Mike Rose is an excellent example of a player who kept improving during each of his 4 years in college. As a freshman at Eastern Kentucky he only scored 6.2 PPG in 20.4 minutes/game, but as a sophomore he started all 33 games and was named OVC Tournament MVP. As a junior he was top-5 in the conference with 15.3 PPG/81.5 FT%/1.8 SPG, and as a senior he scored 20 PPG while being named 1st-team NABC Division I All-District 19. After graduating he played professionally in Europe, Australia, and Canada. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Mike’s college coach Jeff Neubauer about recruiting/coaching 1 of the best players in school history. Today is Mike’s 35th birthday so let us be the 1st to wish him a happy 1!
Why did Mike decide to go to Eastern Kentucky? I was an assistant coach at West Virginia when I 1st evaluated Mike at an early-morning open gym: I thought that he was very impressive. I became head coach at EKU the following April and when someone mentioned that Mike was still available I said we absolutely wanted him to come here. He spent the 1st year adjusting defensively but was phenomenal after that.
He was a 3-time All-OVC performer: did you feel like he was 1 of the best players in the conference during his time playing for you? He certainly was. He led us in scoring as a sophomore and became incredibly efficient.
He scored a team-high 19 PTS in a 1-PT win over Austin Peay in the 2007 OVC tourney final after Josh Taylor made a lay-up with 3 seconds to play: what was the feeling like in your locker room afterwards? That was my 2nd year here: we had a group that really defended well and had great leadership.
He was named MVP of the OVC tourney: how was he able to play his best when it mattered the most? He played in that conference tourney exactly like he played in the regular season. When he had an open shot he made it and also became a great rebounder.
What are your memories of the 2007 NCAA tourney (he scored 13 PTS in a loss to #1-seed UNC, who was led by Tyler Hansbrough with 21 PTS/10 REB)? We got off to a really bad start: UNC was the fastest team I saw in the nation that year. We had a nice stretch with our 1-3-1 defense and cut the deficit to 4 PTS early in the 2nd half but it was not enough.
In 2008 he scored a career-high 33 PTS in a win over Covenant: was it just 1 of those scenarios where every shot he put up seemed to go in because he was “in the zone”? I do not recall that specific game but he consistently made shots. I do remember 1 game where 1 of his teammates said that he might end up with 50!
In January of 2009 he made game-winning 3-PT shots in back-to-back games vs. Southeast Missouri/Chicago State: what is the key to being a “clutch” shooter? That was part of a 3-game road trip where we won all 3 games. Mike grew up in Missouri and went to high school in Chicago so to have so much success on his “home turf” was just the perfect script.
He finished the 2009 season as the top 3-PT shooter in the country (48.1 3P%): how big a weapon was the 3-PT shot in your offensive attack, and what is the key to 3-PT shooting? He made over 3 threes/game including several big shots for us throughout his career. I spent a decade at EKU and we were 1 of the most lethal 3-PT shooting teams every year.
After graduating he played 1 game in Turkey, then a few months in Australia, and later signed to play in New Zealand: what is the biggest difference between pro basketball and college basketball? I have found that guys who can really score do well professionally.
When people look back on his career, how do you think he should be remembered the most? As a champion. Mike was our leading scorer in 2007 and won a lot of games for us. He worked out for a couple of NBA teams before heading overseas but what he did here was win.