Even in street clothes, Derrick Rose made an impression on Texas coach Rick Barnes. It was at the Little Rock, Ark., hotel that the Longhorns shared with Memphis the week before the Tigers crushed Barnes' team with a Final Four berth on the line.
The Tigers, Barnes noticed, were ''big and long and athletic and quick. But when I saw [Rose] up close, he was the one player I was impressed with physically. I was really impressed with his size.''
When Rose, a lithe 6-3, was taking it to Texas on Sunday in Houston, Barnes saw another side of Rose's impact in the eyes of his players.
''We wanted to take charges,'' Barnes said. ''And early in the game, we could have picked up a couple. But I could tell by looking at our players' faces when I said that, he was just slippery. He's so evasive. He slips around and comes at you so hard. And he can just elevate around the rim.''
The Longhorns saw what opponents have seen throughout this NCAA tournament, in which Rose is averaging 20.5 points, six rebounds and six assists, with a 4.8 assist-to-turnover ratio.
Kansas State power forward Michael Beasley, the only player projected to go ahead of Rose in the next NBA draft, is a dazzling scorer. UCLA center Kevin Love, whose team faces Memphis in the Final Four on Saturday, has a top-notch all-around game. Indiana guard Eric Gordon has exceptional offensive skills.
Because Rose is so understated and unselfish, he doesn't readily stand out in this year's remarkable freshman crop. But this natural point guard, who can dish or create his own scoring opportunity, who has all the leadership intangibles, is unmistakably a standout.
'A unique basketball player'
When Robert Smith, then an elementary school coach, first saw Rose in sixth grade, he had his eye on another player who was scoring more. By the time Smith had moved on to Simeon High School, ''I knew Derrick was a player this program had to have.''
''Derrick is a unique basketball player,'' Smith said. ''Since he's been in the sixth grade, he's always been to the championship game. Elementary school, high school, and now he has a chance to do it in college. He's not flashy. He doesn't care about the attention. He just wants to win.''
That was apparent in the early stages of Memphis' 85-67 win over Texas when Rose grabbed a rebound and glided up the court for a layup with a seemingly effortless burst, igniting an early 20-5 run that put the Longhorns on their heels.
He wasn't trying to make a statement, he insisted afterward.
''No. Coach [John Calipari] was yelling at me, telling me to pull it out,'' he said. ''So I was just waiting for somebody to come toward me so I could dish it off. But nobody came, so I just made the layup.''
Rose's upside astounds Calipari, who compares him to Marcus Camby, the dominant center who led Calipari's first Final Four team at Massachusetts in 1996.
''Marcus was the most unselfish player on the court, which meant you could not be selfish,'' Calipari said. ''They are similar in that way. This kid would rather have 22 assists than 22 points. He just wants his players to be happy on the court. So did Marcus.''
The unassuming game Rose plays has its roots in the South Side playgrounds, especially Murray Park on West 73rd between Ashland and Damen. When Rose was 13, he used to compete with his brother Allan and his friends, who were six or seven years older.
''When you're with older kids, you don't want to shoot all the time,'' Rose said.
Derrick borrowed something from each of his three older brothers, said Reggie Rose, an All-State guard at Hubbard in 1993.
''I was the shooting guard when our older brother [Dwayne] was the point guard on our Hubbard team,'' Reggie said. ''Allan was kind of jumping and athletic. Derrick was small, so he'd come to the park and Allan would be dunking on Derrick. So it seemed like Derrick took all three of the things his brothers could do and put it in one.''
And what a package that is.
When it came time to choose a college, Rose didn't lack for suitors. Illinois, with a tradition of landing Simeon stars, was one contender. Indiana was another, partly because Rose and Gordon were friendly.
But in Memphis, Derrick and Reggie -- Derrick's AAU coach with the Chicago Express for three years -- saw an irresistible combination of an accomplished veteran team that had been to two straight Elite Eights and the dribble-drive offensive scheme that suited Derrick's creative skills.
''Those were the main reasons, the veteran guys and the style of play,'' Reggie said. ''From the AAU, I saw what he could do in the open floor compared to when he played at Simeon, which was a lot of sets. That helped him out because he can play both ways -- a slow-type game, or he can speed it up.''
Unselfish environment
The other thing that made Memphis a good fit, the Roses said, was the connection they felt with Calipari and his players. Even though Rose would be taking the starting point-guard job Willie Kemp had held last season, Kemp encouraged him to come on down.
''I talked to Derrick a lot, but not that much about basketball,'' said Kemp, a 6-2 sophomore. ''I just talked to him about life in general. For Derrick to come here was great. I wasn't thinking about him coming in and taking away my minutes. I just thought he was a great player who was going to help out our team a lot. I'd rather be 35-1 than playing 40 minutes and losing the game.''
Kemp, a strong shooter, still gets his chances. When Michigan State cut Memphis' lead to 16-13 in the first half of their regional semifinal Friday, Kemp hit back-to-back three-pointers to start a 34-7 blitz that put the Tigers on top 50-20 at halftime of their 92-74 victory.
''Willie is one of the nicest teammates I've ever been with,'' Rose said. ''For him to [welcome me] and know his minutes will be cut short shows a lot. He's shown me the plays after practice, helped me with my jump shot. He'll do anything for you.''
The Tigers feel the same way about Rose, who was named third-team All-America by the Associated Press this week.
''He's so unselfish. He's a true point guard,'' said junior guard Chris Douglas-Roberts, a first-team All-America selection. ''He wants his teammates involved and wants to be a teammate. He doesn't have the attitude that 'I want to be the guy.'''
He can't help it if that happens to be true.
Comment at suntimes.com.
FINAL FOUR
At the Alamodome, San Antonio
Semifinals -- Saturday
- Memphis (37-1) vs. UCLA (35-3), 5:07 p.m., Ch. 2
- North Carolina (36-2) vs. Kansas (35-3), 7:47 p.m., Ch. 2
Championship -- 8 p.m. Monday, Ch. 2
Photo: David J. Phillip, AP / Ex-Simeon standout Derrick Rose is projected to be picked second in the NBA draft this summer. ;
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