D-ROSE: OVERCOMING LA

It's not very often young players earn the praise of Kobe Bryant, which is why many in the pro basketball community seemed to notice last month when Bryant sought out Derrick Rose for a hug and some kinds words after the Bulls' 98-91 loss in Los Angeles.

"I can tell when a player truly wants to be better and does what it takes to improve," Bryant said Thursday, one night before the rematch in Chicago. "It was a quality I had when I was growing up. … I admire that about him. I could really see it from last year to this year."

Kobe is now one of the elder statesman in the league, at 32 years old and in his 15th season, his blessing now means every bit as much as Michael Jordan's did in the late 1990s, when Bryant was a young pup. And Rose has caught his eye. We've seen enough to know now, six weeks into the season, that D-Rose wasn't being presumptuous when he essentially asked in the preseason, "Why not me?" for MVP.

"He's got a long-range ball now," Bryant said. "He can pop behind the pick and shoot the jumper. He can pull up off the dribble and shoot it, and him getting to the rim goes unquestioned. He's putting the time in the gym, and I certainly respect that."

The best sign yet of how desperately Rose wants to win came after the Bulls' narrow victory over Cleveland on Wednesday, a game that could have gone either way, the kind of game the Bulls shouldn't be nearly squandering if they have serious aspirations about contending. Rose knows winning alone isn't enough. It is if you merely want to make the playoffs, but not for teams such as the Celtics and Magic, Spurs and Lakers, for whom that's the minimum required. Rose was too annoyed to eat the postgame spread, not easily satisfied -- in the tradition of Bryant and Jordan. Rose isn't blessed with their height, but increasingly he seems to have their hatred of losing. Friday's game with the Lakers is one of those chances to see to what lengths Rose will go to not lose because Kobe is wary of all comers now.

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Before Friday night's game, before he led the Bulls to their first win over the Los Angeles Lakers in four years, before he wowed a national crowd with 29 and 9, Derrick Rose told reporters with a straight face that he's not a star.

"He did?" Joakim Noah said. "When he plays on the court, you really believe he thinks that?"

No, of course not.

"Exactly," Noah said. "He might tell you guys that, but when he's dribbling that ball up the court, he knows what he's doing."

He knows what he's doing, all right. What he did Friday night was score 29 points, knock down three of five 3-pointers, dish out nine assists and, by force of will, lead the Bulls to their most impressive win of this young season, a wildly entertaining 88-84 victory over the defending champion Lakers.

"His swag is crazy right now," Noah said. "That's good. That's a good thing. We need that."

This wasn't just an early December win. The Bulls hadn't beaten Los Angeles since Dec. 19, 2006, and coming off disappointing losses to Orlando and Boston last week, this team needed to make a statement that it was really a player in the big picture.

Do the players feel the same way about one win?

"Of course," Rose said. "When you beat the champions, there's nothing you can say about that. We won this game fair and square."

Rose's pure desire, clichéd as it sounds, separates him from the pretenders and the second-tier players. And it's why he is a star.

"Derrick is somebody who wants to be great," Noah said. "I've never been around somebody who's so hard on himself. He really wants to be the best player he can be. He's special because, you know, he has a lot of abilities, but his mindset is what makes him so unique. I've never seen somebody with that much ability be so humble off the court, but on the court, his swag is unbelievable."

"What he's doing right now is unbelievable," Noah said.

In a game that defined the rising arc of his young career, Rose's most memorable move came with 5 minutes, 31 seconds to go and the Bulls up 74-67.

It was an accidental homage to the ghost he'll chase until the end of his career.

The move came on a catch-and-shoot play out of a timeout with 3 seconds on the shot clock. Rose caught the pass, faded back, off balance, into the Lakers bench. He uncorked his body and buried a 21-foot jumper.

Oh, and Rose hit another shot clock beater, a 15-foot fadeaway, with 25.2 seconds left to keep a dwindling lead at 85-80. He scored nine points in the fourth.

"I don't mean to bring my agent B.J. Armstrong in it, but he said that's when good players are supposed to take over a game," Rose said. "And that's all I was trying to do. And the shots, thank God, went in."

The fans were up for this one, with chants of "Beat L.A." and cheers of "MVP" for Rose.

Rose said the MVP chants feel good, but he's not going to let it go to his head.

"I'm not a star," Rose said before the game. "I'm just playing in the NBA, and trying to do anything to get my team a win, just passing the ball, doing whatever. But you can see the difference between a star and a superstar, especially in this league where superstars like Kobe and other players -- there's only a few of them -- they can take over games and do it on a consistent basis."

Like Noah said, he's always hard on himself.

DERRICK ROSE

Derrick Rose the No. 1 overall pick easily won Rookie of the Year honors, averaged 17 points on 48 percent shooting and 6 assists and seamlessly handled the transition from college to the NBA.

Of course, that's not the way Rose sees it.

"I need to work on my jump shot, my defense and becoming a leader," Rose said. "I've got to lead the team better. I've got to control the game a little more as a point guard."

