When Derrick Rose takes his career to the Garden this coming season, he will wear the same No. 25 jersey that he wore back in high school at Simeon Career Academy.
The jersey is in honor of Ben “Benji” Wilson, who was ranked the No. 1 basketball player in the country in 1984 when he played at the same school. Wilson, called Chicago’s basketball “messiah” at the time, died the day before he was supposed to start his senior season after being shot while walking down the street. He was 17 years old.
Just over 15 years later, Rose wore the No. 25 during his time at Simeon. According to NBA.com, Simeon’s top players always wore the digits as part of a legacy. Rose once again will don this number with the Knicks to pay tribute to Wilson’s story.
“I was honored to have that number,” Rose told NBA.com in 2009. “Playing [at Simeon] and wearing that number came with a lot of responsibilities. You’ve got to go out there and play hard when everybody is coming at you. You’re on the court almost every possession.”
The Knicks tweeted a photo Thursday of Rose’s No. 25 jersey welcoming him to the team.
Rose wore No. 1 during his time with the Bulls.
