The Michigan Daily - SPORTSMonday - Monday, January 23, 1995 - 3 Rose The former Michigan basketball star talks about adjusting to the NBA RACHEL BACHMAN Bach's Score With the 13th pick in the 1994 NBA Draft, the Denver Nuggets se- lected Jalen Rose out of Michigan. Before starring for the Wolver- ines, the six-foot-eight swingman played for ex-Michigan assistant coach Perry Watson at Detroit *Southwestern High School, where he led the Prospectors to the USA Today National Championship in his senior year. Southwestern lost only one game in Rose's final two years there. He followed these successes by playing for Michigan's Steve Fisher for three seasons. While with the Wolverines he played alongside the *likes of current Washington Bullets Chris Webber and Juwan Howard, as well as current Michigan seniors Jimmy King and Ray Jackson. Together, those five made up the recruiting class known as the Fab Five - the class to which all col- lege recruiting classes are now com- pared. During his stay in Ann Ar- bor, Rose reached two NCAA Chain- ionship finals and one regional fnal. 'He finished his career at Michi- gan ranked sixth on the Wolverines' 41! -time scoring list with 1,788 points, sixth in games started with JO1, fifth in career assists with 401, fifth in steals with 117and second in qfreer three-pqinters with 124. Daily Sports Writer Brett Krasnove recently spoke to Rose *about his days as part of the Fab Five, his developing career with the Nuggets, Michigan's new recruit- ing class and his future plans. Daily: How are you adjusting to the NBA? Rose: Very well. Everything's starting to come around the way I've anticipated it being, and I'm just trying to get better every day. I'm just trying to get my timing together. To me, shooting is noth- ing more than just timing and rep- etition. D: Do you feel like you're part of something big as a member of the Nuggets? R: Definitely, because we're an up-and-coming team. There are not too many teams in the league where you can come in with a chance to *make a big difference and make an impact around the NBA, and we have that opportunity. D: What differences in coaching philosophy do you see between Dan Issel (coach of Nuggets at the time of the interview) and Steve Fisher? R: Oh, it's different because the NBA is a players' game and college is a, coaches' game. In college, all the good coaches are going to al- Ways win because they know strat- egy each and every night they're going to do what it takes to win a particular game. In the NBA, you have to just go out and play, and pJAy as one game. 'D: What's it like living in Den- ver after spending most of your life in Michigan? R: It's a big difference. The *lifestyle is different. I grew up in the Detroit-Ann Arbor area. That's where all my friends and family are. I'm not here with all my family and friends, so it's a big adjustment for me, but I'm having fun. : How important was it to have Chris Webber in the NBA a year ahead of you to give you a feeling of NBA life before you actually turned *pro? R: It was very important because it helped me with a couple of things. Nor only did it help me as far as me asking him questions and him an- THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE THE DOME THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE THE DOME I THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE THE DOME GO LF 1 1 swering and helping me get through college, but at the same time, seeing him make it, seeing him be success- ful, let me know that not only could he do it, but I could do it too. D: Do you laugh when you hear people saying "maybe Jalen will be traded to the Bullets too"? R: Well, anything can happen in this business. That's one thing I've grown to learn. But if it does hap- pen, I'll be happy. If it doesn't, I'll be happy in Denver. D: You were playing with pro- They were 15-14 and the next year we were playing in the finals. D: Do you keep in close contact with your former teammates or do you find it difficult? R: All the time. Every time we get a chance. I talked to Jimmy and Ray the other day before they played Iowa and I talked to Chris and Juwan not too long ago, so we all keep in contact. D: How do you feel about the new group of Michigan freshmen being called Fab Five II? Do you 4 x' z R: My most comfortable posi- tion probably is point guard because I feel my ability to think and my ability to pass and lead a team is received better at the point guard position. I'm able to handle the ball so much more when I'm running the point, but as long as I'm out there on the floor, it really doesn't matter to me. D: What about when you and Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf are in the game together? Who plays point guard? R: When we're in the game to- gether, I play point. D: You are known for being a very confident, somewhat cocky player. Do you feel as though other players mistake that for arrogance? R: Sometimes, but at the same time what you have to realize is that I wasn't born with everything com- ing easy to me. I wasn't born with everyone telling me, "Jalen you're gonna be this, Jalen you're gonna be that." Everything I had to get I had to earn and I had to earn the hard way. So in doing that, I