It's well documented by now that Rose's humility and self-critical eye are as prodigious as his talent, and he clearly is the Bulls' centerpiece moving forward.

Nevertheless, Rose himself raises an intriguing dynamic on the leadership front. Fairly shy by nature, it was apparent throughout the season that Rose occasionally struggled walking the fine line between dominating and deferring.

His unique gifts of strength and speed allowed him to take over games at times. Yet as a rookie, particularly a soft-spoken one, he also would disappear for stretches, trying to get his teammates involved.

Rose attempted one fourth-quarter shot in Game 7 of the Celtics' series.

"I'm still a point guard," Rose said. "I can't come down and shoot seven shots in a row. I still have to look for people and get them open."

Beyond mastering the fine line between being a scorer and facilitator, coach Vinny Del Negro mentioned shooting, understanding and recognizing defensive coverages, understanding time and score as areas in which he'd most like to see Rose improve.

Kirk Hinrich doesn't possess Rose's talent, but he does own a unique perspective of playing major minutes as a starting point guard as a rookie. Hinrich did so for a non-playoff team, but he still contemplated long and hard when asked how much better Rose can master the leadership dynamic in his second season.

"It's a tough question because Derrick's so darn good this year," Hinrich said. "As time goes on leadership will come more naturally for him. Obviously, he's going to be the leader of this team. Everyone is excited about his future. “

"I think leading will be much easier because I learned so much this season. I put myself in a good position. I came in, played my role as a rookie, listened to my veterans and led by my work ethic,” Rose said.

"There's always room for improvement. I plan to work so hard, you'll be able to tell I got better."

D. ROSE

Rose talked about Game 1 after he had 36pts and led the young Chicago Bulls to a win over the defending NBA champs Boston Celtics: "I want that as a player, the pressure. Whenever I get the ball in my hands I just calm down. Thats what a point guard does."

D ROSE

DEERFIELD, Ill. -- Derrick Rose has cried after losing an AAU game. Not just once, but multiple times.

An AAU game? Are you serious? There's usually another game in a few hours, and no one pays much attention to an AAU team's win-loss record.

"What turned it for me was when I saw him cry after an AAU loss and the other dudes were racing to get to McDonald's," Calipari said. "This kid was crushed by losing."

Rose wasn't being immature. He cared. Maybe too much, but Calipari would take that passion in a second.

"I'm really competitive. If people say I can't shoot, then in a drill I'll try to outshoot them. I just hate losing. No matter what it is, I'll do it to win. Winning is the goal for me,” said Rose.

Reggie Rose said of Derrick's crying. "He hates to lose."

Calipari doesn't mince words about how much of a difference Rose's winning mentality changed the culture of the Tigers' program. Memphis went to two straight Elite Eights prior to Rose's arrival. Memphis went to the national title game with him, and the Tigers were potentially 17 feet -- a missed two-footer against Tennessee and a missed 15-foot free throw against Kansas in the title game -- from a perfect 40-0 season.

"What I like most about Derrick Rose is that when the lights are on, he takes his game to a different level," said UCLA coach Ben Howland. "The significance of the game raises his game to a higher level. He's a big-game, big-time, lights-on guy. That's when he shines best. Those guys are few and far between. Every big game he played, our game, Texas, he was phenomenal."

“Roses winning mentality is what makes him a special prospect,” Calipari said.

"Barring injury, he's your point guard the next 15 years," Calipari said. "If you can get one like him, you do it."

Calipari said Rose came to an established team, but after a month or two, he didn't just run the Tigers, he dragged them along.

"He's a guy who chases greatness," Calipari said. "You have to have the habits and the work ethic to truly chase it. He does."

Rose proved his maturity and leadership abilities after Memphis' regular-season loss to Tennessee, the team's only regular-season loss of the season. The freshman was one of only a few Tigers who talked to the media after the game. While veterans Chris Douglas-Roberts and Joey Dorsey hid their faces in the locker room, Rose faced the defeat head-on.

He also averaged 20.8 points, 6.0 assists and 6.5 rebounds in six NCAA tournament games. He dominated head-to-head matchups against top point guards like Texas' D.J. Augustin, Kansas’ Mario Chalmers, and UCLA's Darren Collison.

"It was win, win, win, win, during the NCAA tournament, that’s what he does," Reggie Rose said.

"I just knew that I had to put the team on my shoulders," Rose said. "I had to run the team."

The one blemish that Rose can't forget came against Kansas in the title game. He missed a free throw with 10 seconds left in regulation. If he made the free throw, Memphis would have had a four-point lead. Instead, with a three-point lead, Kansas' Mario Chalmers hit a game-tying 3-pointer with 2.1 seconds left.

Following the title game, Rose was crying and hugging his brother Reggie.

"He's his own worst critic and he internalizes his game, and if he makes a mistake, it takes a while for him to get over it," Calipari said.

“Rose is driven like Tiger Woods. He's got it. He's unique like that,” said Calipari.