John Calipari Defends Derrick Rose Sitting Out Season
By Josh Hill
Chicago Bulls fans have grown tired of Derrick Rose’s decision to sit out the entire 2013 season and it’s an anger that won’t quell until Rose hits the court again in the fall. Some Bulls have have gone as far as to blame Rose for ruining their summer, but if you ask John Calipari how he feels about Rose, he’s got a very different opinion.
Calipari hopped on 92.3 The Fan in Cleveland and said that he’s talked to Chicago Bulls management and says they have no problem with Rose missing the season so neither should you.
“I’ve talked to Chicago Bulls management, I know all those guys, and you know what? They’re fine,” Calipari said on The Fan. “They didn’t want him to go back. As a matter of fact, they wanted to announce he wasn’t coming back, but Derrick didn’t want to do it because he thought if there is any chance for me to come back.”
There has been intense backlash from fans who wanted to see Rose be a factor in a title push this postseason but in hindsight his return would have been wasted. The Bulls were banged up and were missing Kirk Hinrich and Luol Deng against the Heat while operating with less than 100 percent versions of Joakim Noah and Taj Gibson.
So had Rose come back, he’d have likely served little purpose other than to extend the Bulls eventual elimination. Calipari has a reason to defend Rose as he coached him during his only season at Memphis. Calipari, who is preparing for a bounce back season with Kentucky, said he knows Rose and thinks he deserves more respect than he’s been getting.
“Knowing him the way he is, knowing he is a great kid and somebody who probably in the worst way wanted to play, but just was so tentative he wasn’t right,” Calipari said. “He didn’t trust it yet and you gotta respect that.”
Had Rose just said he was done for the season rather than stringing fans along, he likely would have avoided all the tension with fans. But once he starts winning Chicago games again, all will be forgotten very quickly.