Calipari Defends Derrick Rose From Criticisms on 'Bull & Fox' Radio Show

Kentucky coach John Calipari is the latest come to the defense of his former star Derrick Rose.

Calipari, who coached Rose in his only college season at Memphis, appeared on the Cleveland-based "Bull & Fox” radio show earlier this week where he told listeners “an NBA player’s body, if he does anything to hurt his own body he’s wrecking his own career. You let them listen to their bodies.”  

The youngest player in NBA history to earn MVP distinction, Rose found himself on the other side of the image divide this year over his decision to sit out the entire season and recuperate from a torn ACL.

Almost by the day, more and more pundits, media members and even players grew to question his heart and commitment. All the sound bites were lost on Calipari.

“The second thing is, I’ve talked to Chicago Bulls management, I know all those guys… and you know what? They’re fine. They didn’t want him to go back. As a matter of fact, they wanted to announce he wasn’t coming back, but Derrick didn’t want to do it because he thought if there is any chance for me to come back…

“But let me ask you this,” Calipari continued “at the end of the day after they got going, and they were going to play in the second round, what good would it have done other than he could have got hurt? Tell me what good it could have done?”

Rose, 24, will now spend the off season working to get himself back to the levels that made him an all-star in three of his first four seasons and rookie of the year in his first.

“He didn’t trust it,” Calipari told The Fan of a return this season. “Knowing him the way he is… you gotta respect that.”

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