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Interviews with Derrick Rose and Michael Beasley

Interviews with Derrick Rose and Michael Beasley
Jun 01, 2008, 01:01 am
Derrick Rose Interview



Reporter: Hey Derrick, there’s been so much speculation about whether things are decided or who is going where, who is going to work out where. Have you scheduled workouts with anyone? Do you have any idea as of now where you think or where you know you might wind up?

Derrick Rose: No, I’m just, really just listening to what people tell me with where to go, and my agent, nobody’s told me about the workouts yet, so I probably didn’t get it.


Reporter: Do you have a preference on where you go?

Derrick Rose: Not at all, as long as I’m playing in the NBA I’m good.

Reporter: Is it enticing that if you were to be selected by the Heat, even though Pat Riley’s in the front office, to play under him?

Derrick Rose: I would love to play under him, he let Dwyane Wade play similar to my game, or let me play similar to Dwyane’s game, up-tempo game. I would love to player there, but I would love to play for the Bulls too.

Reporter: Being from Chicago, though, and they didn’t have a high percentage to get the number one pick, what was your reaction when they did?

Derrick Rose: It was surprising. It was shocking to almost everybody that was watching. They had like a 1.7% chance, something like that, so just to see them win, I mean win the first pick, it was kind of crazy.

Reporter: The word out of Chicago is that they just hired Doug Collins as their coach, have you heard anything about that? Do you know Doug?

Derrick Rose: Not at all, this is my first time hearing about it.

Reporter: Do you know that he coached there before, coached Michael?

Derrick Rose: Yeah, I know he ended up coaching Michael and then coached the Wizards or something like that.

Reporter: Derrick, what kind of pressure, if any, would you find playing in your home town?

Derrick Rose: It would be a lot of pressure, but I think growing up in Chicago, I think I got used to it.

Reporter: Have you talked to anyone that’s gone through it, like Eddy Curry? Would you maybe seek advice for how to handle playing in your home town?

Derrick Rose: I’m used to playing there, so they can love you and hate you at the same time. So, I think I got used to that.

Reporter: How special would it be for your family, to play in Chicago?

Derrick Rose: It would mean I lot, I could see them at the sideline at every game yelling for me. I can see my nieces there, and the rest of my family members

Reporter: You say you don’t care where you go, but you’re not leaning towards Chicago at all?

Derrick Rose: I’d just be happy to play there, it wouldn’t matter if I went first or second.

Reporter: Would you welcome the opportunity to be in Miami considering they’re two years removed from an NBA Championship, and this team is now rebuilding?

Derrick Rose: Yes I would love to go there, I would like to be one of the people to help them rebuild for the future.

Reporter: Have you looked at the Bulls’ roster, to know what you can help them with in the future as a point guard?

Derrick Rose: I really didn’t look into that, right now I’m just excited that I’ll be the first or second pick.

Reporter: What do you think your strengths are going to be?

Derrick Rose: I’d have to say my leadership skills getting better and hopefully when I get to the next level they’ll get a lot higher.

Reporter: It’s not like Joey [Dorsey] doesn’t talk a lot, but he told us where you’re going yesterday. Have you spoken to him about it? Were you shocked when he came out and told you, you were going to Miami, Beasley to Chicago? What are your thoughts about what Joey said?

Derrick Rose: Joey is going to be Joey, everybody knows that. He was just in the arcade room, and I was asking him what he was thinking when he said that. And he was just playing around. If anyone knows, it wouldn’t be Joey.

Reporter: You mentioned before your leadership skills, but by all accounts of people that know you, well you’re also something of a quiet guy, so how do those things jive?

Derrick Rose: Off the court I’m kind of quiet, but on the court I talk a little bit more, I’m calmer and it seems like people listen to me when I’m on the court.

Reporter: How do you think you command the respect of your teammates?

Derrick Rose: Leading by example, staying at practice a little bit longer. Doing the little things off the court, showing that I’m a good teammate.

Reporter: What do you think you need to work on?

Derrick Rose: My all-around game, dribbling, ball-handling, passing, almost everything.

Reporter: Do you know any guys on the Bulls, played with them, crossed paths with them?

Derrick Rose: I know Ben Gordon, he’s a real good player, great player, great guard, strong guard. I’d love to play with him too.

Reporter: Have you had an interaction with Dwyane at all?

Derrick Rose: No, I’ve never met him.

Reporter: Your brother did though, your brother played with him?

Derrick Rose: No, I don’t think so.

Reporter: Joey played with him?

Derrick Rose: He probably did.

Reporter: What’s life been like since the Championship Game?

Derrick Rose: It’s been crazy, traveling everywhere. I’ve been in LA the most, just working out. And really just doing two-a-days and getting a lot of sleep.

Reporter: What if anything is B.J. Armstrong working with you on and helping you with throughout this process?

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Derrick Rose: The leadership thing, he wants me to be a leader, be more vocal when I’m on the court. So like when I’m doing workouts, he’ll just tell me to talk a little more and try to make people play a little bit harder

Reporter: How did that relationship first form?

