Derrick Rose quotes:

I love eating it - grilled chicken, pasta, rice, and other foods that give me long term energy. Every once in a while, my sweet tooth gets the best of me and I have to snack on some candy. Beverage wise, I stick to sports drinks, water, milk, and juice.

If I just do everything the opposite of what my dad did, I think that will make things pretty easy. I can joke about it now because I'm past that stage where it used to hurt. By having a kid, it's gone. I could take all that negative energy that I had and put it in a positive way.

On Halloween, don't you know back when you were little, your mom tells you don't eat any candy until she checks it? I used to be so tempted to eat my candy on the way to other people's houses. That used to be such a tease.

I won't ever put myself in a bad position so that people can say bad things about me. I make smart decisions, and my friends and my family, they are all there for the right reason.

Playing all of these games, getting to know everything about the NBA, you realize that you are your own business. You have business meetings to go to, signings to go to. Like, I'm only 20, but the stuff I'm doing the average 20-year-old isn't doing.

It's tough growing up where I grew up. My family is very small and really tight. Just being around the neighborhood, my brothers were always around. I didn't want to be in any trouble because I knew my mom or brothers would find out. I didn't want to hurt their feelings. I just tried to do everything right.

It is very important to me to maintain a consistent workout regimen during the season. The Bulls staff does a great job with providing me with a weekly workout, and these kept me energized throughout my rookie season. In the off season, I try to increase my strength and add new dimensions to my game.

McDonald's is over with. But chips and candy and stuff, it's going to be hard to get away from that.

As long as I have my faith in God, I'm good. I know everything else is going to come.

The way I dress, I dress totally different than I did when I was in college. I have to - try to - look professional. You change a lot when you are in the NBA, but I know where I came from.

I think a lot of people don't understand that when I sit out it's not because of this year. I'm thinking about long term. I'm thinking about after I'm done with basketball.

Don't get me wrong. I don't take anything for granted. But it seems like the better I play, the more attention I get. And I can't get away from it. You play great, you get attention. But I hate attention. It is weird. I'm in a bind. The more you win, the more they come.

The hard part that I had to go through in life, period, is living in poverty and not being able to get what I want.

I wont ever put myself in a bad position so that people can say bad things about me. I make smart decisions, and my friends and my family, they are all there for the right reason.

My whole life has been nothing but trying to find a way to take care of my mom and take care of my family as quickly as possible.

I still have goals. Seeing those doubters out there, it's gonna be funny seeing them eat their words.

Everybody's got their poison, and mine is sugar.

I want to thank my mom, Brenda Rose. My heart, the reason I play the way I play, just everything. Just knowing the days I don't feel right, going to practice, having a hard time, I think about her when she had to wake me up, go to work and make sure I was all right. Those were hard days.

Being healthy is a complete lifestyle for me. It allows my brain to function at a very high degree so I can comprehend all the new things that are thrown at me. It also allows me to sleep well so that I am rested when I need to perform. Finally, being healthy will hopefully allow me to live a long and fun-filled life.

I've been playing youth basketball ever since I was in sixth grade; I've been traveling ever since I was in sixth grade, so I'm used to it.

All the days that you wake up you have one job and that's to get better, every single day.

All physical activity begins with the body's core. I maintain the strength in my core so that I can jump, run, start, stop, and accelerate at the highest levels.

In my era, where I'm from, I only had Donald Whiteside. He's from Englewood and he's the only one that came out of Englewood. Other than him, I really didn't have anyone else to look up to that was from my area. So in seeing him, I never gave up hope, just kept playing and then I realized that I might have a future in basketball.

I will say, just being here, God is good, man...

Why can't I be MVP of the league? Why can't I be the best player in the league?

I love playing basketball because you could be having a rough day in your life, and while you're on the court it gives you a clear mind. I'm not worried about anything. I'm there just playing freely and I go out there all and I have fun.

When I was younger, I just thought about playing in the NBA.

Hard work isn't enough. You got to believe

I wanna be great. I'm going to be great. There's no doubt about it.

