Derrick Rose

Part One: Ball Handling and Athleticism

Then:
“Watching his footage, it’s hard not to wonder whether Rose might actually be the most athletic point guard we’ve ever evaluated at the college level. We talk about quickness and explosiveness and such all the time on DraftExpress, but Rose is clearly in a class of his own. His first step is nothing short of breathtaking, and when combined with his terrific ball-handling skills (particularly his awesome crossover) and outstanding body control once in the lane, we’re talking about an unstoppable force when it comes to his slashing game. Rose can handle the ball very well with both hands (although he favors his right), and is always looking for an opportunity to use a lethal assortment of jukes and hesitation moves to get to the basket,… Once he’s there, his excellent leaping ability allows him to just hang in the air and finish strong with a variety of acrobatic layups, floaters or sometimes even an emphatic dunk.”
- NCAA Weekly Performers – Freshman Edition, Part One, 11/23/07.

“John Calipari’s offense instilled an incredibly aggressive scoring/slashing mentality in Rose from a very early point in the season, but he’s also learned how to use his extraordinary talent to finish plays with advanced moves that he will surely need in the NBA as well. The fact that he is not showing any type of hesitation executing these moves despite the gigantic stage he’s playing on truly hints at great things that are in store for him in the future.”
-NCAA Tournament Performers 4/1/08 – Part One

Now:
Only a month into his college season, we saw a once in a generation physical talent and clearly had high expectations for the point guard at the next level. Now, about a month into Derrick Rose’s NBA career, it is becoming clear that those prognostications were not simply hyperbole. As predicted, Rose’s ability to create off the dribble and finish in traffic has translated seamlessly to the NBA level, as he is yet to find a team that can keep him out of the lane. Opposing guards who defend him give him about 3 to 4 feet when he makes his initial move, and still have no chance of stopping him once he changes direction or pace, especially when he shows a hesitation dribble or stutter step.

Playing in a spread offense with four out and one in and sometimes even five out, Rose has a number of ways to attack the paint. In pick and roll situations defenders tend to go under the screen, and Rose still manages to get a step and find himself in the painted area. While he’s proven more than capable in half court sets, he is most dangerous in transition. Rose often pushes the ball at what appears to be a fast pace, but then explodes to another gear when he crosses over. This ability to change speeds on the fly is what will potentially put him in an elite class as he begins to utilize his physical gifts on a consistent basis.

When he gets to the hoop, his upper body strength, mixed with his body control, make for some dazzling finishes at the rim. Be it with a resounding dunk, or nifty lay-up that requires a little extra hang time, Rose’s creativity in the air is not only breathtaking at times, it’s also highly effective. Lately, he has even shown more confidence with his floater and tear drop – a shot necessary for a point guard in today’s game. Presently he only shoots it with his right, but he gets it off so quickly, as he can jump stop and rise on the drop of dime, that it remains difficult to contest.

He does a good job off the ball as well in the half court. He’s especially adept at flashing to an open area, which often leads to positive results. In transition however, when he doesn’t have the ball, he tends to slow down, not fill the lanes – often confused as to what to do when he’s not the primary ball handler.

Part Two: Decision Making

Then:
“This incredible ability to create his own shot almost whenever he pleases has served as mostly a gift, but also sometimes as a curse this year. Because of the green light he has in this offense to take the ball strong to the rack every single time, Rose sometime fails to read the defense and ends up looking out of control. Learning when to rev it up into the fifth gear and when to stay in second or third will be one of the biggest things that will define whether Rose is indeed able to capitalize on his superstar potential at the next level. Right now it’s not too rare to see him lowering his shoulder and bullying his way into the lane, sometimes heaving up a bad shot (lacking some strength to finish here, and clearly avoiding his left hand), or even committing an offensive foul. That seems to be a major reason why the so called next Jason Kidd is currently averaging more turnovers than assists, even if it’s not difficult at all to see where this comparison came from.”
-NCAA Weekly Performers – Freshman Edition, Part One 11/23/07.

Now:
As talented as Rose looked at the time, it did not take long to find faults in Rose’s game that continue to haunt him today. He has shown a lack of recognition when pushing the ball– attacking on a two on four break or pulling it out when his team has the advantage. Other times he’ll penetrate to the basket, commit to leaving his feet and force up a shot or try to thread a tough pass. When he can learn to keep his dribble alive (ala Steve Nash), more opportunities will open up for him.

Perhaps his biggest weakness, in some ways, is not knowing how good he is. There are moments when he seems too passive and defers to his teammates – leaving something to be desired. One might say he does a good job at picking his spots, but with his talent he needs to be aggressive and take advantage of every opportunity. This lack of aggression is exhibited in his 3.6 free throws attempts per game average – extremely low for a player with his tools. An area that he has shown improvement is with his left hand. According to Synergy Sports Technology’s quantified player report, Rose is driving the ball left 57.9% of the time. His deadliest weapon has a lot to do with this as he prefers a right to left cross-over. Despite that, Rose still finishes the great majority of his plays with his right hand on either side.



