When Derrick Rose's high school team bossed over Brandon Jennings-led No. 1 Oak Hill Academy
Former NBA Rookie of the Year and MVP Derrick Rose announced his retirement from the NBA on Thursday, September 26. In his younger years, Rose was drafted by the Bulls as their first overall pick in 2008 and became the league's youngest MVP.
Back in 2003, Rose enrolled at the Simeon Career Academy and played basketball. In his senior year, he was ranked the fifth-best prospect by Sports Illustrated. Also, Rose led his team to an upset win against Brandon Jennings and Nolan Smith's Oak Hill Academy. Check out his highlights below:
Rose was up in a matchup against Brandon Jennings and put in a tremendous performance, dribbling through traffic and finding open teammates. The former Chicago Bulls star finished with 28 points, 9 assists and 8 rebounds as they took the W. It was a tough loss for Jennings, who was seen in tears in the final few seconds of the match.
After the game, a reporter asked Rose how he felt about defeating the No. 1 team. He replied:
"I'm happy that our team played different. I made my impact early in the game and I think it helped our team."
Rose was also asked about his matchup with Brandon Jennings:
"Oh, he's real good. He got speed like me, but I think I'm a little bit stronger, but he's nice."
During his senior year at Simeon, Rose averaged 25.2 points, 9.1 assists, 8.8 rebounds and 3.4 steals per game, and led the Wolverines to back-to-back championships.
Derrick Rose's NBA career took a hit after ACL injury
Derrick Rose was drafted as the No. 1 pick by the Chicago Bulls from the University of Memphis. In his first season, Rose played 81 games and averaged 16.8 points, 6.3 assists, 3.9 rebounds and 0.8 steals per contest for the Bulls, winning the Rookie of the Year award.
The 3x All-Star was in Chicago for eight years, however, an unfortunate ACL injury caused Rose to miss the entire 2012-13 season. When he returned he was not the same player, and was traded to the New York Knicks in 2016.
There, Derrick Rose played 64 games and averaged 18 points, 3.8 rebounds, 4.4 assists while shooting 47.1% from the field and 21.7% from beyond the arc.
After a season in New York, Rose played for Cleveland in the 2017-18 season, followed by two seasons with the Minnesota Timberwolves. After this, Rose played two seasons for Detroit from 2019 to 2021 but started only four games.
In 2021, he was traded to the New York Knicks again where he spent three years and started only 7 games, averaging 11.6 points while shooting 45% from the field. His final team was the Memphis Grizzlies, where he started seven games, averaging 8 points on 46.1% shooting before he took the decision to retire.
The debate with Derrick Rose's career is often a 'what could have been' discussion. While his later years were mostly unremarkable, at his peak he was one of the best the NBA could offer.