Jamal Crawford and Ron Harper Talk ACL

[HomoSapien]

At his home in Seattle, Jamal Crawford gasped when he saw Derrick Rose crumple to the ground Saturday afternoon.

"I told my girlfriend right away, 'That's serious,'" Crawford said by phone on Sunday. "There was nobody around him and you could see the pain he was in. He couldn't control it.

"He's such a great guy. He's everything that's right with the league. I feel so bad for him. I know that feeling."

Indeed, close to 11 years have passed since Crawford tore his left ACL and meniscus on July 17, 2001, playing pick-up games with Michael Jordan and other pros at the now-defunct Hoops The Gym on the city's west side.

"You feel helpless," Crawford said. "Basketball is always an escape. When it's gone, you have so much time to think. I remember reading about other players and almost crying. You go through all these bad thoughts: 'Why did this happen to me?'

"Then, after surgery, you start rehab and start to see some progressions. You get a little more confident as it goes along. And then the last stage is the mental part: 'Can I still do that move? Can I still do that cut?' The actual leg you injure ends up being stronger than the leg that's not injured. But you don't believe that at first. You're scared. You doubt."

Ron Harper is another.

The starting shooting guard on the Bulls' second three-peat teams suffered his injury with the Clippers in January 1990. He disputes the theory it changed his game from a high-flying scorer to a defensive specialist, saying he averaged over 18 points his next four seasons and toned down his offense merely because he later played alongside Jordan and Scottie Pippen.

"When I went to the hole and took that first hard hit and fell down and my knee felt good, I knew everything was going to be fine," Harper said by phone from New Jersey. "You hear people say, 'He's not going to be the same basketball player. He ain't gonna have that explosion.' The only thing that does is motivate you to work extremely hard.

"I met this kid and I know how hard of a worker he is. He's going to come back the same player."

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/ba ... 8395.story

[HomoSapien]

Crawford's empathy was palpable. He even pointed out he once wore No. 1 for the Bulls.

"Tell Derrick I never had any residual effects and don't think about it anymore," Crawford said. "Tell him I'm pulling for him."

Crawford seems like a good guy.

[KingCuban]

Much respect for Jamal on this.

[kuly1990]

just saw that arcticle, and feel much better before going to sleep!

[LobosJordan]

Harper was always underrated after his injury. Jamal actually got a lot better after the injury also.

[Ralphb07]

Wish we could of worked something out with Jamal this past season, maybe this summer. He even tweeted yesterday about it and can tell he feels bad for Rose and truly likes him. The whole NBA world besides the prick LBJ has showed support..

Also Doug Collins gets much respect too. The guy you can tell would much rather be seeing Rose in Game 2.

[TyrusRose2425]

Also Doug Collins gets much respect too. The guy you can tell would much rather be seeing Rose in Game 2.

Yeah I was at the game and saw Derrick go down while play kept going. Doug Collins was the first checking on Derrick to see if he was OK and was immediately screaming for the Bulls training staff to come check on him.

[Al Swearengen]

Total class from both of those guys.

[johnnyvann840]

Thanks for posting this. Made me feel better, also. I KNOW Derrick is going to come back stronger than ever.

[HomoSapien]

LBJ gave a good enough answer. He said he's worried about the Knicks, but doesn't want to see anyone hurt.

[RoseTheFuture22]

Jamal has always been regarded as a good guy off the court, nice to hear his positive encouragement

[nitric0]

Wow after reading about what Jamal said, it's a bit more soothing. Great read and a great guy

[SpeedyWindRose]

Didn't he opt out of his deal too?

Come on down!

[blumeany]

I still don't want to sign Crawford. But I really respect what he said and the support he offered to Derrick.

[SpinninHouse]

ACL surgery has come A LONG way since Harper had his. He had a solid career but regardless of what he says, he was a completely different player after his injury. Before he got hurt he was a spectacular athlete -- dynamic slasher with tremendous leaping ability. When he joined the Bulls I remember being shocked at how different of a player he was.

ACL tears used to end athletic careers all the time. It's much different today -- people get back to 100% now. Rose might come back at the All-Star break next year but he wont be Derrick Rose until 2014. It's just the truth.