Part Three: Shooting

Then:
“He still hits less than one 3-pointer per game, and does so shooting 35% (as well as just 70% from the free throw line), numbers that are not all that impressive, but are still an indication that his shot is not “broke” as some might say. Teams still back off and go underneath screens on a regular basis while defending him, and he isn’t quite consistent enough with his spot-up shooting to discourage them from doing so at this point. His pull-up jumper from mid-range is much improved, but he’s often a little bit off balance when taking it, not fully squaring his shoulders or going straight up in the air. These are things that NBA coaches will work with him extensively on, and he should be able to improve considerably if the progress he made this season is any indication. To his credit, he does look quite confident in his attempts, which is often half the battle.”
-NCAA Tournament Performers 4/1/08 – Part One

Now:
The biggest question mark haunting Rose when he entered the league was his lack of a consistent jump shot. Although he’s hasn’t quite proven to be a major outside threat thus far, Rose has built on his improvement from the end of his college season. As mentioned, his mechanics look very good, which means additional repetitions in practice and games will only increase his productivity. His misses are mainly short, which suggests a flat shot –a characteristic that can be attributed to rushing his attempts and not getting enough leg-strength underneath him.

His percentages from both the field (49%) and free throw line (85%) are currently very high, but those numbers may be deceiving considering the majority of his field goals come in the paint and how few free throws he attempts per game, as well as the potentially limited sample size. When he does attempt mid-range jump shots, be it off the dribble or spotting up, he has shown good accuracy when balanced, and also elevated extremely well. When jumping straight up and down, he’s capable of making shots and becomes a factor that needs to be defended. Off the dribble he shoots a more practical shot, going straight into his motion, stopping on a dime and elevating to his highest point. That pull-up can become a reliable shot for Rose as early as this year. When catching and shooting, his release is considerably slower – especially from the 3-point line. He goes into his motion methodically and can only get it off if he’s wide open. He has the stroke necessary to be successful from long range, he just needs to put in the time to become more fluid in his release.



Part Four: Point Guard Skills and Court Vision

Then:
“Rose does have very good court vision and the ability to create for teammates every way a point guard should be able to. He makes assists by pushing the ball in transition, finding open shots in the half-court, and driving-and-dishing in the lane. His decision-making with the ball has been questionable at times, most notably with him forcing some bad shots in the lane over the course of the season.”
- Marquee Matchup Derrick Rose vs. Jeremy Pargo 1/30/08

Now:
So far, Rose has done a good job running the point. He moves people to the right spots and can recognize mismatches (except for his own sometimes as a result of his passivity). Other times he tries to force the action and make the spectacular plays as opposed to the right one; but overall he is making the correct reads as evidenced by a respectable 2 to 1 assist/turnover ratio. The assists that he is racking up (nearly 6 a game) however, do not show a player with elite passing ability. He makes the simple passes – like drive and kick outs, or he finds a teammate on the break, or swings the ball to open shooters. Despite his tendency to not take a lot of risks as a passer, he has shown a tendency to throw lazy cross court passes. These types of passes give the defense more than enough time to recover, making it nearly impossible for shooters to get their shots off. He is currently not the type of passer that makes one say that he saw something before anyone else did (ala Jason Kidd).

Another tendency he has shown is over-dribbling. When passing lanes are denied, Rose will occasionally dribble too much and leave the offense stagnant. Regardless, it is still preferable for him to over-dribble than pick it up too early, as he can turn nothing into something in a flash. His overall basketball I.Q. is rather high. He seems to know when to push the ball, when to pull it out, and also time and situations. While he’s going to have some lapses in judgment, especially when he’s playing at full speed, that type of on court savvy is what is going to bring Rose to the elite level once he gains the proper amount of experience.



Part Five: Defense

Then:
“Defensively, Rose has shown both good and bad so far. He obviously has huge potential here, but you don’t always see him taking full advantage of it. It wasn’t rare early on to see him getting beat off the dribble for example, failing to attack screens, giving his man too much space, or just generally being a little too lackadaisical not valuing every defensive possession. But on the possessions where he really put it together and fully utilized his outstanding physical tools, Rose looked like an absolute menace with his terrific size, length and quickness.”
-NCAA Weekly Performers -- Freshmen Edition, Part One 11/23/2007

Now:
This is the area of the game that Rose has struggled with. When watching him, it almost seems as if he’s holding something back defensively. He doesn’t really get into a stance and try to get after someone. He’s more content with shadowing an opponent and containing, instead of shutting them down. He has all the physical tools to be a lockdown defender, with great size, strength and lateral quickness, but hasn’t shown it yet. He’s displayed bits and pieces of what he’s capable of (like this amazing block on Andre Miller) , but needs to bring that type of effort consistently.

He does a poor job of fighting through screens on the ball and off of it. He settles on ball screens –staying with the screener instead of putting up a fight to recover back. Off the ball, he really has a hard time chasing a perimeter player running through screens in the half court. He gets stuck too often, which shows his lack of understanding of how to defend. Additionally, a major component of defense is communication, which Rose doesn’t seem to take part in. In transition defense situations he rarely calls out who he has and doesn’t direct his teammates to pick up open men. There’s no sense of urgency in the half court either, as he doesn’t contest all shots and keeps his hands by his waist when closing out. He needs to get away from this careless mode and begin showing the tenacity that could make him great.

Part Six: Intangibles (Leadership and Poise)

Then:
Reporter: You mentioned before your leadership skills, but by all accounts of people that know you, well you’re also something of a quiet guy, so how do those things jive?

