Safety and First Aid

Scott Bruno

Safety and First Aid

3/31/14

Derrick Rose

Derrick Rose is a professional basketball player for the Chicago Bulls. Rose was born and raised in Chicago and learned about the game mostly from his three older siblings. In his early years of attending Simeon Career Academy, he won two state championships and was the best point guard in the country. Rose grew up in Englewood, Illinois, which is said to be one of the most dangerous neighborhoods on Chicago’s South Side.

After graduating from Simeon Career Academy, Rose went to continue his career and play collegiate basketball at the University of Memphis receiving a full scholarship. In his first year at Memphis the team started off as number 3 in the nation and were quickly 26-0. Memphis winded up winning their conference tournament (Conference USA) and finished up with a 33-1 record. Rose averaged, 14.9 points per game, 4.7 assists and 4.5 rebounds per game in his first season with the Tigers. Rose led the team all the way that year to the NCAA National championship game but fell short in an overtime lost to Kansas 75-68. Memphis ended their season with a 38-2 record and set the NCAA men’s basketball record for the most wins in team history. Shortly after the season ended, Rose declared for the NBA draft on April 15, 2008. Later on that year, the NCAA complied an investigation on the University of Memphis and found that Rose’s SAT scores were invalid and not correct. The NCAA officially erased the Tigers 38-2 record and completely took it out of the record books on August 20th.

Derrick Rose was selected first overall by the Chicago Bulls in the 2008 NBA draft. Rose immediately made a name for himself around the league and became the first Bulls players to score 10 or more points in his first 10 games since the king Michael Jordan. In his first season he was invited to play in the Skills Challenge on All-Star weekend. He became the first rookie to ever win the challenge and make history. The Bulls winded up making it to the playoffs that year because of Derrick Rose and his contribution to the team. In his playoff debut, Rose scored 36 points which tied the all-time great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s NBA record for the most points scored by a rookie in his playoff debut. He became the second player in NBA history to record 35 points and 10 assists in his playoff debut following Chris Paul.

Derrick Rose was arguably one of the best players in the NBA in his first three seasons with the Chicago Bulls. However, in 2011-2012 season his career changed forever. During game 1 of the first round of the playoffs, the Bulls were playing the Philadelphia 76er’s were Rose was having another unbelievable game. In the forth quarter with 1:22 remaining on the clock and the Bulls leading by 12, Rose tried to jump up a record a rebound but injured his left knee in the process. An MRI immediately after the game revealed that Rose tore his ACL in his left knee and would miss the remainder of the season. Rose received his surgery on May 12, 2012 and his recover time was projected between 8-12 months.

After losing a franchise player like Derrick Rose, the Chicago Bulls were in some serious need of a new point guard. The Chicago Bulls never released a rehabilitation plan for Rose however, sources say that he was going to receive reconstructive surgery. Rose will not only have to regain strength in his left knee but also entirely on his right side according to team officials and doctors. ESPN sources also said, “Surgery is often delayed until the athlete's inflammation subsides and range of motion approaches normal.” However, that was not the case and Rose had his surgery ASAP so he can return to playing the game he loves.

When all was said and done, Derrick Rose returned to full contact practice in January of 2013. Doctors cleared Rose to play in March of 2013 however, he did not appear in a single game for the rest of the season. Good news finally came for the Chicago Bulls and Derrick Rose finally played in a pre-season game on October 5th 2013. He played in the Bulls home opener on October 16, 2013 and finished the game with 22 points. Rose stated, “I think I'm way more explosive now. Like getting to the rim. I think I can take contact a little bit better. And as far as jumping-wise, I think I can jump even higher. They tested my vertical -- I increased it by 5 inches.” About a little over a month went by and Derrick Rose was contributing everything he had to the Bulls organization. It was to good to be true for Rose as he sadly retained another injury keeping him out of the game once again.

On November 22, 2013 the Chicago Bulls were playing the Portland Trailblazers. Unfortunately, Rose injured his right knee running back to play defense and Bulls fans had no other feeling but pain as well. An MRI the following day established that Rose tore his medial meniscus in his right knee and that surgery was required. Three days later Rose underwent surgery and the Chicago Bulls organization announced that he will be out for the remainder of the season.

Latest reports on Rose are that he is recovering very well but is definitely out for the remainder of this season. Rose has been doing a lot of knee strength and flexibility rehab to gain strength back in his knee so he can eventually return to play. In early February, Rose was shooting around on his own strength but still tells media he is on his own schedule. I personally am a Derrick Rose fan because I like the way he plays the game. I really hope for his sake that he can come back stronger from this injury and still have a great career.