Derrick Rose: B.J., he used to come to my games like in AAU, my brother used to talk to him, somehow we just got real acquainted with each other

Reporter: You mention Dwyane Wade, what is it about the way he plays that makes you want to be his teammate if they select you?

Derrick Rose: He always attacks while he’s on offense, and he’s a good teammate. Everybody listens to him when he’s on the court, he’s a leader, and he’ll take the pressure off of me, and if I play with him, hopefully I’ll take the pressure off of him too.

Reporter: How had Coach Cal helped you prepare for the next level?

Derrick Rose: Man, he helped me so much. When I first came in this summer I didn’t think I would be able to run the offense because there were so many things I had to learn about that offense that Coach Cal runs. He pulled me into his office my times to just tell me to cool down and just play my game. And he groomed me into young man, and on the court he just made me attack the rim a little bit more.

Reporter: You have some familiarity with the United Center, playing AAU there, can you talk about that?

Derrick Rose: I really didn’t think about that, it really don’t matter what arena I play in right now as long as I’m playing basketball.

Reporter: How much of a Bulls fan, if any were you, growing up in Chicago?

Derrick Rose: I was a huge Bulls fan when Mike was playing. When he stopped playing, I didn’t really pay as much attention after that.

Reporter: If someone asks you why you should be number one and not number two, what do you tell them?

Derrick Rose: It’s up to them, for me, I would love to be number one. But if not, number two is OK, I know a lot of people that would love to be number two.

Reporter: Is there any kind of pride you would take if you were number one?

Derrick Rose: No, not really. It’s their pick, so I can’t make their pick.

Reporter: Coach Calipari was on a Chicago radio station last week, and he obviously talked about your strengths as a player, but he also said that defensively you need to be a little more focused. Would you agree with that assessment?

Derrick Rose: That’s the number one thing he wants his player to learn is the defensive part. If he wants to play defense all the time and you take one possession off, he’s going to terrorize you for that whole possession or take you on the bench and get all in your face and tell you about it. He used to hate when I let people score on me.

Reporter: There’s also talk amongst scouts that your jump shot needs to improve, where do you stand on that?

Derrick Rose: I’m working on that, a jump shot can be easily improved, as long as I keep working on it, it should get better.



Reporter: You see guys like Chris Paul and Deron Williams and how quickly they’ve helped their teams and they’ve become All-Stars. Does that inspire you to believe that guard player in the NBA has taken on a more important role in the last few years?

Derrick Rose: Seeing them, I wish I’ll […]their shoes or get anywhere near them. The guard play in the league is the number one thing, especially with the point guard. It starts with the point guard. You see Deron Williams and Chris Paul running their team, and they made it pretty far. If I’m close enough to do that I’ll be pretty happy, but if I don’t, you have to look at how I’m being compared to, Deron Williams is a great player.

Reporter: Do you think you would be in this position if you hadn’t come to school?

Derrick Rose: Not at all, not at all. I’d probably be somewhere on a bench or be in the D-League.

Reporter: Where have you improved the most from spending the year in college?

Derrick Rose: My midrange game, and finishing a little better. In practice, we do a lot of finishing plays where we use pads, and I think from doing that, it really helped.

Reporter: Do you fit better with the Bulls or with the Heat?

Derrick Rose: I really don’t know, I know if I go certain places, trades are going to be made, so I really don’t know.

Reporter: Do you think you’ll be able to play in a backcourt with Dwyane Wade?

Derrick Rose: I think so, I think I can play with him and I think he would want me to play with him.

Reporter: Who is better, you or Michael Beasley?

Derrick Rose: He’s way better than me.

Reporter: Why do you say that?

Derrick Rose: He’s versatile, he’s a great player.

Michael Beasley Interview



Reporter: Derrick Rose said you’re a lot better player than him.

Michael Beasley:
Why would he say that?

Reporter: We asked him…

Michael Beasley: He led his team to the Championship game, I wouldn’t say all that.


Reporter: Are you the number one pick?

Michael Beasley: I could be, I don’t know.

Reporter: Do you care where you go?

Michael Beasley: No, I just want to win.

Reporter: If you were not selected number one and the Heat were to select you, what would be the pros about playing alongside Dwyane Wade and for Pat Riley?

Michael Beasley: Pat Riley is a great coach, Dwyane Wade is a great player, he shares the ball, he’s been in the League for a couple years so I can look to him for advice.

Reporter: Have you set up any workouts, do you have plans to go work out for any teams?

Michael Beasley: My agent set up all that. I’m going to Chicago, Miami.

Reporter: Do you have any sense that you’re going to wind up in one place or the other?

Michael Beasley: No, it is kind of up in the air right now. Chicago is a nice fit, great team, but Miami is too.

Reporter: Miami has Udonis Haslem and Shawn Marion, two guys that have played power forward their whole career. Are you a three-four, or even an NBA three? Could you see yourself being either a swing player or even playing some kind of small forward in the NBA?

Michael Beasley: Definitely, I can play any position you want me to basically.

Reporter: Have you played in that role at all?

Michael Beasley: I’ve played a little bit of three. I’m just interested to see how this thing plays out.

