The line of people extending from Simeon’s gymnasium doors and snaking down the sidewalk toward the school’s front entrance gave the appearance of a high school rivalry game Friday night.
Think Simeon against Morgan Park.
Except something about this line was different. There wasn’t cheering or talk of who would leave victorious. In fact, a lot of people had no idea what awaited them inside. Some thought it was a night honoring the late Ben Wilson and the Wolverines’ first state-championship team. Others believed there was a pickup game between former Simeon stars set to take place.
Both were partially right.
Inside, a private homecoming game between members of Derrick Rose’s AAU team and a group of his close friends, former teammates and kids who grew up hoping to emulate him one day was getting underway. Rose’s son, PJ, started alongside him, representing the home team.
At halftime, the 1984 state-championship team was honored. Wilson’s brother, Jeffrey, stood alongside his former teammates as they accepted gold-colored basketballs from Rose and posed for pictures.
“We were in Senegal in 2022, and we just started talking about what it would look like to give back to our community on a high scale,” Simeon boys basketball coach Tim Flowers said.
That trip to West Africa included Rose, Flowers and 16 boys from Simeon’s basketball program.
Rose was still two years from retiring, but he was actively setting in motion what his post-NBA life would look like. Being a consistent presence in the community where he grew up was always part of the plan and one that began when the Bulls drafted him No. 1 overall in 2008.
“I remember when he was 19, 20 years old and he was paying for funerals,” former Bulls teammate Joakim Noah told the Sun-Times. “This city is not an easy city to come from and to be an ambassador for. When he won the MVP [in 2011], when he started talking about his city, he was crying. He could barely get the words out. To see his growth and to see him take more of a leadership role, to be done with basketball and have the energy, it’s just beautiful to see.”
All week, Rose has worked his way from one community event to the next, culminating with the Bulls’ game Saturday night against the Knicks, which will serve as a celebration of his retirement. On Thursday, Rose hosted a free flower-shop pop-up, handing out bouquets of roses and taking pictures with the hundreds of fans who lined up hours in advance. On Friday morning, he announced “The Rose Garden,” a pollinator project at Growing Home’s urban farm in Englewood. Mayor Brandon Johnson officially proclaimed Jan. 4 as Derrick Rose Day in Chicago.
Friday night at Simeon was personal to Rose.
“Bob Marley had a quote,” Rose said to a packed gym. “He said, ‘Real friends are like stars. You only see them in the dark.’ That made me look back at everyone that was close to me. My friends and family and a majority of people in here. Y’all was shining bright.”
Some of Rose’s darkest days as a player included a succession of knee injuries between 2012 and 2017 that threatened to end his career prematurely. Despite not being the player he was before tearing his anterior cruciate ligament in 2012 — which was preceded by a Rookie of the Year award, three All-Star nods and being named the youngest MVP in NBA history — Rose was relentless in his pursuit of that previous form.
Somewhere along the way, he found peace in the unwritten stories and the rerouted trajectory.
“To be completely honest, he’s been this way for a while,” said Drew Henderson, Rose’s close friend and longtime barber. “It just hasn’t been in the public eye. He’s always been what everybody is seeing now. He continues to show Chicago’s youth you don’t have to identify with your past. You don’t have to succumb to your falls. Just keep standing up and keep staying true to self.”
Rose’s smile never wavered as he worked through warmups, passing out hugs to friends, family and fans after each made basket.
Those in attendance included former teammates Jeff Teague, Luol Deng and Brad Miller and current Bulls guard and Simeon grad Talen Horton-Tucker. Rose’s speed has been replaced with deliberate moves. His breathtaking ascensions to the rim have eased into uncomplicated layups that make him appear human.
In the back of everyone’s mind were the memories of a player who once flew across the court as if possessed.
Rose ended the game from the free-throw line. As he received the ball from the official — the game was tied at 24 after a fourth-quarter reset, and the winner would be the first team to 25 — Rose pumped the ball once behind his head, a trademark move, and dribbled it twice. Before the ball fell through the net, sealing his team’s win, applause rang out.
It wasn’t quite as loud as the acclamation he’ll receive at the United Center on Saturday night, but it meant just as much to Rose.