THE PACERS SIXTH MAN ANSWERS YOUR QUESTIONS
Jalen Rose Answers Your E-Mail
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Jalen Rose first gained fame as a member of the "Fab Five" that lead the University of Michigan to two NCAA title games.
The Denver Nuggets made him the 13th pick overall in the 1994 NBA Draft, and he played for the Nuggets for two seasons, averaging 10 points per game his second year and starting about half of Denver's games.
For the past two seasons under Pacers coach Larry Bird, however, Rose has taken on a less glamorous role: that of a bench player. Rose has thrived, becoming perhaps the best sixth man in the NBA. This season, he is averaging 9.7 points a game in just under 24 minutes an outing as the Pacers make a run for the Central Division title. Jalen sat down recently to answer your e-mail. |
Q: It seems that many games this season have been won by "catching-up" in the last few playing minutes. Have you and the team discussed how to come out stronger for the whole game?
John Griffin, Avon, Indiana
Rose: We definitely have to match the other team's intensity at the beginning of the game. Since we're a team that everyone's predicting will do well in the playoffs, teams are circling us on their schedules. We have to be ready to match their intensity from the opening jump.
Q: First of all, I'd like to say I'm a big fan of your game and you are one of the few NBA players that I like to watch because you exemplify a true basketball player and play with hustle every minute of the game. What has been the impact on the team by having Larry Bird coaching the team and does he take his experience and relate it to the team? Also, what is like playing for one of the best players who's ever played the game?
Eric Fields, New Orleans, LA
Rose: Sure it does. Larry's a guy of few words but like E.F. Hutton � when he talks, everyone listens. It's been a great influence having a guy like Larry Bird around, hopefully he can take us to the championship. It's a humbling experience playing for one of the best players that ever played the game. You know that regardless of what you say, do, how many great games you have, how many championships you win, you look at him and you realize you haven't done anything.
Q: Jalen, do you think that playing for Larry Bird has helped your career?
Cameron Bell, Atlantic City, New Jersey
Rose: I think so. Anytime you get a chance to learn from the best it lets you know what it takes to be the best.
Q: How and what do you do to either cope or handle not being a starter, to coming off the bench? Has you being a starter and knowing that you COULD start for several other NBA teams make you want to go elsewhere to be a starter, or are you comfortable and or satisfied with you curent situation?
Ben Carrel, Dacula, Georgia
Rose: I'm happy to be on this team. You don't make it to this level if you don't want to be out there 35, 40 minutes of the game and see what you're made of but at the same time our team is structured as though we're an older team and the guys that start the game don't always end the game. That's part of my motivation, just to be in there in the fourth quarter. Knowing that I'm a young player, my 40-minute games are in front of me I hope.
Q: Hey Jalen, I just want to know, do you still keep in contact with your old fab five buds?
Kevin Liu, Richmond Hill, Ontario
Rose: Sure, we talk at least once or twice a week and we're all still the best of friends.
Q: Who do you think will be the first to win a NBA championship: you, Chris Webber or Juwan Howard?
Michael Barlow, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Rose: Hopefully me, because I have the best chance and my team is the first team that's been predicted to win it so hopefully I will.
Q: Do you think Indiana will win the title and who do you think you will have to beat in the finals if you get there?
Steve Watson, Glen Ellyn Illinois
Rose: I would hope to play against Utah because my high school teammate Howard Eisley plays for Utah and it would be a nice thing to play my high school teammate in the Finals. I'm confident that the team is a frontrunner for a trip to the Finals but at the same time that doesn't win games. We still have to go out there and play every game like it's our last game, worry about the playoffs when playoff time comes. I don't have a favorite team out west, I don't have a favorite team anywhere but Indiana.
Q: Jalen, Do you feel that there is too much pressure on the Pacers to win the NBA Championship? How do you guys deal with it?
Aaron Swinford, Indianapolis, Indiana
Rose: Pressure is self-instilled and it's only pressure if you allow it to be. We feel we have the team to get it done so that's not pressure in our locker room. We just want to go out and make it happen.
Q: In what ways does Sam Perkins fit into the Pacers bench scoring? I've watched him a lot when he was with the Sonics and was wondering if he's doing as good for you as he did for us?
DJ Kimball, Marysville, Washington
Rose: Well Sam Perkins is a three-point threat, he's a veteran that we can lean on to share his experience. He's made big shots in the clutch if we need him to. Not yet, I don't think he's been with us long enough he hasn't really relaxed enough into our setting yet. Hopefully by playoff time he'll be ready to go.
Q: Who was your favorite basketball team (pro) as a kid?
Jordan Lynch, South Bend, Indiana
Rose: The Lakers and the Pistons.
Q: Jalen, which NBA players did you admire the most when you were young?
Victor Tarson, Sugar Land, Texas
Rose: I was a big Isiah Thomas and Magic Johnson fan and anybody that made it from my hometown.
Q: What is the hardest thing about playing so many games in a season and being on the road for long periods of time?
Daniel Church, Canberra, Australia
Rose: The hardest thing is to get mentally prepared every night. The game is so much more mental than people really realize and with so many games in a short period of time, sometimes you're still thinking about the game the night before or the games before that. You have to quickly forget about the last game and be ready that night.
Q: I'm a current U of M student and a huge fan of yours and I want to know what do you think the Michigan basketball team needs to do to reach that level they were once on?
Stephanie Millender, Ann Arbor, Michigan
Rose: Just recruit. I think anytime you lose a coach like Steve Fisher who coached at three Final Fours � one National Champion and two Finals you're gonna lose recruits. I think it'll take a couple years to recover from firing Steve Fisher but once the recruits start coming back they'll have a good chance to win it all.
Q: Hi Jalen! Who is the best player that you ever had to guard in the NBA?
Val John Yamat, Quezon City, Philippines
Rose:Michael Jordan. Besides him I don't know, it depends on what day it is.
