Derrick Rose and the Controversy Surrounding His SAT Score
Derrick Martell Rose, born on October 4, 1988, in Chicago, Illinois, is an American former professional basketball player. Rose, a Chicago native, attended Simeon Career Academy. He was heavily courted by colleges and eventually decided to attend the University of Memphis under coach John Calipari. Rose led the Tigers to an NCAA-record 38-2 record, their first No. 1 ranking in 25 years, and an NCAA championship game appearance. Throughout his career, Rose struggled with serious knee injuries.
Early Life and High School Career
Rose was born on Chicago’s South Side and raised in the Englewood neighborhood. He is Brenda Rose's youngest son, following Dwayne, Reggie, and Allan. All three were talented basketball players who taught Rose the ins and outs of the game on nearby courts. As his talent grew, Rose began to attract outside attention, leading his mother and brothers to restrict outside contact.
By 2003, when Rose enrolled at Simeon Career Academy, he was already widely noticed by collegiate coaches. Despite his reputation, he played freshmen and JV basketball for the Wolverines, wearing No. 25 in honor of Ben "Benji" Wilson, a promising player murdered in 1984.
Rose was initially not allowed on varsity due to a long-standing tradition under head coach Bob Hambric. However, he excelled, averaging 18.5 points, 6.6 assists, 4.7 rebounds, and 2.1 steals per game, leading both the freshmen and sophomores to city championships with a 24-1 record. Hambric softened his stance and allowed Rose a chance to play on varsity in the state tournament, but Rose declined, wanting the players to get due credit.
The following year, Robert Smith was hired, opening the path to varsity. In his debut, Rose had 22 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 steals over Thornwood High School. He led the Wolverines to a 30-5 record, averaging 19.8 points, 5.1 rebounds, 8.3 assists, and 2.4 steals, but the season ended after a loss in state regionals.
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During Rose's junior year in 2006, the Simeon Wolverines won the Chicago Public League championship at the United Center, where Rose starred with 25 points. The team advanced to the Class AA state championship against Richwoods High School, where Rose hit the game-winning jumper as time expired, giving Simeon its first state title since 1984.
Entering his senior year, Rose was ranked the fifth-best prospect in the nation by Sports Illustrated. In January 2007, Simeon played Rice High School at Madison Square Garden, losing 53-51. A highlight of the season was a nationally televised game on ESPN against Oak Hill Academy, where Rose had 28 points, 9 assists, and 8 rebounds in a 78-75 win. USA Today named him their high school player of the week for his performance.
Simeon went on to repeat as Public League champions and defended their state championship, defeating O'Fallon High School 77-54. Simeon's record while Rose played was 120-12. After his senior year, Rose was again All-State after being named Illinois Mr. Rose was selected to play in the Jordan Brand All-Star Game and Nike Hoop Summit. In 2009, ESPN RISE magazine named Rose the decade's third-greatest high school point guard behind Chris Paul and T. J. Ford.
College Career at Memphis
Rose accepted a scholarship to play for the University of Memphis Tigers under John Calipari, who recruited him after seeing him play in an AAU game. Strong efforts were made by Indiana University and the University of Illinois to sign Rose. Rose chose Memphis because of the school's history of putting players in the NBA and the prospect of Rod Strickland mentoring him.
With the addition of Rose, the Tigers started the season ranked third in the nation. Memphis sprinted to a 26-0 start and claimed the number one ranking in the country for the first time in over 25 years before falling to the University of Tennessee Volunteers 66-62 in February. Memphis bounced back and captured the Conference USA tournament to qualify for the NCAA tournament with a 33-1 record.
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Rose averaged 14.9 points per game, 4.7 assists, and 4.5 rebounds per game during the regular season and earned All-American Third Team honors. He finished as a finalist for the Bob Cousy Award as well as the John R. Wooden Award. Memphis was seeded No. 1 in the South Region. Rose earned high praise for his increased focus on defense, hounding Texas Longhorn guard D. J. Augustin in the Elite Eight.
