''It makes me feel good, knowing there's a lot of support in Chicago,'' Rose said. ''Everybody is coming out and supporting me. I didn't think that would happen this soon. I'm just blessed to be here right now.''

Adidas was one of the first companies to sign Rose to an endorsement deal after he was drafted by the Bulls with the first pick in last June's NBA draft. Saturday's event was billed as a celebration of his stellar rookie season and a way for the former Simeon star to thank local fans for their support.

Still, when Rose -- decked out in a Bulls' warmup jacket and a Boston Red Sox cap -- went to the front of the store to address the fans at the start, he seemed a bit surprised by the size of the crowd.

And in keeping with the soft-spoken manner he displayed throughout his time with the Bulls , Rose was a man of few words and his ''speech'' timed in at well under a minute.

Before the event began, I got a chance to spend a few minutes with Rose, and he was a bit more effusive in discussing his rookie season.

''I had a good year,'' he said. ''I wasn't scared or anything. I just had to get used to it, making mistakes and learning from the mistakes.

''I watched LeBron [James] early in his career, and his biggest thing was he got used to making mistakes so he could move on and not think about it too much. I'm just trying to follow him right now.''

It would be ridiculously unfair to expect Rose to become the equal of James at any point of his career, but his rookie numbers compare favorably with what James did during his rookie season in 2003-04.

In 79 games (all starts), James averaged 20.9 points on 41.7 percent shooting in 39.5 minutes. He also averaged 5.5 rebounds and 5.9 assists.

In starting 80 of 81 games, Rose averaged 16.8 points on 47.5 percent shooting in 37 minutes. He also averaged 3.9 rebounds and 6.3 assists.

James, obviously, scored more points, but had to take a lot more shots to do so because his field-goal percentage was so much lower.

Another area where Rose has James beat is playoff games played as a rookie. The Bulls pushed the Boston Celtics to seven games in the first round before being eliminated. James didn't play in his first playoff game until his third season.

And it's not as if Rose was getting token minutes during the playoffs. In the series, he averaged 44.7 minutes, 19.7 points, 6.3 rebounds and 6.4 assists. He also converted 49.2 percent of his field-goal attempts.

But instead of focusing on his individual production, Rose talked only about the team when asked to assess the series.

''We could have won, but they were a good team and they fought back every time we made our run,'' he said. ''We were lucky to be there.''

Not lucky to have made the playoffs, but lucky for the opportunity to learn from the experience.

In the two weeks since the Bulls were ousted from the playoffs, Rose has been resting and catching up with the family members he wasn't able to spend much time with during the season.

But his downtime won't last long. He plans to head to Los Angeles soon to begin training for next season. He won't rest on his laurels, and plans to work on improving every aspect of his game.

''Just everything, but I have to be more consistent with my jump shot,'' he said. ''Just stay consistent with my stroke and get my confidence up in my jump shot. You have to take them and know they're gonna fall. I'm good enough to where if I take enough jump shots, I'm not gonna miss them; I'm gonna make at least half of them. I just have to learn that and keep shooting.

''I also want to learn the pick-and-roll a little bit better and work on my defense.''

If Rose is able to make those improvements and the team's other young players improve, the Bulls won't have to have a strong finish just to make the playoffs next season.

''Hopefully, we can be pretty good,'' he said. ''We started off last season a little slow, but now if we come out and just play like we did at the end of this season, we should be in a good race for the playoffs next season.''

That also means expectations will be higher. A top-four finish in the Eastern Conference -- and home-court advantage in the first round -- is a possibility.

''I think so,'' he said, ''but it's gonna take a lot of work, a lot of practicing and a lot of focus.''

Comment at suntimes.com.

Numbers Up

A statistical recap of Derrick Rose's rookie season:

Season Playoffs

80 Starts 7

37.0 Minutes 44.7

7.1 Field goals made 8.4

14.9 Shots 17.1

47.5 Field-goal % 49.2

22.2 3-point % 20.0

78.8 Free-throw % 80.0

3.9 Rebounds 6.3

6.3 Assists 6.4

16.8 Points 19.7