Bulls welcome fans to UC to celebrate Derrick Rose before jersey retirement

The Chicago Bulls hosted a Derrick Rose atrium experience at the United Center to get fans ready ahead of the former point guard’s jersey retirement ceremony.

The Englewood native was drafted first round overall by the Bulls in 2008. At 22, Rose was named the 2010-11 MVP, becoming the youngest player in NBA history to receive the title. During high school at Simeon, Rose was named the state's Mr. Basketball in 2007.

Upon walking into the arena on Saturday, fans were met with more than 30 screens showing a montage of Rose’s career highlights. The event also featured a rose garden installation with rose-themed art created by Chicago high schoolers and a Rose Flower Shop pop-up selling bouquets of roses.

Ticket sales associate Myles Bresnahan said fans waited two hours as wind chills reached minus 30 for the event to open.

“It just goes to show how loyal they actually are, how much Derrick means to them, how much he means to the city,” Bresnahan said. “That was super eye-opening for me."

Private chef Stacey Young said she cooked for Rose between 2008 and 2016 during his run with the Bulls.

“I was sitting there looking on Instagram and my eyes just started welling up, like the tears just started falling, because I've witnessed this up close,” she said.

Young said the event and Rose’s jersey retirement remind young fans that they too can achieve their dreams.

Juan Villegas says Rose is his all-time favorite player. The Rockford resident got tickets to the game on his birthday and decided to attend the atrium fan experience.

Rose "revolutionized the point guard position,” Villegas said. “He was so fast, strong, everyone was scared of him. I mean, what was there not to love about him?”

On Saturday, Rose will become the fifth Bulls player to have a jersey retired, when his iconic No. 1 joins Jerry Sloan, Bob Love, Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen's in the rafters.