Rose Plans to Play Sunday

“It's killing him to not be playing,” said Robert Smith, Rose's high school coach

Update: Rose did not play Thursday...

Derrick Rose confirmed he plans to play Sunday in New York if he doesn't make it on the court Thursday after a groin injury held him back.

It comes just in time -- for the team and the player.

“It's killing him to not be playing,” said Robert Smith, head coach at Rose's Simeon High School alma mater. Smith won back-to-back Illinois State Championships when Rose was a junior and senior at Simeon.

On the Jarrett Payton Show recently, Smith said not playing has made Rose feel very down lately. People in his inner circle have done their best to try and keep his spirits lifted and help him remain in a positive state of mind.

“That kid is so competitive and he wants to win," Smith said, "but because of this injury, people have been telling him to never take playing in the NBA for granted because that ball can suddenly stop bouncing whether it's from injury or whatever.”
 
Those words resonated with me because as fans, we shouldn't take Rose for granted either.

That's not to say people actually do, but the playing career of a professional athlete is by and large a very short time, and at any given moment something could happen that takes it all away. Remember what happened to Jay Williams?
 
Rose is only 23 years old and because of that, some fans may feel like he'll be around forever. We all want him to be. He's a once-in-a-lifetime player and those kinds of guys don't grow on trees or just fall out of the sky. 

For now, Rose said he'll warm up with the team Thursday for practice and make a game-time decision.

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