Derrick Rose: Off the court I’m kind of quiet, but on the court I talk a little bit more, I’m calmer and it seems like people listen to me when I’m on the court.

Reporter: How do you think you command the respect of your teammates?

Derrick Rose: Leading by example, staying at practice a little bit longer. Doing the little things off the court, showing that I’m a good teammate.
-Interviews with Derrick Rose and Michael Beasley 6/1/2008

Now:
Rose’s maturity and demeanor on the court make him seem like a ten year veteran. He never gets too high or too low and maintains that same poker face throughout a game. His poise is contagious to his team as they see their floor general un-phased in pressure situations. Sometimes he’s a little too cool and could be accused of lacking effort. For the most part, he plays very hard and is quick to loose balls; but other times he conserves his energy a little bit too much. This type of demeanor however, is special for a point guard and will serve him well for years to come. Nevertheless, his leadership skills must improve. He doesn’t speak a lot on the court and must adapt to becoming more vocal if he truly wants to lead. He has to break out of his shell and be that floor leader that will make him great. With continued improvement in this area, and the natural progression that comes with maturity and age, Rose is on his way to superstar status.

Derrick Rose continues to look tentative and out of rhythm, likely a product of his lack of experience, his knee problems, and just how raw his skill-set is at the moment. He really did not standout in any facet of the game today, having probably an even worse outing than he did in the first game. The Bulls are probably going to sit him out and let him completely heal, since he’s obviously not helping himself or anyone else by being out on the floor.

This was not a very good showing by the #1 overall pick to say the least, but it’s still a little early for Bulls fans to be jumping off bridges if history is any indication. Derrick Rose looks like a guy who hasn’t been playing a whole lot of high level basketball over the last few months, much like Kevin Durant did last year. It’s possible that he’s been more preoccupied with the business side of things lately based off the way he looked physically and the lack of rhythm he enjoyed, as he never really looked comfortable running the show in this new setting.

Rose contributed very little in the first half, looking passive moving the ball around the floor and nervous enough to dribble the ball off his foot on two separate occasions or make some careless passes. Once he found a little more rhythm (more in the second half, when the game was well out of hand) he started showing sparks of why he was the most electrifying player in college basketball in the month of March—displaying that incredible initial burst of speed to blow past his defender that makes him simply impossible to stay in front of when he puts his mind to it. Knowing how and when to change gears and turn on the jets will be one of the first things Rose will need to learn as a rookie in the NBA, and it’s something he will surely get as he becomes more comfortable in his own skin. He showed sparks of terrific potential in transition in particular, but struggled badly at times trying to make plays in the half-court.

Defensively, Rose was not much of a presence at all, not really locked into the task of getting down in a stance and stopping his man, and instead just floating around from here to there without much direction. Chicago’s offense did not look like much of an offense at all, and there was very little guidance coming in from the sidelines it seems. It appears that the team is preferring to just step back and evaluate what they have on their hands rather than try and take an active approach in directing their guys. They probably just aren’t too worried about how their players are looking in the summer league, and are instead just letting them work through their mistakes on their own.

All in all, there is no question that Rose is going to take time to blossom into the incredible force we know he can become down the road, as he’s much less polished and not quite as naturally assertive as Michael Beasley is. Chicago would be well served to hold onto both Kirk Hinrich and Ben Gordon to let Rose ease into a feature role slowly it seems, as he probably isn’t ready to start from day one if today was any indication. It’ll be interesting to see how he looks in the coming games.

Reporter: Hey Derrick, there’s been so much speculation about whether things are decided or who is going where, who is going to work out where. Have you scheduled workouts with anyone? Do you have any idea as of now where you think or where you know you might wind up?

Derrick Rose: No, I’m just, really just listening to what people tell me with where to go, and my agent, nobody’s told me about the workouts yet, so I probably didn’t get it.

Coming off two of the most impressive individual performances of the 2008 NCAA tournament, carrying his team on his back to the Final Four while showing a package of size and athleticism that is unheard of at the college level, there is very little doubt any more about just how good of a prospect Derrick Rose is. The only question at this point seems to be—just how good can he become down the road?

Rose has done everything humanly possible to make a case for himself to be considered the #1 overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft. While just a few weeks ago it was virtually a guarantee that Michael Beasley would claim that spot, Rose has now, at the very least, given NBA GMs plenty to think about before deciding to pass him up. Depending on which team lands the top pick, and what their point guard situation looks like, it’s not ludicrous at all to suggest at this point that he might even be the one. Lucky for him, he still has one or two chances this upcoming week to continue to make his case, as the eyes of every NBA team will be squarely on him in the Final Four in San Antonio.

A lot has changed since the last time we evaluated Rose as a prospect. His assist to turnover ratio has gone from negative to a very solid 1.75/1, his shooting percentages are up, and he’s proven that he can absolutely physically overwhelm the player once considered to be the best point guard in college basketball in D.J. Augustin in their head to head matchup. Memphis deserves a lot of credit for the way they’ve worked with him, as there is no question from breaking down his film that he is a much better all-around player than he was 2-3 months ago.

