The Derrick Rose the world fell in love with was a Chicago born Bulls player, wearing jersey number one, and among the most exciting and promising young stars.
Since those days, injuries fell heavy on Rose, made him slower, less explosive, and simply different from the uber-athlete we witnessed in his first few pro-years. Those are not the only changes though. For the upcoming season, Derrick Rose will not only be wearing the New York Knicks jersey, but also a new number; 25.
This number is new to most people, but not to him or those who followed his high school basketball days. It is a throwback to the number he wore at Chicago's Simeon High School, a number also of special meaning since it was the one which, traditionally, the best player of the team would wear.
The real sad story behind it though, and why it became the “number of the best player” is that this was the number of Ben “Benji” Wilson, a promising young talent which was murdered back in 1984 at the young age of 17 as Kaylee Pofahl described in a New York Post article.
Rose will always be a Chicago man. He may not be a Bull anymore, but he honors his roots and pays his respect to the past.
With the trade and change of scenery, Rose wants to bring something different to this new challenge. He wants to show true glimpses of greatness and be the best possible athlete for his team.
Rose had some words to say concerning his number change and what he aims to bring from now on. He commented, via Nick DePaula of The Vertical.
The past is the past, but that No. 1, I think, will always be stuck with me. It's always going to remind people and give them memories of how I played when I was younger. I was playing reckless, and I was just ballin'. I had raw talent. Now, with the No. 25, I think you'll see a more mature player. You'll see the player that you saw toward the end of last year. More under-control type of game, and I got a lot more options now this year. That No. 1 will always be engraved in me, and it's not going anywhere. Twenty-five is just a new step, and a new step in the right direction.
Rose has the past in his heart, but he now walks towards the future ready to take on any challenge.
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