Jason Kidd recently told SI.com’s Chris Mannix that he would not be returning to the 2012 Team USA Basketball Team, leaving a roster spot open to a point guard to back-up Chris Paul and Deron Williams.
At the Team USA Basketball Showcase, four young point guards from around the NBA were invited to try out for that very spot. Derrick Rose, Devin Harris, Russell Westbrook, and D.J. Augustin battled it out for three days at the Showcase, but one stood out from all the others.
Derrick Rose has all of the skills of what seems to be a new breed of point guard. At 6-foot-3, Rose has good height for a point and uses his body well when he gets into the lane. Drawing contact seems to be fun for Rose, who loves the physicality of the NBA.
His scoring abilities in his rookie season consisted of getting to rack and either finishing or getting to the line. To make himself an unstoppable threat, Rose has spent a good part of this summer working on his jump shot.
“In the beginning I was thinking about it. I would settle for a pass instead of making myself a threat,” Rose told Marc Spears of Yahoo! Sports. “But I’m learning from it.”
As for playing in the Olympics, Rose has a history of playing in big games, finishing off his days in Memphis in a National Championship Game and starting his NBA career with one of the best playoff series in the history of the game. But for Derrick, the Olympics would be a whole new monster.
“It’s a little bit higher than all of that [referring to the National Championship Game and the Bulls-Celtics series from last season]. (Laughs). It’d be an honor,” Rose told me in an interview at the Showcase. “Everybody in the world is watching the Olympics if I do make the team. My mom was up watching the games at two or three o’clock in the morning, so I could tell it was a big thing. It’d be even bigger playing in it.”
Derrick admits that he wasn’t just watching those games at home, he was wishing he was there.
“I wanted to be there [last year when the U.S. team won the 2008 gold medal], on that podium,” said Rose.“It makes you want to come out here and be a part of this. You are competing against the world. I wouldn’t care if I started or not. Just to be out here competing with these guys, hopefully I’ll do good and be selected. I’ll do anything they want me to do, sacrifice scoring whatever. I just want to be on the team.”
Derrick’s ability to score and distribute the ball puts him above most point guards in the league alone, so it’s almost unfair when you throw his defensive skill set into the ring. Oh, and if Rose isn’t your cup of tee, it doesn’t matter. It seems like he already has it in with Team USA manager Jerry Colangelo.
“I love Derrick Rose,” said Colangelo. “I loved him last year coming out of college. He didn’t let anyone down as a rookie. He had a terrific year. If you are looking at our roster and are saying maybe there’s a spot open at that position, he’s got to be right there in any discussion.
“This is a great opportunity in this camp and next season to maybe separate himself from the pack in terms of competition,” said Colangelo. “If you’re looking at the point guard position, what do you have coming back? What kind of point guard are they? What kind of experience do they bring? In his case he has size and strength. He can finish. He’s getting better and better at shooting the ball. What I’m looking for in him, it’s more about body language, composure, relations on the court. It’s all about maturity, growing as a person and player. Without question he’ll be one of our top candidates.”
Rose could not be more of a down to earth guy. Just before the camp started, I saw him walking out of an Apple Store. He looked like a normal guy, and a casual basketball fan probably wouldn’t recognize him in street clothes.
Of course, going to the Apple Store was probably the only thing that he can do, he’s just 20.
“I’m too young to do anything here in Vegas,” Rose said. “If I’m standing by any [gambling] tables they kick me out. I did that [tried to play a slot machine] in high school when we were out here playing AAU and they almost kicked us out of the hotel. You just come out here to play against the great players. I watch movies. That’s the only thing you can do out here. It costs like $14.99 [at the luxury team hotel]. It’s a lot, but it’s worth it.”
I wonder what type of movies he’s talking about? I’m guessing Wall-E.
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