Reading defenses and attacking his matchups more intelligently seems to be the place that Rose has improved the most. You no longer see him driving into the lane aimlessly at 180 miles an hour with no idea where he’s headed, which has helped him cut down substantially on his turnovers. His pull-up jumper from mid-range and right handed floater in the lane are two parts of his game that he seems to have vigorously on, and he looks extremely confident taking these shots rather than just relying on his freakish athleticism to bail him out in the lane. John Calipari’s offense instilled an incredibly aggressive scoring/slashing mentality in Rose from a very early point in the season, but he’s also learned how to use his extraordinary talent to finish plays with advanced moves that he will surely need in the NBA as well. The fact that he is not showing any type of hesitation executing these moves despite the gigantic stage he’s playing on truly hints at great things that are in store for him in the future.

Some may point to Rose’s relatively low assist totals and wonder why he isn’t doing a better job at getting people involved. While his court vision probably isn’t the best part of his game at this point, we need to keep in mind the type of offense (the dribble-drive motion) he plays in, which is just not conducive to racking up assists. Rather than play a typical pick and roll game like most team’s do Rose’s first goal in Memphis’ offense is to try and find a seam to the basket himself, and if he can’t do so, pitch the ball backwards to a teammate who puts the ball on the floor and thus by definition nullifies any chance for an assist. If Memphis had some better shooters around him, his assist totals would probably be higher, but since they don’t, they need to score in other ways, which they’ve been doing extraordinarily well. Rose has dished out 24 assists in four NCAA tournament games so far, with only 5 turnovers. He also added nearly 21 points per game in that span, on 58% shooting.

Rose’s perimeter shooting has always been the biggest concern around his game, although he did well for himself by completely revamping his shooting mechanics this summer and sticking with them all season. He still hits less than one 3-pointer per game, and does so shooting 35% (as well as just 70% from the free throw line), numbers that are not all that impressive, but are still an indication that his shot is not “broke” as some might say. Teams still back off and go underneath screens on a regular basis while defending him, and he isn’t quite consistent enough with his spot-up shooting to discourage them from doing so at this point. His pull-up jumper from mid-range is much improved, but he’s often a little bit off balance when taking it, not fully squaring his shoulders or going straight up in the air. These are things that NBA coaches will work with him extensively on, and he should be able to improve considerably if the progress he made this season is any indication. To his credit, he does look quite confident in his attempts, which is often half the battle.

Defensively, Rose has definitely made the mental adjustment needed from high school to college basketball, looking quite a bit more intense than he did earlier in the season. He’s getting in a good fundamental stance now, using his phenomenal combination of size and lateral quickness to his advantage, and is taking a more lot pride in this part of his game. It’s not just a matter of the NCAA tournament, but also during Conference USA. He still gets beat from time to time due to a temporary lack of focus, but his incredible quickness allows him to recover in the blink of an eye and close out on shooters the way few guards can, sometimes to even block their shot.

Rose has a big challenge in front of him this weekend, as UCLA has quite a bit of time to study his tendencies in advance and try to exploit all of his weaknesses. How he handles arguably the best defense in the country on Saturday will tell us a lot about how ready he is to produce as a rookie in the NBA. Regardless of what happens, though, he’s shown many times that his future is as bright or brighter than any other player in this year’s draft.

Derrick Rose came into this season hyped as one of the best freshman in this class, and with that hype, came some very lofty expectations. Rose’s 4.4 assists and 3.0 turnovers per game don’t exactly lend themselves to the Jason Kidd-style pure point guard comparisons that Rose has drawn, and the fact that this was just his second game with more than 6 assists on the season isn’t very encouraging either. But as always in these cases, it’s important to look deeper than the stats when scouting NBA prospects.



As shown in this game, and in flashes throughout the season, Rose does have very good court vision and the ability to create for teammates every way a point guard should be able to. He makes assists by pushing the ball in transition, finding open shots in the half-court, and driving-and-dishing in the lane. His decision-making with the ball has been questionable at times, most notably with him forcing some bad shots in the lane over the course of the season, but there are other reasons he’s averaging just 4.4 assists per game.

First, Memphis’ offense spreads the ball around a lot, taking the ball out of Rose’s hands, and there are also many capable offensive players on the team, ones who don’t need shots to be created for them. They don’t run many pick-and-rolls either, something that is a staple of most NBA offenses, and leads to many assists for point guards. It’s also worth noting that Rose did come onto a Final Four team with all five returning starters and most of its returning depth, so the team clearly has plenty of talent. Also, at 19-0, they’re clearly doing something right, and Rose as the second leading scorer and leading assist man has a lot to do with that.

When looking at Rose’s game, it’s important to note that playing this role for Memphis, which takes away some of his game managing responsibilities, could help make him a more dynamic player in the long run, as it forces him to focus more on his scoring, giving him more confidence in that area. This can already be seen noticeably with his outside shot, something that has improved leaps and bounds from where it was at the beginning of the summer. While he previously had an awkward release where he brought the ball up from his side with a very deliberate hitch, his shot now has a much quicker release that is much closer to textbook form. He’s getting more than decent results with it too, shooting 36% on 44 attempts. He’s clearly showing much more confidence with this area of his game, being able to pull up off the dribble in space without hesitation, and not even thinking before catching and shooting. With a good work ethic, something Rose has, there’s no reason to think he won’t become a solid outside shooter in time.

Rose’s athleticism and size also puts him in an elite class, and his potential on both ends of the court is outstanding. On defense, his combination of size, athleticism, length, and quickness is absolutely ideal for a point guard, as he should be able to defend both larger and quicker point guards at the next level, as long as he shows the dedication on this end of the court. He looked a bit inconsistent with this at times early in the season, but has really brought good performances here against the tougher competition.

