Chicago Bulls superstar Derrick Rose is ready to compete for a spot in the USA national basketball team when he participates in the upcoming five-day minicamp in Los Angeles.
Rose is coming off his second knee injury - a torn meniscus in right knee - but Bulls coach and USA assistant coach Tom Thibodeau said that the former Most Valuable Player is ready to make noise in Las Vegas.
"This is the next step," Thibodeau said of Rose's participation in USA Basketball camp via Chicago Tribune. "Derrick has handled every step to this point the right way."
Thibodeau is hoping that Rose's possible stint in the upcoming 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup in Spain will work wonders for him, similar to what happened in 2010 after Rose played for Team USA in the World Basketball Championships.
"The last time he participated in USA Basketball, he followed that with his MVP season. So we're hoping he can use this time productively," Rose said.
USA Basketball Chairman Jerry Colangelo and coach Mike Krzyzewski is excited to have Rose in the training camp, and both of them previously expressed hope that the 25-year-old point guard will be healthy in the upcoming camp.
Rose is one of the top candidates to get a spot in the team as both Colangelo and Krzyzewski said that they will take previous experience as a factor in picking players for Team USA.
Meanwhile, Bulls teammate Taj Gibson expressed no doubt that Rose will be ready to make noise this summer and return as a dominant point guard next season.
In an interview, Gibson said that Rose has been working hard this summer to regain his old form without thinking about the negative things he is hearing about his future coming off an ACL and meniscus tear.
"Derrick's been having a great summer," Gibson said via ESPN Chicago. "He's sacrificed, stayed in Chicago all summer to work on his game. He wants to let his game speak for itself. He's staying away from all the negative stuff, just working on his game. Every day I go in the gym he's there and moving forward. He's going to come back dominant."