Reporter: There was a point this year where you were the number one pick and it was a one player draft, and obviously Derrick’s team got hot, went to the tournament, was right there at the end. Did any of that bother you? Was it like, what have I done wrong, that I was the cover guy and then other guys caught up, or did you think that it was logical and was going to happen during a college season?

Michael Beasley: I think it makes it more fun. A race is you’re just running by yourself. Its competitive, it’s time to compete, time to work harder than the next guy.

Reporter: What was your reaction when you heard Joey Dorsey’s comments about you going to Chicago.

Michael Beasley: I just heard about it just now, I didn’t know.

Reporter: You put on 25 pounds or so last summer?

Michael Beasley: Yeah, I would say 20-25.

Reporter: Was that just dedication to get better and bigger and improve your game?

Michael Beasley: That was just a crazy strength coach that pushes you in the weight room each and every day.

Reporter: Do you see yourself adding even more weight getting into the League?

Michael Beasley: I want to, but not too much too early on. I’m going to get strong playing in the NBA.

Reporter: Are there two players you look up to, I like his game, I like his game, I want to combine them and be my own player? Are there a couple guys in the League you want to learn from and pick apart?

Michael Beasley: I really like Carmelo’s game, big body, can step out and shoot the J, post up. That’s pretty much it. LeBron, I think everyone wants to play like LeBron, Kobe Bryant. I really try to critique my game and Carmelo.

Reporter: What do you think your strengths are as a player?

Michael Beasley: Playing. I do what’s needed, sometimes I’m a rebounder, sometimes I’m a scorer, sometimes I’m a defender, sometimes I’m a distributor, I do whatever is needed for my team.

Reporter: What are some things you think you’ll have to work on at the next level?

Michael Beasley: Everything, strength, conditioning, my jump shot, my dribbling, free throw shooting, rebounding, cheerleading.



Reporter: Some people have said that things come so easy for you, or you make them look so easy, that they think you can coast through a game on skill and talent alone. Does that bother you that just because you’re doing so well it’s not easy and that you will grow as a player.

Michael Beasley: I think that anyone that goes into the gym day in and day out and shoots 500-600 jump shots a night deserves to play a 40 minute game. If its 400 jump shots compared to 8 jump shots in a game, that’s like .1%, that’s not real good. I work hard to make it look easy, I play as hard as I can every night.

Reporter: Why would Chicago be a good fit?

Michael Beasley: I know they got two great guards, Luol Deng at the three, Tyrus Thomas, Joakim Noah at the five, I think I can fit in really well at the three or the four spot.

Reporter: People have said you’re anywhere between 6-7 and 6-10, how tall are you?

Michael Beasley: I thought I was 6-9, I heard 6-7. In college I was 6-10, I might have grown an inch, maybe, I don’t know. I would say 6-9.

Reporter: Is your answer really that it doesn’t matter?

Michael Beasley: I didn’t know there was a height requirement.

Reporter: Are you concerned that your measurements may scare off Chicago or Miami?

Michael Beasley: Not at all, no matter if I’m 5-0, or 8-1, I’m the same player, I’m going to give you the same winning mentality and work as hard as I can.

Reporter: Can you fathom any scenario when you are not one of the first two picks in the NBA draft?

Michael Beasley: Yeah.

Reporter: Do you think there’s another player in the group with you and Derrick right now?

Michael Beasley: There could be. There are a lot of great players in the draft: DeAndre Jordan, Donte Greene, Anthony Randolph, Eric Gordon. There are a lot of great players in the draft this year, just a matter of who the team wants, who the team needs, how they want to play certain players.

Reporter: How did a year of college help you?

Michael Beasley: A lot, not just on the court, but off. It helped me mature a little bit, live on my own. On the court, I got strong, got the mental side of things. I’m real satisfied.

Reporter: Do you know anything about Doug Collins?

Michael Beasley: I don’t know, it will be nice, it’s the first time I’ve heard anything about that.

Reporter: What do you need to show Eric Spolestra and Pat Riley in your workout?

Michael Beasley: Show them me I guess, show them that I’m relentless, show them that I work hard, show them that I’m a great player I guess.

Reporter: Is there a lot of pressure in these workouts when you have a Hall of Famer like Pat Riley watching?

Michael Beasley: I don’t think so. I’m just going to go out and play, if you like what you see, you like what you see, if you don’t, I’m not mad.

Reporter: You had reports of various degrees of mischief, but yet Frank [Martin] said this year, model citizen, you want your kid to be like the way you are. Is that just a high school kid getting it out of his system because life begins at college? Is that something you think NBA people…

Michael Beasley: I just turned 19 years old in January, how mature do you want me to be. I’m just a kid, I’m not legal, I can smoke, but that’s about it.

Reporter: Team’s are looking at you to lift them significantly higher, is that going to be a burden at 20, or do you feel that because of all that you’ve been through in life that maybe at least basketball maturity you’re further along?

Michael Beasley: On the basketball court I’m 30 years old. Off the court, I don’t know how mature you want me to be, I don’t know if you want me to act 25, 30, or 40. I’m 19, I’m a kid, I’m going to live me life, I’m going to mess up. I don’t know everything. I’m learning day by day.

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