In terms of attacking the basket, Rose shows a very good handle with both hands, has a nice array of moves, most notably his crossover, and can finish with a right-handed floater or by drawing contact at the rim. He could still stand to use a bit more strength, but is well built for a freshman already, and appears to have the frame to add more bulk. The biggest thing Rose could add at this stage is a pull-up jumper from the mid-range that he can hit while contested, something he hasn’t shown much of yet, not using his jumper much without ample space.

Rose may not be the next Jason Kidd, as many billed him to be, but he still should be a very dynamic player in the NBA, and there’s little doubt that he’ll be a more proficient distributor from the point guard position in an NBA offense than in Memphis’ offense. With his combination of elite athleticism, already strong skill set, and by all accounts, no character concerns, Rose should be a very low-risk pick in the draft this year. He will certainly be in contention for the #1 spot, and while there’s no guarantee he’ll be a superstar, there’s no reason to think he won’t be at the very least, a good starting point guard for a long time, especially if he’s given ample time to develop his all-around game and garner the experience he needs at the point guard spot.

Statistically so far, Derrick Rose hasn’t been one of the most impressive members of this year’s outstanding freshman class. But this is a classic example of why we actually watch the games, which tell us infinitely more about his NBA potential than the numbers can. As far as we’re concerned, Rose has lived up to his early billing and then some so far.

Watching his footage, it’s hard not to wonder whether Rose might actually be the most athletic point guard we’ve ever evaluated at the college level. We talk about quickness and explosiveness and such all the time on DraftExpress, but Rose is clearly in a class of his own. His first step is nothing short of breathtaking, and when combined with his terrific ball-handling skills (particularly his awesome crossover) and outstanding body control once in the lane, we’re talking about an unstoppable force when it comes to his slashing game. Rose can handle the ball very well with both hands (although he favors his right), and is always looking for an opportunity to use a lethal assortment of jukes and hesitation moves to get to the basket, as he’s supposed to in John Calipari’s offence. Once he’s there, his excellent leaping ability allows him to just hang in the air and finish strong with a variety of acrobatic layups, floaters or sometimes even an emphatic dunk. This leaping ability gives him a chance to finish almost every single time, as he can just wait for the defense to subside and then kiss the ball off the glass on his way down.

This incredible ability to create his own shot almost whenever he pleases has served as mostly a gift, but also sometimes as a curse this year. Because of the green light he has in this offense to take the ball strong to the rack every single time, Rose sometime fails to read the defense and ends up looking out of control. Learning when to rev it up into the fifth gear and when to stay in second or third will be one of the biggest things that will define whether Rose is indeed able to capitalize on his superstar potential at the next level. Right now it’s not too rare to see him lowering his shoulder and bullying his way into the lane, sometimes heaving up a bad shot (lacking some strength to finish here, and clearly avoiding his left hand), or even committing an offensive foul. That seems to be a major reason why the so called next Jason Kidd is currently averaging more turnovers than assists, even if it’s not difficult at all to see where this comparison came from.

Coming into college, the biggest concern most people had about Rose’s game was his inability to consistently knock down shots from behind the arc. And even though he’s only shooting 29% for 3 on the year so far, there seems to be some room for optimism here. For one, his shooting mechanics look much better than we recall them being, locking in his elbow and releasing the ball mechanically (a good thing in this case) with his feet set. It’s not the type of stuff legends are made out of, but if he sticks with it, we should begin to see better results at some point.

Defensively, Rose has shown both good and bad so far. He obviously has huge potential here, but you don’t always see him taking full advantage of it. It wasn’t rare early on to see him getting beat off the dribble for example, failing to attack screens, giving his man too much space, or just generally being a little too lackadaisical not valuing every defensive possession. But on the possessions where he really put it together and fully utilized his outstanding physical tools, Rose looked like an absolute menace with his terrific size, length and quickness.

At this point, it wouldn’t be a stretch to say that Rose is only beginning to scrape the surface on what he’ll be showing up as the season moves on. He’s nowhere near a finished product, as his fundamentals still need work, but there is a lot to like already.

Derrick Rose might not have been as productive as the two UCLA kids, but no one shares his upside amongst any of the players seen in New Orleans so far. His combination of size, length, frame, freakish athleticism and playmaking instincts make him the top prospect here, and possibly in all of college basketball.

He didn't always stand out in terms of asserting himself and displaying his talent on the court, but the glimpses he dropped were so impressive that we can certainly excuse him for now. Rose pushes the ball up the floor with blazing quickness, showing great ability to change speeds and adjust on the fly. He ran the pick and roll fairly well, but looked more content passing off rather than trying to score the ball himself. He made a number of crisp passes all over the floor while running the point, and was generally extremely unselfish (possibly to a fault) in everything he did.

Defensively he did a fantastic job as well, smothering with his length, showing excellent lateral quickness, and even coming up with a terrific on-ball block on Darren Collison when he tried to take him to the basket on one occasion. Rose does a lot of little things that don't immediately stand out if you're only looking for him to do something spectacular, as at this point in his career he's clearly not a prolific scoring threat. According to the NBA scouts we talked to that are in attendance, Rose will need to show better potential in this area if he's to make a serious run at being the first overall player picked in the 2008 draft. His perimeter shooting is a serious weakness of his at this point, and it really affects his ability to get the most out of his considerable talent. He missed a chance to send a game to double overtime by missing a wide open look from 18 feet, and his team ended up losing.

