Rose: I didn’t do anything wrong

Let's hope Derrick's play in 2009-10 helps us forget about his turbulent summer...

Speaking at a basketball camp at Joy of the Game in Deerfield, Derrick finally talked to the press about his Summer of Doom. Specifically, the allegations that somebody else took his college entrance exam and the picture that purportedly shows him flashing a gang sign.

Here’s what he had to say. Regarding the allegations of academic fraud: “That didn’t bother me at all, I know I didn’t do anything wrong. That was up to Memphis what they had to do. Coach [John Calipari] told me, ‘Don’t worry about it.’ I definitely wasn’t worried about it. I was still working out, so I just let [the scandal] pass.”

As for the supposed gang sign picture: “I couldn’t even remember the whole [NCAA] championship game, so I know I couldn’t remember that night, but I just got passed it. [I] talked to my mom, [she] told me just don’t worry about it, and I’m just looking forward to the future.”

Derrick also weighed in on the loss of Ben Gordon: “I guess they’re looking into the future. Ben is a great player, one of the best scorers I’ve ever played with, a great guy. He had to make a business move going to Detroit. I’m gonna miss him a lot. He took a lot of pressure off me last year, but we’ll have to see this year.”

For the most part, I’m fine with Derrick’s “answers” to these controversies, even if he didn’t really say much of anything. However…stating flat out that he didn’t do anything wrong could come back on him pretty hard if the investigation turns up any actual wrongdoing. I hope for his sake that what he’s saying is true.