galore during that ’08 season as all of them were highly monitored by fans, analysts and scouts all over the country. I could remember very well how O.J. Mayo dropped 32 points in his first college game. Jerryd Bayless was a big time scorer for Arizona. Eric Gordon shot the lights out for Indiana. Kevin Love was a force for UCLA. And of course, Michael Beasley literally dominated college basketball and went on to win player of the year. So, how about D- Rose?

Derrick Rose had an up and down season for the Memphis Tigers. Sometimes he would score big but then in other games, he wouldn’t. His inconsistent play was evident in his season averages of 15 points and 5 assists per outing. These were not the numbers that people wanted to see from him. And yet, his school was number one in the nation because D- Rose found every way possible to help them win games.

And then there was the NCAA tournament, where D- Rose superbly outclassed all his batch mates. O.J. Mayo and Michael Beasley did not get their schools to the sweet 16. Eric Gordon had a late season collapse. Jerryd Bayless’ Arizona squad did not really do well in spite of his monster numbers. In fact, it was only Kevin Love of UCLA who experienced similar team success that D- Rose had all season long with his Memphis Tigers. Yet, Love’s UCLA squad lost in the final four to guess who? Yes, to the Memphis Tigers. And so, in the ’08 version of the NCAA finals, it was only Derrick Rose who was still standing among all the great freshmen.

I was so happy because people would finally witness his greatness. He played a brilliant game, more than enough to propel them to a championship. Unfortunately, when the championship was on the line, he missed two crucial free throws that led to a Mario Chalmers miracle shot on the other end that sent the game to overtime. And as we all know, Mario Chalmers’ Kansas Jayhawks went on to win the championship in overtime. The Memphis Tigers lost the biggest game in school history and Derrick Rose was labeled as a choker. 

Mario Chalmers' Miracle Shot

Source: www.swampland.com

I felt really bad for D- Rose because he was such a humble guy. He was the type of person who didn’t deserve that kind of ending. Still, it happened to him and it would forever be with him. But instead of throwing away everything just because of what happened, he used the experience as his motivation to be better. He worked on his game everyday and he never stopped wanting to improve. And that was how he got better and then, even better and eventually, became the best.

2008 NBA Draft

Source: www.faniq.com

In the 2008 NBA draft, D- Rose was selected number one by his hometown team the Chicago Bulls. He won the Rookie of the Year that season and he led the Bulls to a classic series against the then, Defending Champions Boston Celtics in the first round of the playoffs. How could we ever forget how he dropped 37 points in game 1 and led the Bulls to victory. And take note that that game was in Boston.

D- Rose with team USA

Source: www.blogs.hooopshype.com

In his sophomore year, Derrick Rose was named to his 1^st all star team. He led the Bulls again to the playoffs. And he had a great series against LeBron and the Cavs even if the Bulls lost in five games. He also helped team USA win gold in the World Championships in Turkey. 

D-Rose Versus LeBron

Source: www.spreadia.com

Then, of course there was last year. D- Rose led his Bulls to an NBA best 62 wins. He was named the MVP. Then, in the playoffs they went all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals. And even though he struggled against LeBron and company, we all know that just like before, he would bounce back big time and would come out as an even greater basketball player.

So, what separated and continues to separate Derrick Rose from the rest of his batchmates? It is very simple, he is NEVER SATISFIED. No matter how great he has already become, he still continues to push himself to the limit. He just keeps on working and working. He doesn’t whine. He doesn’t blame anyone. He is always very hard on himself. No wonder why he has elevated himself from being just one of the guys to being “Thee Guy”. He will definitely go down as one of the greatest as long as he keeps himself healthy and he continues to be as hungry as he is now to be the best.

In life, it is a given that there are always going to be people who will try to put us down and make us feel that we are nothing. Yet, let us always remember that we can all prove them wrong by first, consistently working hard everyday. Secondly, by NEVER BEING SATISFIED and always striving to be the best that we can be. And most importantly, by always bouncing back no matter how many times we may fall down. If you still don’t believe me, just look at D- Rose… for he is way more than enough…:)