As was the issue in the scrimmages and practices leading up to the main event, this wasn’t the perfect setting for Derrick Rose to show off his excellent skill-set, as he was teamed with a few other point guards, and spent a lot of his time off the ball. Despite not handling the ball as much are we as accustomed to seeing here in this game, Rose still managed to impress on multiple occasions, doing what he does best and showing why he’s considered an outstanding point guard prospect.

Rose made the most of all his touches in this game, dishing out plenty of nice passes in the halfcourt and fullcourt, while also making some very crafty drives to the hoop in the halfcourt, and finishing on some lay-ups in transition. Two of Rose’s most impressive skills are his headiness in the lane and his court vision, which when coupled together, are an extremely dangerous combination for his opponents. Rose did an excellent job here of getting into the lane, stopping and going, pivoting, and using hesitation to wait for the opening in the defense, at which point he’d dish off the perfect pass to a teammate or proceed to the hoop for a lay-up he makes look easy. Rose drove right and left in this game, drawing contact, getting to the free-throw line, scoring off the glass, and making dump offs low or kick-outs to the perimeter to find the open man. His body control and use of fakes in the lane are outstanding, and he did a good job using those assets to his advantage here. In terms of finding the open man in the halfcourt, Rose passed off for quite a few open three-pointers that weren’t converted, so his assist totals in the statline could have been higher.

Rose also did a good job in transition of reading the defense and not forcing the issue, pulling the ball out when necessary, but also scoring on his own, converting on two transition lay-ups in the game. Rose also missed on a very impressive and athletic baseline drive in which he tried to reverse the ball off the glass, but wasn’t able to finish.

Defensively, Rose made a few nice plays, drawing a charge on a drive early in the game, and making a clutch steal late in the game when his team had the lead with about two minutes to go. They had just went into a full-court press, and Rose used his length and athleticism to anticipate a pass just over halfcourt, which he stole and then made the pass ahead for an open jam.

Derrick Rose had yet another overall quiet game, making a few spectacular plays, but for the most part not standing out, especially while playing off the ball. With two other point guards on his team, Rose spent about half of this game off the ball, where he isn’t able to contribute much in this setting, having an awkward jump shot with a slow release. He missed his only shot attempt on the game, a three-pointer.

When he had the ball and was able to make plays, Rose showed why he’s such a highly touted point guard prospect, dishing out some beautiful assists, including the highlight play of the game in which he faked passing the ball behind his back in transition, only to bring it back around and dish it off to his cutting teammate for the assist, getting a nice rise out of the crowd. Another of Rose’s nice passes was a precision chest pass from the top of the key, through the defense, to a teammate cutting on the baseline, leading him perfectly to the hoop. Rose didn’t have many opportunities to make standout plays like these ones, but when he did, he made them count. Hopefully he’ll get enough opportunities center stage at Madison Square Garden tomorrow night, because it’d be a shame to see an All-Star game without his passing abilities highlighted.

This wasn’t the perfect setting for Rose to show off his skills, as he was paired with another point guard on his squad in Villanova’s Corey Fisher and therefore played off the ball for about half the scrimmage. But when he did have the ball, he showed off his ability to create for his team in a big way.

Rose dished out plenty of nice passes for assists in the half-court and full-court, going on a few tears of back-to-back-to-back plays that were filled with highlights. He threw strong, hard chest passes in the full-court through defenders with pinpoint precision, and also did a good job dishing off in the half-court on drives through the lane, showing off his excellent creativity. He was equally impressive creating shots for himself in the lane, switching hands and showing excellent body control en route to the hoop, getting to the basket and finishing on multiple right-handed floaters in the scrimmage. He didn’t force the issue at all, though he seemed to just blend in with the rest of his squad at times when he wasn’t controlling the ball. Rose still needs to work on his outside shot, as he has an awkward shooting motion, exhibiting a fairly slow release speed on the one outside shot he attempted and missed in this scrimmage.

The statistics don’t appear to be particularly impressive, but make no mistake about it – Derrick Rose impressed in this game. He isn’t going to dazzle the crowd on a regular basis the way that O.J. Mayo is, but that isn’t because he lacks the talent. Few point guard prospects have emerged in recent memory with Rose’s size and vertical explosiveness. Rather, Rose doesn’t force the issue when it comes to his offense – or individual accomplishments, period. He focuses on making his teammates better, and winning basketball games. So even if Rose won’t be receiving accolades for his eight points and 4 assists in this contest, his impact on this game was huge – just like it will be at Memphis this fall.

Rose made his mark early in this one, coming up with a series of steals and deflections in that allowed Team USA to blow the game open almost immediately after the opening tap. While International floor general Petteri Koponen handled the US pressure very well, his teammates weren’t prepared for Rose’s cat-like defensive strikes in the backcourt. Opposing guards didn’t bother trying to put the ball on the floor against him, and his strength all but neutralized whoever he was guarding.

It was almost hard to get a read on Rose’s dominance in the open floor, because of the speed with which he turned transition opportunities into points with a crisp lead pass or explosive open floor finish. He finished with four steals and four assists, but could have really filled up the box score if he wasn’t so willing to give up the ball early in transition.

