One of the best storylines during this summer will be the selection process for the FIBA World Cup basketball team, and particularly whether former MVP Derrick Rose will be on the final roster.
Rose is competing with several top-notch guards, and has only played in 10 NBA games over the past two seasons thanks to a torn ACL followed by a torn meniscus. His former Memphis coach John Calipari though said Rose is "on a mission," and raved about his physical condition following the injuries.
Team USA coach Mike Krzyzewski says Rose won't have restrictions
"He said: 'I'm on a mission,'" Calipari said. "And that's how he is. That's why he's a great teammate. That's why players want to play with him. Everybody wanted him to come back on their own timetable, but they can joke about it and say what they want. When you look at him now, he did the right thing for himself and [the Chicago Bulls]."
Rose was far from himself last season, shooting just 35 percent and averaging a shade under 16 points per game before going down with the torn meniscus. Now though, USA Select teammates seem impressed with his progress.
"He looks better," Pacers' star Paul George said. "He looks like he's coming off the MVP year. He's really been aggressive. He's been flying across the court. We've seen him last year in the regular season; it still looked like he was holding back a little bit. It doesn't look like that here."
Rose commented on his comeback too, citing Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook as inspiration. "When you see somebody like Russ go out there and play the way he's been playing, especially last year having two knee surgeries, like three actually, it gives you a little bit of confidence," Rose said.
"But at the same time, I know I put a lot of consistent work in the entire summer. And as long as I'm being consistent, I know that it's going to pay off."
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