2009, November 6: Sports Pickle – 10 Q’s with: Jalen Rose
November 6, 2009
In SportsPickle’s “10 (or so) Questions With” series, DJ Gallo interviews people in the sports world doing interesting things. Today’s interview subject: Jalen Rose … Fab Five star, 13-year NBA veteran, NBA analyst for ESPN. And, yes, these are real interviews. Enjoy.
— Q1 —
SportsPickle: Your draft day suit … still perhaps the best ever in a very competitive category. Where is the suit these days? Hung with care in your closet like a wedding dress? Do you ever wear it around the house for fun? Rent it out for draft night parties?
Jalen Rose: The infamous draft day suit is most definitely in an ugly frame in my house – I haven’t decided exactly what I want to do with it yet, but I know it has to be hanging somewhere since it indirectly bought the house!
— Q2 —
SP: Jordan gets all the credit, but the Fab Five really brought in the age of the baggy shorts. Was this a conscious fashion choice? Or because someone’s package didn’t measure up enough for short shorts? Whose was it? Ray Jackson?
Rose: Funny. MJ is arguably the greatest player of all time and although he is very fashion conscious, he wasn’t the trend setter this time – all of us were college kids who were forced to wear soft-porn daisy dukes in high school. When we got to the big stage at UM, it was time to change the game so we requested long shorts, black shoes and black socks because we were rebels with a cause and ready to prove it.
— Q3 —
SP: Thanks to you guys, I adopted the baggy shorts style when I played. In 7th grade basketball, the crotch of my shorts averaged 3.5 turnovers a game because I often tried to dribble between my legs and got stuffed by the low hem. What was I doing wrong?
Rose: Either you’re not that tall or you can’t handle the ball very well.
SP: I’ll blame it on the former. Even though it’s the latter.
— Q4 —
SP: It’s the question all fans of the Fab Five want the answer to: Do you think you’ll ever reunite and go on tour? The Police made a ton of money on their tour last summer.
Rose: Don’t be surprised if there’s a Fab Five movie and book someday with all of us – they will only be legit if they include all of us.
SP: I’ll only buy it if there’s an entire chapter dedicated to the great Rob Pelinka.
— Q5 —
SP: You did a great job as a defensive stopper against Michael Jordan during the ’98 Eastern Conference Finals. But why didn’t you try to stop his Hall of Fame speech this summer? That thing was unbearable.
Rose: It sounded like MJ had a lot on his chest (laughing) … he spoke a lot about motivation and inspiration but at the end of the day, that’s MJ and he can say whatever he wants.
— Q6 —
SP: In 2006, the Knicks acquired you from the Raptors in exchange for cap space. You shot 46-percent from the floor in New York and averaged 12.7 points. Cap space did dick. You feel vindicated, no?
Rose: I’m just happy that every situation I’ve ever been in, whether or a great team or bad team, I went out and played well.
SP: Cap space, you have been served.
— Q7 —
SP: You have given significant sums of money to fund inner city reading centers, you also donated $100,000 to Dikembe Mutombo for the construction of an operating room at a hospital in the Congo. Very generous. But did you mean to give that much, or could you not understand what Mutombo was saying, and only later discovered you had agreed to six figures?
Rose: Mutombo tricked me (laughing) … nah, I knew exactly what I was doing and was very honored to be able to make a donation from my own foundation for such a great cause. Thanks for the props and I hope that I can inspire others to give as well.
SP: Now a few quick questions on the new NBA season …
— Q8 —
SP: Most surprising offseason acquisition: Allen Iverson to the Grizzlies? Or Khloe Kardashian to Lamar Odom?
Rose: BOTH. AI deserves an opportunity to play for a contender and although quick, Odom and Kardashian deserve to be happy. Stay tuned on both.
— Q9 —
SP: Who’s better – Kobe or Lebron? Redick or Morrison?
Rose: Lebron may be better the first 46 minutes of a game but Kobe is better the last two minutes. (See: four titles.) Redick has proven to be a better pro than Morrison so far.
— Q10 —
SP: Where do you think Lebron James will be at this time next year? (Note: I mean what team do you think he’ll be playing for, so “Sitting in a diamond-encrusted house” is not an acceptable answer.)
Rose: A diamond-encrusted house NEXT year? I’m sure he’s already sitting in that! I’d be very surprised if Lebron left Cleveland and the Cavaliers.
— Q11 —
SP: Due to his positive test, do you think all of Rashard Lewis’ dunks should be asterisked?
Rose: Judging from his body type, I’m not sure he was taking steroids. But if they didn’t do it to Barry Bonds, they shouldn’t do it to Rashard.
— Q12 —
SP: Best NBA mascot: Benny The Bull, Phoenix Suns Gorilla, Brian Scalabrine?
Rose: Since I played in both cities, I have love for Benny and the Gorilla. But Brian actually gets to sit on the bench.
SP: Awesome.
— Q13 —
SP: Considering the fact that you had some issues with Isiah Thomas in the past, Thomas now coaching at Florida International … hilarious? Or extremely hilarious?
Rose: I have a lot of respect for Isiah and although we may have had issues professionally, ultimately he was one of my mentors and role models growing up and still is. Let’s see how the FIU team fares this season and revisit.
— Q14 —
SP: If ______ ever dunked on you, you would pull a Lebron and confiscate the tape.
Rose: Barack Obama.