The Memphis-bound floor general, hounded all week by local media and fans eagerly anticipating his arrival next fall, still has one critical weakness – his outside shot. Teams aren’t going to defend him honestly in the half-court until he gets rid of that awkward release from the side of his body, and while he knocked down open looks fairly consistently in practice, he took (and missed) just one outside shot in the game. If he ever gets to the point where he is comfortable seeking out his own offense from the perimeter, things are going to get really scary, really fast.

While Derrick Rose’s recruitment was every bit of high-profile with the presence of his brother Reggie and the involvement in Eric Gordon’s situation, Rose has won his admirers by doing the little things that every pro-level point guard must learn how to do at some point. His game is shockingly complete and quietly lethal, a stark contrast from the way Rose has often been portrayed by the media. The relentless, near machine-like efficiency with which he goes about running a team is quite rare to see in a point guard so young, making Rose a prized commodity even without the spectacular athleticism and other natural gifts. He just never lets up, a trait that has led many to compare Rose with Jason Kidd. After watching the future Tiger in action for the better part of a week, it is hard to argue with that comparison.

2007-2008 Outlook: Derrick Rose is about to take the nation by storm, and so are his Memphis Tigers. It was fascinating to watch a young Memphis team come together over the latter half of the season, with the guards playing an unselfish brand of basketball that really hadn’t been seen since John Calipari’s arrival. With few anticipated losses from last year’s elite eight squad, it just doesn’t seem fair to add a player like Rose to an already formidable mix. If this group plays the way it did in March and Rose fits in the way that he should, this is a team with “Final Four” written all over it. With all Greg Oden and Kevin Durant did for their respective teams, it could be Rose that picks up the Carmello Anthony banner and leads his team to a national title as a freshman. Rose could probably be starting for plenty of NBA teams right now, so expect a spot in the Top 5 of the 2008 draft to follow shortly thereafter.

This was a pretty quiet game from Derrick Rose, never really getting into the flow of things due to the constant substitution patterns and not getting to show us just how electric of a point guard he can be off the dribble. He did a solid job finding the open man and running his very deep team, especially with some long outlet passes he threw from the backcourt to teammates streaking in transition. His jumper didn’t fall for him, but to his credit, he didn’t force the issue. One all-star game hardly defines a career, so Rose will still be the same extremely highly regarded prospect he was yesterday going into tomorrow.

Rose was outstanding running his group in the intersquad scrimmage, distributing the ball to everyone and getting the break started in a hurry. He and Kevin Love seemed to be on the same page all throughout the day, allowing their team to start a fast break at every available opportunity. The Memphis recruit struggled a bit defensively however against Jerryd Bayless, having a hard time dealing with a player nearly as athletic as him with the “attack, attack, attack” mentality that Bayless has had throughout the first two days of practice.

The Chicago product put on a show early on in the fast break drills, showing off his excellent athleticism by throwing down some absolutely ferocious dunks. He did a great job of running his team in the five on five scrimmage, getting to the rim whenever he wanted and assuring that all of his teammates received an adequate amount of touches. Rose shot the ball a bit better from the perimeter as well, although his mechanics could still certainly use some refinement. Obviously he knows this however, as he was seen still shooting jumpers on the floor long after the majority of his teammates had already went back to the locker room to change.

The matchup of Rose and the nation’s top junior point guard Brandon Jennings was a bit disappointing, as Rose dominated the entire game and Jennings was held scoreless until the fourth quarter. The dominant performance that he put on in leading his undersized, less talented Simeon squad to upset the top ranked team in the country marks just another chapter in the storied high school career that Derrick Rose had had so far.

It was clear from the tip that we were looking at the most explosive point guard that high school basketball has seen in recent memory. Rose’s combination of first step, leaping ability, and raw power have allow him to blow past anyone who attempted to guard him throughout the game. At 6’3 and 190 lbs., he already has a body superb to that of any point guard prospect for this years draft, and has the quickness and leaping ability to match. It is simply a thing of beauty to watch him get into the lane, absorb contact, and contort his body enough to gracefully finish at the rim. While we could go on for days about his marvelous athletic ability, there is far more to his game then that.

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Against Oak Hill, Derrick came out gunning from the perimeter. As many know, that is definitely his biggest weakness and it seemed as if he was trying to make it a point to silence all of his critics. While he was unsuccessful in the majority of three point attempts, he did show improved form from the last time we saw him over the summer. It was clear to anyone watching the game however that shooting was surely not the strength of the Memphis signee’s game.

In terms of what you are looking for in a point guard, Rose has proven that he can fit the “scoring point guard” role just as well as he can the “pure point guard role”. His playmaking abilities were on display against Oak Hill as he finished with 9 assists, which would have easily been around 15 had his teammates been able to catch and/or finish his passes. Rose’s playmaking ability was never more evident then on his stunning left handed pass that most collegiate point guards couldn’t make with their right hands, which led to a Kevin Johnson slam dunk.

Defensively Derrick was fantastic throughout the game, no matter if he was guarding Jennings or Duke bound Nolan Smith. He used his fantastic athleticism and length to constantly stay in front of the two guards when guarding them, and was able to burst through the passing lanes a few times, leading to Simeon fast break points. Never more was it more clear that Rose has the potential to be an outstanding defender once he learns to defend at the collegiate level, which should surely happen upon his arrival at Memphis.

