When did Derrick Rose get drafted? Taking a closer look

In 2008, the Chicago Bulls selected Derrick Rose of the University of Memphis as the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft. Chicago won the draft lottery despite only having a 1.7% probability, the second-biggest upset in the said format.

Chicago had a 33-49 record during the 2007-08 season, which helped pave the way for the drafting of the former Tiger superstar. Bulls fans were hyped that their team was set on drafting the hometown basketball hero.

The Bulls picked Rose not only because he was from Chicago, Illinois, but also because he was a superb basketball player. Under John Calipari in Memphis, Rose grabbed the limelight in collegiate hoops by leading the Tigers to a 38-2 season, a then-NCAA record.

The Tigers were already a solid team, having reached and lost in back-to-back regional championships. It was the arrival of Calipari and Rose that pushed them over the hump.

"D-Rose" played all 40 games, starting in 39 of them. He averaged 14.9 points, 4.7 assists, 4.5 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game. Rose played nearly 30 minutes a game and was must-see TV due to his explosive athleticism. The Tigers had a walking highlight reel on their roster.

As Memphis got deeper into the NCAA tournament, Rose also played better. Memphis became the darling of collegiate hoops in the point guard’s lone season with the Tigers.

Rose and his team, however, couldn’t get past Kansas in the national championship game. After weaving his magic for most of the tournament, the explosive guard couldn’t continue his form against the Jayhawks.

Derrick Rose finished with 18 points but took 17 shots to get his tally. He gave the Tigers a 63-60 lead with 10.8 seconds left in the game. Former NBA player Mario Chalmers hit a game-tying three-pointer at the buzzer to force overtime.

Memphis went on to lose but Rose's stock had never been higher leading into the 2008 NBA draft.

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The NCAA forced the Memphis Tigers to vacate its 38-game winning season due to Derrick Rose’s ineligibility

Weeks after Derrick Rose carried the Memphis Tigers to the national title game, the NCAA forced the team to vacate their season.

Here’s an ESPN report explaining why the league did something unprecedented:

“The NCAA announced Monday that its Infractions Appeal Committee ruled against Memphis, which was found to use an ineligible player, believed to be Derrick Rose. The Tigers lost in overtime to Kansas in the national title game that season.”

The NCAA ordered the Memphis Tigers to return the $615K tournament earnings and vacate their season on Aug. 2. Memphis appealed on this basis:

“The penalties were unprecedented and that the school was held to a strict liability when Rose was ruled retroactively ineligible for an SAT score that was invalidated by the Educational Testing Service in May 2008.”

The appeal was rejected and Derrick Rose’s 38-win season in college was removed from the record books. The Chicago Bulls, however, were undeterred and made him the No. 1 pick in that year’s NBA draft.

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