In the Final Four against UCLA, Rose finished with 25 points and 9 rebounds to lead the Tigers to an 85-67 win and a trip to the NCAA championship game against the Kansas Jayhawks. The win set an NCAA mark for most wins in a season (38). Against Kansas, Rose scored 17 points, along with six rebounds and seven assists, but missed a critical free throw at the end of the second half as Memphis fell in overtime, 75-68. Memphis concluded the season 38-2.
The SAT Controversy
In 2009, allegations surfaced regarding the legitimacy of Derrick Rose's SAT score, which was used to gain admission to the University of Memphis. The Memphis Commercial Appeal obtained a letter through the Freedom of Information Act and released it. Although the player's name was redacted, sources revealed the player as Derrick Rose.
The allegations suggested "knowing fraudulence or misconduct" related to the SAT score. It was alleged that an unknown individual completed the SAT for Rose, with his knowledge, which was used to obtain his admission into the institution and to certify his NCAA eligibility.
Memphis contended that it had learned of the allegations about Rose's SAT score shortly after he enrolled at the school. It conducted its own investigation, in which Rose was questioned by four school officials. Rose released a statement through his lawyer Daniel E. Reidy: "Mr. Rose is aware of the allegations reported in the press… Mr. Rose cooperated fully with the University of Memphis' athletic and legal departments' investigation of this issue when he was a student and that investigation uncovered no wrong-doing on his part. At this time, Mr. Rose sees no reason to engage in further discussion regarding this matter and will instead focus on his career as a professional basketball player."
Read also: Comprehensive Guide to Rose-Hulman Merit Scholarships
NCAA Action and Aftermath
On August 20, 2009, the NCAA vacated Memphis' 2007-08 season, including its 38 wins and Final Four appearance. On May 28, 2010, Rose, former Memphis basketball coach John Calipari, and Memphis athletic director R.C. Johnson reached a $100,000 out-of-court settlement with three attorneys who represented Memphis season ticket holders and threatened a lawsuit over the vacated 2007-08 season.
Professional Career
Rose was drafted first overall by his hometown Chicago Bulls in the 2008 NBA draft.
Chicago Bulls (2008-2016)
Rose became the first Bulls draftee to score 10 points or more in his first 10 games since Michael Jordan and earned Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month honors for November and December. During the All-Star Weekend, Rose played in the Rookie Challenge and won the Skills Challenge, becoming the first rookie to claim the trophy. Overcoming a January and February slump, Rose returned to form and won monthly rookie honors in March. The Bulls, re-energized by the trade deadline acquisitions of John Salmons and Brad Miller, finished the regular season on a 12-4 spurt to qualify as the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference.
Rose won Rookie of the Year, joining Jordan (1985) and Elton Brand (2000) as the only Bulls to do so. He was also the first number-one draft pick since LeBron James to win the award. In his playoff debut against the defending champion Boston Celtics, Rose recorded 36 points (tying Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's NBA record for points scored by a rookie in his playoff debut), 11 assists, and 4 rebounds as the Bulls prevailed in a 105-103 overtime win on the road. Rose became the second player in NBA history to record 35 points and 10 assists in his playoff debut, after Chris Paul.
Rose's sophomore season started off with an ankle injury in his first preseason game. Rose would go on to miss the rest of the preseason. Rose started the Bulls' season opener against the San Antonio Spurs but played limited minutes. Rose's ankle bothered him for most of November, but as his ankle healed, his game improved. On January 16, 2010, against the Washington Wizards, Rose recorded 37 points, including a layup to win the game 121-119 with 5.4 seconds to go in the second overtime. On January 28, Rose was elected to his first career All-Star Game as a reserve for the Eastern Conference, making him the first Bulls player to be selected since Michael Jordan in 1998. Rose ended up with eight points, four assists and three steals in the game. On April 13, 2010, Rose scored 39 points against the Boston Celtics, making 15-22 field goals and 9-10 free throws. The Bulls once again made the playoffs in the 2009-10 season, finishing with a 41-41 record.