When writing about a player with such an abundance of strengths, it is often hard to pick out many weaknesses. Obviously, Rose’s outside shot, or lack thereof, is the only thing that has kept O.J. Mayo ahead of him as the consensus top player in the class of 2007. His brothers, who have shielded him mightily from the media until this past year, are not dumb and will surely find the best shooting coach money can buy for Derrick when it comes time for him to enter the NBA Draft. Rose’s handle could also use a little improvement in it’s consistency, as he can get a bit wild with his handle at times and dribbles a bit high. This is also partially in part due to Derrick’s love for the spectacular play, which he has the capability to give you on each and every possession. This can also be a downfall as well however, as shown by his breakaway slam

As far as the NBA is concerned, there have been rumors in the past of Derrick going and playing professionally overseas for a year or possibly going to the NBDL, which were immediately shot down by his camp. Memphis will be an outstanding fit for him, as their uptempo system will allow him to thrive. The Tigers should dominate C-USA yet again, as Rose should have four super athletes to join him in the starting five in Antonio Anderson, Chris Douglas-Roberts, Robert Dozier, and Joey Dorsey. With the Tigers’ style of play and Rose’s immense talent, it will be very surprising to see him stay in Memphis longer then a year and we should see him as a high lottery pick in 2008.

Rose put on a very impressive display in both games he played today. On the offensive end, Rose displayed outstanding court vision. He knows where his teammates are at all times, and can create easy looks for them using his very quick first step to draw help defenders out of the lane. Rose is very smart with the ball in transition, where he almost always knows whether to pass it off or finish it himself. He could stand to improve his body control, and attack the hoop more aggressively, but at this point he is good at keeping the ball away from the defenders in the air which allows him to finish most of the time. In terms of physical attributes, Rose has a good body coupled with good size for a point guard, and is very quick and explosive off the ground. He uses this leaping ability both to hang in the air when going to the hoop, but it is most noticeable when he goes up to dunk the ball.

Rose’s biggest weakness at this point is his shot, where he displays poor mechanics and an inconsistent release point. This doesn’t stop him from taking a few long range shots from time to time, and it is evident that his shot selection will need to be improved. He also struggles with his touch around the hoop, and needs to work on making the adjustments to get around the defenders inside. This would allow him to attack the hoop with more tenacity. Rose possesses all of the physical attributes to become a very good defender, but at this point he is inconsistent with his effort, though his quick hands allow him to get some steals.

Against OJ Mayo’s team, Rose stepped up to the competition with a triple doubled that included 24 points, 14 rebounds, and 12 assists. He is very competitive, and wanted his team to be placed in the same pool as Mayo’s so he could prove himself against the best. It is easy to see why Rose is mentioned with the top prospects in the country, and he is definitely a guy who will play in the NBA down the road.

The first impression of Derrick Rose was that he has a world of talent at his hands but is still very far at this point from being considered a legit one and done talent. He was exposed numerous times by the So-Cal All-stars as being a very raw decision maker with questionable scoring ability, but the lack of preparation and chemistry that his team suffered from against the arguably the most talented team in Las Vegas played a considerable role in this initial conclusion.

In terms of pure physical attributes, there is very little to question about Rose’s status as a consensus top 5 recruit. He is every bit the 6-3 he is listed at, aided tremendously by his terrific length and excellent strength. He has a great frame for an NBA point guard and is a premier athlete to compliment that. Rose is explosive both vertically and horizontally, showing off his leaping ability numerous times when elevating for dunks and even doing a nice job crashing the glass and coming up with offensive rebounds. When moving at game speed he is smooth and fluid, capable of changing gears quickly but not quite having the intuition or experience to fully take advantage of this at this point.

His point guard skills look very solid as well, although again it was tough to gauge anything beyond his raw talent to the mediocre “gameplan” his team “ran” and the fact that he didn’t have much talent besides Eric Gordon next to him to take advantage of his crisp passes. Rose is an up-tempo point guard who is at his best when allowed to operate in transition. His struggles come when forced to into a more slow it down half-court game, although again, this is usually what a playbook is intended to help out with. What happened instead is that Rose looked very stubborn in trying to create his own shot against a tough and extremely active So-Cal defense, being unable to get into the paint with room to operate and being baited instead to settle for long-range jump-shots. Rose unfortunately cooperated fully and forced up a number of horrendous looking 3-pointers, showing atrocious mechanics and very little range outside of 14 feet. Clanking a half dozen 3-pointers off the side iron did not deter him from continuing to force the issue, and it was here where Rose was at his absolute worst in this game.

While this sounds like quite a bit of negativity on such a highly regarded recruit, have no mistake that Rose is a special talent who will have a major impact on the college game from day one. It must be said that the talk of Rose sitting out a year to go play in Europe and then enter the draft is absolutely ridiculous, though. Players as young as Rose who are limited in their scoring tools and have little to no experience in running a half-court offense can absolutely not play at a high level in Europe, unless they want to ride the pine extensively and earn their stripes in a junior league first. Pro A France and a 60-80 thousand dollar salary is about as much as a player like Rose can expect, unless he is willing to sign a long term contract, and at that point he is better off going to college for 2-3 years.