Chicago Bulls' guard Derrick Rose is a fantastic basketball player -- when he's healthy. And that seems to be the catch. Is he a super-star or perennially damaged goods -- a bust?
There's no questioning Rose's talents and abilities on the court, going all the way back to high school. Yet his past, present, and likely future have been a high-rollers crap shoot. Consider some of his accomplishments -- and stumbles -- along the way.....
By most accounts Rose was an "average" student at a Chicago area high school in a rough neighborhood. Not exactly honor-roll, but his grades were good enough to make him college eligible. Or were they?
He wound up going to Memphis, which was then coached by one John Calipari. That name should sound familiar. Memphis would reach the Final Four before bowing out. Rose would be a "one and done" under Calipari. That should DEFINITELY ring a bell.
As for his high school grades, an investigation later revealed at least one of them had been altered (upgraded) to bolster his college eligibility. No official culprit was ever determined, but Memphis got stuck with sanctions for two reasons. Though Rose himself claimed to be unaware of the hanky panky, entirely possible, he had also insisted one of his brothers be allowed to travel with the team. They had allowed it. That was a no-no. So the season Rose played for Memphis was vacated from the record books -- however much THAT matters.
Then off to the NBA having been drafted #1 overall by the Chicago Bulls. Still at the tender age of 20, Rose would go on to be the NBA's Rookie of the Year in 2008. But he had already experienced some tendinitis in his right knee. Though few paid any attention at the time, this would later prove to be a very bad omen of things to come. A young man in great shape not yet old enough to legally have a beer had tendinitis? That wasn't supposed to happen.
In 2009, Rose had an ankle injury which kept him out of the preseason. OK, anybody can twist their ankle. No biggie but, looking back, it was another sign.
Rose would indeed rebound, no pun intended, over the next couple years. He had a stellar 2010 -2011 season which resulted in him being the NBA MVP. For that matter, still only 22 1/2, Rose was the youngest to ever win the honor. Very heady stuff.
Headier yet was the max contract he signed following that season. $95 million for 5 years. All was well in Chitown and Derrick land. Dare I say the world of guns and Roses? Sorry. Ahem.
But the following year in the playoffs (May of 2012) Rose tore his left ACL. Surgery was required, and his rehab/recuperation time was given as 8-12 months. Obviously, he would not be ready for the start of the 2012-2013 season.
Right on schedule, 10 months later in March 2013, Rose was given a clean bill of health by the doctors. He was good-to-go -- full-tilt. While on that subject, let's not forget that big-time pro athletes get the finest medical care by the finest medical personnel in the country, if not the world. These guys know what they're talking about.
But Rose said he didn't feel quite right yet. Some thought he was "milking" a sick leave while making millions of dollars for doing nothing. Could have been. Others came to his defense and claimed only Derrick himself knew for sure how his body felt. Point noted.
At any rate, though medically cleared to play in March, Rose opted to sit out the rest of the season, including the entire playoffs which went well into June.
He would make his return in October of 2013, over a year and a half since his left knee injury (remember the original 8-12 month recovery period). By then he had collected roughly $30 million while not playing.
Sure enough, only a month later, Rose would suffer a torn meniscus in his right knee (the one that originally had tendinitis). More surgery, and out for the season again. Cha-ching.
Returning for the 2014-2015 campaign, Rose was doing fairly well, though a couple of his teammates had suffered injuries here and there that kept them out for various times.
Then bang, Rose went down yet again on Feb. 24. The meniscus was torn again. More surgery coming up, and nobody knows how long he'll be out this time. However, a doctor knowledgeable about such things said this procedure will only be of the minor arthroscopic variety. He shouldn't be out more than 6 weeks -- 8 at the max.
That means he should be ready for the playoffs which start in a couple months. But I'll just betcha, full medical clearance or not, we've seen the last of Derrick Rose this season, because that's the way he rolls. Nice work-- or not -- if one can get it. Did I mention cha-ching?
So taking all the above into account, one could reasonably ask themself this question.....
Look back up at the title of this post.....
No comments:
Post a Comment