sustained so much confidence in myself and my ability because I knew how quickly people would turn, how quickly people would doubt you. You'd be great after a great game, then you'd be horrible after a bad loss so as I grew to learn all those things and scenarios, that made me more confident in myself. As long as you have confidence in yourself, you don't have to worry about what others think. D: Are you sick of hearing Fab Five questions? R: No, because the Fab Five was history. We were the most famous team in college basketball ever. I'll never get tired of talking about the Fab Five and my experience at Michigan because that was a big part of my life. D: Do you expect to return and get your degree? R: Oh, I plan on graduating. Right now, I'm trying to make a little money so when I go back to school I'll have a little money in the bank. But I plan on completing the degree, but I just don't know when. It's gonna be hard with all the rigors of the NBA, but it's something I look forward to doing and I will do. Crisler seating leaves 'M' fans out in the cold T his is the way it's set up: Students pay $80 for season tickets to the Michigan basketball team's games. Seems fair enough; the Wolverines are perennial Big Ten contenders and fashion trendsetters. But come game day (or even game week), the athletic department exacts another toll on student fans: their time. You've seen the sight. Two to five days before a big game, the tents come up, the plastic tarps unfurl. And students settle down for what often shape up to be long winter nights. All for a good seat at what they can only hope will be a good game. Dozens of people made Crisler Arena's sidewalk their home the night before yesterday's Michigan State game; 10 people stayed out two nights. Granted, you've got to be a little nuts to carry out such a plan, with three inches of snow falling Friday night, two the next. But because of Michigan's first-come, first-seated rule (Michigan is the only Big Ten student section with unassigned seats) crazy is exactly what you have to be if you want to be near the court. Sophomores Eric Davidson and Jack Zellmer were in the first group in line. Saturday evening, they divided their time avoiding the soggy spot in their tent and bracing against subfreezing temperatures. But they say they don't mind the pregame routine. "(Camping out) attests to the competitive nature of the university," Davidson said. "It creates excitement for each game." By sports fan standards, the scene is picturesque - some people paying pizza deliverers, others sledding down Crisler's hill. But social afternoons give way to bitterly cold nights, a sheet of nylon the only protection from the elements. And nights are cut short by the nine- eight- or six-a.m. "line check," whereby security guards verify that those waiting for seats are indeed in line. Miss a line check and you lose your place. "I slept on my car seat," senior Craig Boruchov said. "I'm going to miss class Monday (he'll be sleeping) but it's all worth it to see the hoopsters play." Not everyone is so die-hard. Senior Todd Arky said it's no fun to wait outside, but "You get inside and you have no choice but to go crazy cheering. "But if you have a test the next day, or are sick...." What do you do then? "The fact that we have to keep checking in ... that's treating us like See BACHMAN, Page 8 EVAN PETRIE/Daity fessional basketball players in pickup games before you were in college. How did that experience help you adjust to the NBA? R: That did a lot to help me. Plus my friends at Michigan did a lot to help me. I'm not in awe when I go into these big arenas because I did that in college, playing in Final Fours and Final games. I'm not nervous when we play on TV because we did that in college every game. D: Do you regret not winning a championship at Michigan? R: As you look back on it, you feel a sense of disappointment but we did so many things for college basketball that a championship couldn't even take the place of them. Now young players come in, they feel confident and they want to do well and I think we put Michigan back on the map. I think when we got there, they were an NIT team. think that's too much unnecessary pressure to place on them? R: I think that's unnecessary pressure for them, but I think that's part of it (being highly-touted fresh- men) and I think they're gonna be able to handle it. People are getting down on them right now because they're not having the early success that we had. But they're not us. But at the same time, I think they're gonna be a real good team this year and I think they can do a lot to help it. All they gotta do is just be patient and just remember that they're all they have and they gotta be for one another, and I think that as soon as everybody realizes that, they're gonna be a good team. D: You're a very versatile player, since you played both guard posi- tions as well as small forward at Michigan. At which position do you feel most comfortable? DOUGLAS KANTER/Day Jack Zellmer, Miki Rubinson and Eric Davidson (left to right) slept in a tent through two snowy nights for front-row seats at the Michigan State game. They like the unassigned format of student seating; others aren't so dedicated. i