Derrick Rose (photo. Joe Wigdahl)

Under the Flashing Lights on the biggest stage in college hoops, Derrick Rose and Sherron Collins paced their respective squads with the gritty, tough style indigenous to the Windy City. Both guards played with the trademark aggressiveness that’s necessary to make it on Chicago’s courts.

In 1988, when Isiah Thomas was asked about his basketball upbringing in Chi-town, he described it in stark terms:

”You didn’t go into a neighborhood and beat people there,” said Thomas. ”We lost four out of five games to Doc Rivers’ guys, and then we won the last. They didn’t care for that. And they started attacking us. We had gone there with our bikes and couldn’t get away. Someone called the cops, and we ran into the Rec center. Those guys hemmed us in and threw rocks. That’s the way it was,” said ‘Zeke. “You learned to drive and make the shot and get hacked and not call a foul. If you called a foul, there was sure to be fights, brawls, things like that.”

First, Rose showed his roots as he weaved through KU’s congested defense, showcasing his Chicago determination to get to the cup. He scored 10 straight points, and played a part in seven consecutive Tigers’ field goals. Then it was Collins’ turn: like Rose, he recklessly drove to the basket, trying to find his teammates on wrap-around passes after leaving his feet. It burned him once or twice. But ultimately, his aggressiveness is what won Kansas the game. He looked like a shorter, stockier Reggie Miller when he stole the inbound pass after a Darrell Arthur jumper, and sunk a three from the corner for a potential six-point swing for the Jayhawks.

With two of the best defensive teams in the nation giving their absolute best, that breakneck mentality was the only thing that worked to create open shots. That’s why Collins stayed in the lineup ahead of the tough, but not ultra-aggressive New Yorker, Russell Robinson. And Collins stayed true to his gritty Chi-town mentality, while Rose settled for hand-offs to Chris Douglas-Roberts 25-feet out as their lead melted away.

I found myself screaming at the TV, pleading with Rose to burn his man to the basket and hang in the air until a shot or a teammate came free. But he and the rest of the Memphis squad tried to preserve their lead by waiting until the shot clock was under 10 seconds before futilely charging towards the basket. Collins’ aggressiveness was successful because his defenders didn’t know when he was going to bull-rush the rim, and whether he would use his body to pull up, pass, or go all the way to the tin. It’s fitting that the last two points scored in the national championship were by Sherron Collins.