2007, January: Penthouse Magazine – Game Time/Clear Out: One on One with Jalen Rose
June 24, 2008
This Month in Sports: The Stats, the Scores, the Skinny…
The Knicks’ veteran guard-forward talks hoops, deejaying, bartending, and the potential return of short-shorts.
Do you think that head Coach Larry Brown got enough of the blame for what happened with the Knicks last year?
Got enough of the blame?
Yeah.
Well, anytime you’re not getting it done, the blame is equal – from the
players to the organization to the coaches. I don’t think one of the
those entities should get more blame than the other. Bottom line is
that we didn’t get it done.
Were you surprised that the Knicks took Renaldo Balkman with their first pick in the 2006 draft?
I’m not surprised by anything in pro sports. Not draft picks, not
contracts, not trades, not trade rumors, not teams moving, not big
cities not having teams. It comes with the territory. Balkman’s a
player whose team [University of South Carolina] won the [National
Invitational Tournament]. And he showed some promise. I was actually at
his game when they played Michigan at Madison Square Garden.
Speaking of Michigan, are you in touch with your Fab Five teammates, Chris Webber, Juwan Howard, Ray Jackson and Jimmy King?
Oh yeah, we’re still like a fraternity; we?re still like brothers. We
keep in contact with one another. We still support one another in
sports, but more important in life. That’s a bond that will never be
broken.
When you guys were at Michigan, athletic royalties at the school
more than tripled and applications for admission shot up as well. Do
you think college athletes should see any of the money they generate
for their schools?
Well, based on those statistics, I would think so. Maybe there should
be stipends, where you don’t necessarily get the money while you’re in
school. It’s only right, if you’re one of those players who helped
schools make tons of money, that there should be some kind of residual.
The Fab Five set the trend for baggy shorts. It’s gone too far
nowadays, with some college players wearing shorts down to their
ankles. Do you think that if you were to rock the short-shorts of the
1970’s and ’80’s, you could bring that trend back?
Never. They breed ’em better, bigger, stronger, and faster nowadays.
Take a guy like Lebron James. You don’t want to see that guy fall down
with some butt-hugger shorts on.
You’re into a lot of stuff off the court, like deejaying. Do you mix and scratch or do you just spin?
I’m into the mixing and scratching. I’ve always had a love for music.
I’m really into old-school, 1200 techniques with the mixer. Pretend I’m
DJ Premier or something like that. Or DJ Scratch.
I also ready that you have a chauffer’s license and a bartender’s license.
Absolutely, I’m actually working on the bartender’s license. I do have
a chauffer’s license, and I have a degree as well. I’m also into
broadcasting. I?ve been hired by Best Damn Sports Show Period to do
some correspondence with them.
As a bartender, what’s your specialty cocktail?
I make great mojitos. I make great martinis. If I had a specialty,
those’d probably be it – a mojito or key-lime martini. Tastes like
key-lime pie.
