by Marcel Mutoni / @marcel_mutoni
Derrick Rose became one of the NBA’s most exciting players by doing one thing, and one thing alone: attacking the cup with reckless abandon. It resulted in countless highlights, and all kinds of exposure for the young point guard.
Rose plans on adding another layer to his already impressive offensive repertoire.
As a member of Team USA, and encouraged by the shorter three-point line in FIBA play, D-Rose has begun to tinker with his outside shooting. Derrick tells the Chicago Tribune that we could see him hoist a few more threes next season in Chicago:
Averaging 8.5 points and 2.9 assists in six starts, Rose has emerged as a vocal leader at the advice of coach Mike Krzyzewski and has continued to develop a 3-point touch that will dangerously round out his offensive game.
The FIBA line is 3 feet shorter than the NBA’s, but Rose’s 3-for-4 showing behind the arc against Angola provided a glimpse of the new confidence from long range he vowed to bring to his third season. “It’s something I’ve been working on over the summer with my trainer Rob (McClanaghan), and over here I stay after practice and take lots of reps shooting NBA threes,” Rose said. “Now when I’m open or need to shoot it, I will because I am confident it’ll go in.”
As he prepares for his third NBA season, Rose has an unimpressive career three-point average of 24.2%, and has yet to average more than one three-point attempt per game. Bulls fans can likely expect all of that to change very soon.