Derrick Rose Return & Injury Update: Coach Mike Krzyzewski Expects Rose to Be in Team USA’s Training Camp for World Cup
Derrick Rose has only played 10 games over the last two seasons, but USA Basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski expects the Chicago Bulls superstar to be ready for national team duties this summer.
In a recent interview with ESPNU College Basketball, Krzyzewski expressed confidence that Rose will be present when Team USA start their training camp in July in preparation for the upcoming 2014 FIBA World Cup in Spain.
"We expect him to be there that last week of July when we're choosing the team in Vegas," Krzyzewski said.
The two-time Olympic champion coach reiterated, though, that Rose, like any other superstar included in the pool, will have to compete for a spot in the final lineup.
Krzyzewski, who also led Team USA to a gold-medal finish in the 2010 World Basketball Championship, said that Rose will not make the team unless he is 100 percent ready, but the long-time Duke University coach believes that the former Most Valuable Player will be up to the task.
"He can't make the team unless he's ready to go full bore. And knowing Derrick I would think he'll be ready, and hopefully he'll be 100 percent," Krzyzewski said.
Rose was a non-factor for the Bulls again this season after sustaining a torn meniscus in his right knee, ten games into his return from a long layoff due to an ACL injury in his left knee, which forced him to miss the entire 2012-13 NBA season.
There are concerns about Rose's health this summer, with some saying that the 25-year-old superstar should skip Team USA's training camp this summer, but Bulls executives have already given Rose the green light to compete for a spot in the 2014 World Cup team.
Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau, who is one the assistant coaches of Team USA, has also given Rose his blessing to play this summer, saying that the upcoming tournament could work wonders for the former first-overall pick again.
"If he's healthy and he's cleared -- like I thought it was a great experience for him before in 2010," Thibodeau said, referring to Rose stint in the 2010 World Basketball Championship, which was followed by his MVP season. "I know he'd like to do it. I know how USA Basketball feels about him. If he's cleared to do it, I'd love to see him do it."