The way I look at it within myself, why not? Why can't I be the MVP of the League? Why can't I be the best player in the League? I don't see why-why-why can't I do that? I think I work hard, I think I dedicate myself to the game and sacrifice a lot of things at a young age and I know if I continue to do good, what I can get out of it and if that's me going out or doing whatever, I'm willing to do it because I know in the long run, it's going to help me.

I can't wait to shock the doubters and prove I'm better and stronger than I was before.

Whatever your goal is: dedicate yourself to it and it's going to be a lot of sacrifice, but if you love what you want to do, it shouldn't be a problem.

You've got one job, and that is to get better.

I can't get mad about peoples' opinions, I always say that. That's their opinion. They got every right to say or think whatever they want to say and think. And whatever they say and think don't affect my life.

My thing is just staying positive. Find that thing you love doing and dedicate yourself to it. You're going to have to sacrifice a lot of things if you want to achieve the goals you want to achieve.

We got to win. Win no matter what. Trip, kick somebody, fight, bite. Whatever. Win.

People think that I'm mean because I'm quiet, and I don't really go out places or because I don't really say too much. On the other hand, people think that I'm soft because I may not handle myself the way other people handle themselves. That's just not me. They don't know my background or none of that stuff.

I try my hardest to do what I have to do to make my team win.

If i'm not trying my best, I might as well retire.

I think good things come to good people.

I have a lot of confidence in my shot and I'm willing to shoot it no matter what.

Its tough growing up where I grew up. My family is very small and really tight. Just being around the neighborhood, my brothers were always around. I didnt want to be in any trouble because I knew my mom or brothers would find out. I didnt want to hurt their feelings. I just tried to do everything right.

I would say I'm more patient, way more patient than I was when I came in [to the league], before the injuries. But I think just going through everything, just maturing a little bit more, getting older, you start to see what it is and I'm good.

I couldn't worry about anyone else but myself and my health.

My son is everything to me. He's the reason why I get up and I work out the way I work out and train the way that I train. He changed everything about me, so he was a blessing.

I live a great life. I can't complain. I'm healthy, my family's good and there's nothing I can really complain about.

I always want my shoes real clean. The front of my shoe is really like my personality, where off the court I'm kind of calm and kind of shy a little bit - low key. In the back, it's kind of crazy, just like me on the court. I love how both of my personalities are involved into the shoe.

I just don't want to get caught up in the hype.

All I got to do is keep getting the most out of each one of my days and keep trying to be the best athlete I can become.

I think I work hard. I think I dedicate myself to the game and sacrifice a lot of things at a young age, and I know if I continue to do good, what I can get out of it.

I think that my IQ level grew as a player. I think that I [run] the game a little bit better. I'm waiting for the game to come to me, and I'm picking and choosing my spots instead of just going out there and just doing whatever because I don't have to do that with this team.

My biggest thing is to improve my all-around game. If you don't win, something's wrong. Winning takes care of everything, so our biggest thing is winning.

I don't want to be in my meetings all sore or be at my son's graduation all sore just because of something I did in the past. (I'm) just learning and being smart.

I put that on myself with not telling the Knicks. It was just bad timing but I'm not perfect, far from it. The front office and my teammates, they knew where I was coming from when I told them what happened.

I never had a problem with a coach in my life, no matter what team I've been in on.I put that on myself because I let that space and opportunity start something especially when people didn't know what was going on or people are trying to find out or figure out what's going on with the team.

I explained to my teammates I didn't want any distractions to the team.

I never had a problem with a coach in my life, no matter what team I've been in on.

I feel like I have everything else as far as being creative and athletic. But it's the little things that's going to push me over, like ball-handling, passing, boxing out when I'm setting screens. Little things like that that you would overlook that can make me a complete player.

All I can do is just go in there and tighten up my game, tighten up my handles. Just all the little basic things that you wouldn't even think about, the fundamental parts of the game.

I don't live in that world where I'm on social media, I don't got social media. Or I'm reading articles [about my game], so it's like I hear stuff by word of mouth a couple of days after so it never gets to me. So I can't get mad about what they say.