Chicago Bulls point guard, Derrick Rose is now back to the court training intensively with the US Basketball Team. According to the 25 year old athlete "I was joking with Kyle Korver, I told him 'I'm getting old, man. I've got to stretch, I've got to use rollers and stuff.' He looked at me kind of weird."

He added "But I feel a lot more mature. I've been preparing for this for a long time. I've dedicated my whole summer to this. I think I've sacrificed a lot for this moment."

The NBA All Star Player was excited to be playing once more. He played a total of nine minutes during the team's two hour practice. Last season, Rose had two knee surgeries which almost kept him off the court for a long time. He said that he is happy with his physical condition right now.

For Coach Mike Krzyzewsk, he was impressed with the defensive play brought about by the key player. He saw how persistent Rose is and that he was impressed by his performance. He said "I think Derrick was a great excitement for us, because you hear about how he's worked out, but to see him today, I mean, he put it all out. He was playing to exhaustion. That was a big plus for today, to see him. I was pleased that he didn't hold anything back. He played his butt off."

Rose only played ten games last season and was cut short due to a torn meniscus. He has been working out ever since and now that he is back to playing, he can't seem to stop his enthusiasm.

"I work out a couple hours a day (and) I know how much work I've put into this; I'm just excited to be here. Going out there competing and having fun, to tell you the truth, just having fun, I think that's the key."

According to Rose, he focused too much on trying to prove himself and ended up not playing his usual self. He said ""I think last year I was trying to (prove myself) and you see the outcome of that - that wasn't my game. This time around, I know my game and I know exactly what I need to do when I go out there."