Doug Collins associates with the agony Derrick Rose is suffering – NBA Update
On Saturday night late in the 4th when Derrick Rose went down for good, Philadelphia 76ers coach Doug Collins was the 1st person to know what went wrong. In fact it was Collins who shouted out for medics.
"I knew what it was immediately when he crashed to the floor," Collins said. "I just felt sick … He's just a fine young man."
Normally empathies are extended by the adversaries on such unfortunate events but Collins went one step ahead, as Rose reminded him of his yesteryears.
Collins and Rose shared the same plight. Back in the time when Collins used to play, a similar nagging injury sidelined him from the mainstream. He felt what Rose is feeling now and went through the ordeal which Rose is going through now.
Back in is his prime Collins used to be a sensation on the court. Being the 1st overall draft he quickly established himself as a lead scorer for Sixers, the same attributes can be traced in Rose’s story.
He was at the zenith of his career when a similar knee injury forced him to retire. The coach recalled the incident.
"It was 1980, I think it was late in March," Collins said. "I was trying to make a steal -- it was against Washington -- I reached in and planted. … if I had on shorts I'd show you the scar. I knew what that was like, knew what he was going through. I'd been there."
In 1980, medical science was not that advanced as it is now and the injury forced him to step down for good, leaving Sixers without their playmaker and eventually they lost the NBA final to Los Angeles Lakers. But thanks to the modern day advancement and the nature of injury, Rose will be back on the court in the next season.
Only the person who suffered such a pain can understand what Rose has been through. Collins went down that road in his heydays and seeing Rose suffer made him upset. Veteran Elton Brand concurred that after the 2nd game.
“Doug was visibly upset," Elton Brand said. "He was distraught."
Collins also shares a bond with Chicago. He used to coach the bulls back in the time when Michael Jordan was there and still enjoys good relations with the franchise hierarchy.
Tags: