There are (roughly) 7,045,999,999 in this world who can’t touch Derrick Rose in Coach Mike Krzyzewski’s eyes.
The Team USA head coach has strong feelings for the Chicago Bulls point guard. Very strong feelings. So strong, players at Duke might want to start taking offense.
Speaking on Rose’s progression and his personality, Coach K threw a verbal “Derrick Rose is the best” party, per Sports Illustrated‘s Jeremy Woo:
“He’s one of the best guys in the whole world,” said Krzyzewski of Rose. “He’s so easy to coach and wants to please. It’s very neat to see how excited he is about being here in his first game back. As a Chicagoan, I’m ecstatic about him and what Tom [Thibodeau] has done for the Bulls.””
That’s what Coach K said before Team USA’s 95-78 exhibition romping of Brazil. It’s what he said before Rose went out and tallied seven points, two assists, one block and three turnovers in 24 minutes. It’s what he and everyone else around Team USA has basically been saying or hinting at for weeks.
Team USA chairman Jerry Colangelo even had some nice things to add leading into Saturday night’s homecoming for D-Rose:
“For [Derrick] now to come back tomorrow night in front of a sellout crowd, looking like he’s on the way back in a big way, that has to be really exciting for him,” said Colangelo. “It should be a self-confidence builder for him and a big self-confidence builder for the fans when they see him, too.”
In other words, Rose looks good. He feels good. He’s awesome. He’s back.
We get it.
Videos and vines and tweets and Facebook posts and anything else you can think of have been nothing but optimistic when it comes to Rose’s latest return. You’d be hard-pressed to find someone frowning whilst saying, “Rose is screwed; the Bulls are done,” because no one’s saying that. Almost no one is doubting how successful Rose’s return will be. Rare is the person looking at the Bulls as anything other than a top-two Eastern Conference team.
To that end: Why?
Why is everyone so certain that Rose is going to come back and dominate? Why are so many people completely sure the Bulls are going to contend with the Cleveland Cavaliers and anyone and everyone else the 2014-15 regular season throws their way? They very well could, but Rose has to stay healthy. And rookies Doug McDermott and Nikola Mirotic must make instant contributions. And Joakim Noah must stay healthy. And Pau Gasol must mesh with his new teammates…and stay healthy.
Question marks still exist in Chicago. They even exist as it pertains to Rose, who has yet to show anything. Whatever we see between now and the regular season can be encouraging, but such events don’t necessarily portend the future.
That, admittedly, has nothing to do with his character, and Rose is one helluva character. It’s there in his defiance and determination. It’s there in the way he continues to fight his way back.
It’s there, in almost every word Coach K and Colangelo and anyone else speaks.
Dan Favale is a firm believer in the three-pointer as well as the notion that defense doesn’t always win championships. His musings can be found at Bleacherreport.com in addition to TheHoopDoctors.com.
