COCOA KISS OF THE WEEK: Derrick Rose
Derrick Rose may light up the basketball court with his jump shots and killer passes, but while this “cocoa kiss” is dribbling down the court, his chiseled physique, sexy smile and confidence has us dribbling from the lip…
Derrick Martell Rose was born on October 4, 1988 in Chicago, Illinois. His grandmother nicknamed him “Pooh,” based on his resemblance to Winnie-the-Pooh as an infant (Awe, how cute!). In honor of the honey guzzling cartoon, Derrick has a tattoo of the words “The Great Poohdini” framing an image of a wizard holding a staff in one hand and a basketball in the other.
Derrick grew up in a neighborhood called Englewood on the southwest side of Chicago. He attended Beasley Academic Center for elementary school. It was on the courts of Beasley where Derrick began to turn heads with his basketball skills that were way beyond his age. From a very young age, Derrick was shielded from trouble by a protective family who knew he had a bright future in basketball.
On his high school basketball team at Simeon Career Academy, he began making a name for himself throughout the Chicago area and eventually on a national level. He led Simeon to back to back championships, a feat that had never been done before by a public school team in Chicago. In his senior year, Derrick was named Illinois Mr. Basketball, a prestigious award previously won by NBA players Kevin Garnett, Eddy Curry, and Shaun Livingston. That same year he was selected to play for both Team USA in the Nike Summit Game and for the West in the McDonald’s All-American Game. These two tremendous honors, along with his spectacular high school career, helped make Derrick one of the most well documented and highly coveted players in the nation. He topped many scouts’ lists as the best point guard in the country.
After high school, Derrick elected to play for Coach John Calipari and the Memphis Tigers. Soon after the championship game, Derrick announced his intentions to declare for the NBA Draft. The risk he took by declaring for the NBA Draft after only his freshmen season at Memphis paid off when he was selected #1 by the Chicago Bulls, his hometown team. Derrick is the first point guard to be chosen #1 overall in 12 years since Allen Iverson was picked in 1996.
Tags: Athlete, Basketball, Cocoa Kiss of the Week, Cute Guy, Derrick Rose
June 26th, 2010 at 8:21 am
he is a very talented, good lookin fella… i was soooo lucky to exchange words with him during the all star weekend and also to see him play and practice,, i also saw him during a game against ma hometown team but saddly he was injured and couldnt play… oh well at least i was a few feet away from he and the bulls wer siiting so im cool wit that…=]