Jim Rose (May 26, 1947 – June 30, 2009) was an American professional basketball player. After playing college basketball for the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (1968–1971), Rose was the eleventh overall pick (2nd round) of the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...

of the National Basketball Association in the 1971 NBA draft.

Early life

Rose graduated from Hazard High School in Hazard, Kentucky, where he was named a ''Parade'' All-American. After originally committing to the

Houston Cougars The Houston Cougars are the athletic teams representing the University of Houston. Informally, the Houston Cougars have also been referred to as the Coogs, UH, or simply Houston. Houston's nickname was suggested by early physical education instr ...

, the press release on May 18, 1967, read as follows: "Western Kentucky signed its third all-state basketball player, Jim Rose of Hazard, Ky., to a grant-in-aid yesterday. ROSE, a 6-3, 175-pound guard, averaged 24.9 points and 14 rebounds last season. He was a first team all-stater in 1965 and 1967 and slipped to the Cage Standout second team, in 1966. He was named to the Kentucky All-State Tournament Kentucky team as a freshman and was a fourth team All-American this year." Rose led Hazard High School to three straight Sweet 16 appearances in the Kentucky State High School Basketball Tournament, in 1964, 1965 and 1966 and scored 141 points in his career in the Kentucky State High School Basketball Tournament. Rose was named All-State in his final three high school seasons.https://khsaa.org/records/basketball/bbk-recordbook_sweet16records.pdf Jimshoot003

College career

Rose played college basketball at Western Kentucky University, from 1967 to 1971 under Coach

John Oldham John Oldham may refer to: *John Oldham (colonist) (1592–1636), early Puritan settler in Massachusetts *John Oldham (poet) (1653–1684), English poet * John Oldham (psychiatrist), American psychiatrist *John Oldham (engineer) (1779–1840), Iris ...

. In 1969-1970, Rose averaged 14.0 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.6 assists as the Hilltoppers finished 22-3, losing to Jacksonville 109-96 in the

1970 NCAA University Division basketball tournament The 1970 NCAA University Division basketball tournament involved 25 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 7, 1970, and ended with the champio ...

. As a Senior, in 1970-1971, Rose averaged 15.4 points 4.8 rebounds and 2.9 assists. The Hilltoppers finished 25-6 and advanced to the Final Four of the

1971 NCAA University Division basketball tournament The 1971 NCAA University Division basketball tournament involved 25 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 13, 1971, and ended with the champi ...

. Playing with teammates

Clarence Glover Clarence Glover (born November 1, 1947) is a retired American National Basketball Association (NBA) player, who played in college at Western Kentucky (1968–1971). Glover was a forward at 6'8" and 210 lb. Early life Born in Horse Cave, Ken ...

(#10 pick in 1971 NBA draft),

Jim McDaniels James Ronald McDaniels (April 2, 1948 – September 6, 2017) was an American professional basketball player. McDaniels played collegiately for Western Kentucky University and was the No. 1 overall pick in the 1971 American Basketball Associat ...

(#23 pick in 1971 NBA draft and Jerry Dunn, the Hilltoppers revenged their 1970 loss to Jacksonville University with Artis Gilmore, winning 74-72. Western Kentucky then had a convincing 107-83 win over Coach Adolph Rupp and his University of Kentucky Wildcats. Western Kentucky defeated Ohio State 81-78, before losing in double overtime to Villanova University in the semi-finals 92-89. In the NCAA 3rd place game, they defeated the University of Kansas 77-75, finishing 24-6. Rose had 25 points in the victory over Kentucky, 18 points and 8 rebounds points in the Final Four loss to Villanova. Rose scored 11 points in the victory over Kansas. He averaged 16.0 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3 assists in the tournament. With Rose, Western Kentucky, finished 16-10 in 1968-1969, 22-3 in 1969-1970, playing in the

and 25-6 in 1970-1971, as the Hilltoppers finished 3rd in the

. In his career for Western Kentucky, Rose averaged 14.0 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 81 career games.

Professional career

Rose was drafted 28th overall by the Boston Celtics in the 1971 NBA draft, but never appeared in an

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

regular season game. Rose was also drafted by the Memphis Tams in the second round of the 1971

American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major men's professional basketball league from 1967 to 1976. The ABA ceased to exist with the ABA–NBA merger, American Basketball Association–National Basketball Association merger in 1976, ...

. On September 1, 1974, the Boston Celtics renounced their draft rights on Rose.

Honors

* Jim Rose was inducted into the Western Kentucky University Athletic Hall of Fame on October 14, 2017. * Rose was inducted into the Kentucky High School Basketball Hall Of Fame in 2016. * Rose is the namesake of the Kentucky High School Basketball tournament, The Jim Rose Central Bank Classic.

Personal

Rose died on June 30, 2009, at Holston Valley Hospital in

Kingsport, Tennessee Kingsport is a city in Sullivan and Hawkins counties in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, its population was 55,442. Lying along the Holston River, Kingsport is commonly included in what is known as the Mountain Empire, w ...

. He is buried in Hazard, Kentucky.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rose, Jim 1949 births 2009 deaths American men's basketball players Basketball players from Kentucky Boston Celtics draft picks Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Shooting guards Western Kentucky Hilltoppers basketball players