On October 30, 2010, in the Bulls' second game of the season, Rose scored 39 points in a 101-91 win against the Detroit Pistons. Two days after, Rose contributed 13 assists, helping Luol Deng score a career-high 40 points in a win against the Portland Trail Blazers. On December 10, Rose scored 29 points and had 9 assists, leading the Bulls to their first victory over the Los Angeles Lakers since December 19, 2006. On February 17, in the Bulls' last game before the All-Star break, Rose set a career-high with 42 points, while also recording 8 assists and 5 rebounds, as the Bulls beat the San Antonio Spurs 109-99. On March 19, he equalled that tally in a 115-108 overtime loss by the Indiana Pacers. The loss was only one of two that the Bulls suffered in the last 23 games of the season. On March 26, Rose had a career-high 17 assists, along with 30 points, in a 95-87 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks. On April 10, Rose scored 39 points on 13-of-17 shooting in a 102-99 win over the Orlando Magic, in one of the final regular season matches of the season which saw the Bulls go undefeated in the month of April. On April 13, Rose put on a show at the Madison Square Garden with 26 points, shooting 10-of-19 and throwing down several crowd-pleasing dunks in a 103-90 win over the Knicks, leading coach Mike D'Antoni to compliment him in the post-game interview: "His athletic ability is ridiculous."
At the end of the 2010-11 NBA season, the Bulls finished with a league-leading record of 62-20. Their 60+ wins were the Bulls' first such season since 1997-98 and sixth 60+ win in franchise history. At season's end, Rose became only the third player since the 1972-73 NBA season to record 2,000 points and 600 assists in a single season. In the 2011 NBA playoffs, the Bulls defeated the Indiana Pacers and Atlanta Hawks in the first two rounds. In the Eastern Conference Finals, the Bulls faced the Miami Heat, led by James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. The Bulls lost the series in five games.
In December 2011, Rose signed a five-year contract extension with the Bulls for $94.8 million. On January 11, 2012, Rose had a double-double in a 111-100 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves, scoring 31 points and dishing 11 assists. On January 30, against the Eastern Conference rival Miami Heat, Rose scored 34 points, but missed two key free throws with 22 seconds left, resulting in a 97-93 loss for the Bulls. However, he bounced back the next day, scoring a season-high 35 points in a 98-88 win over the Washington Wizards. In February 2012, Rose was voted as an All-Star Game starter for the second consecutive year. On March 5, 2012, Rose tied his season-high with 35 points against the Philadelphia 76ers, including a basket with 20 seconds left to seal a 96-91 win. On March 7, Rose hit a step-back fadeaway jumper to beat the buzzer against the Milwaukee Bucks, handing the Bulls a 106-104 win. He recorded another double-double with 30 points and 11 assists. The Bulls ended the season on a high, winning 18 out of their last 20 games, as Rose averaged 21.8 points per game, along with a career-high 7.9 assists in 35.3 minutes per game. Despite having played a career low 39 games due to injuries, Rose managed to record nine double-doubles.
During Game 1 of the first round of the playoffs against the Philadelphia 76ers, Rose injured his left knee while trying to jump. He was immediately helped off the court. The injury occurred when the Bulls were leading by 12 points with 1:22 left to play. Rose returned to full contact practice in January 2013 and was cleared by doctors to play in March, but he did not appear in a game during the 2012-13 NBA season. Rose's much awaited return came on October 5, 2013, in a pre-season game against the Indiana Pacers. He finished the game with 13 points in 20 minutes of play.
Later Career
In June 2016, Rose was traded to the New York Knicks, where he finished the final year of his contract. He signed with the Cleveland Cavaliers on a minimum salary for the 2017-18 season but was hobbled by ankle injuries, which led to him being traded to, and subsequently waived by, the Utah Jazz in February 2018. He signed with the Minnesota Timberwolves a month later on a rest-of-season contract; he stayed with the team through the following season and enjoyed a revived role as a sixth man off the bench despite missing 31 games due to injury management. For the 2019-20 season, the Detroit Pistons signed Rose to his first non-minimum salary contract since 2012, and he continued to be successful off the bench. The following season, he was reunited with his former coach Tom Thibodeau when the Knicks re-acquired him in a trade.
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