- Jalen Rose was named the NBA Most Improved Player during the 1999-00 season
- Jimmy Walker was a 2x All-Star in the NBA
- Walker is Rose’s father and the latter never met him
Jalen Rose is the popular NBA analyst for shows like First Take, Get Up, and Jalen & Jacoby. You can also catch Rose as a studio analyst for NBA Countdown. Rose is also known for his playing days in the NBA, as he enjoyed a 13-year career in the league.
Rose was notably a member of the Indiana Pacers that reached the 2000 NBA Finals. He also was named 1999-00 Most Improved Player. Rose was also famously part of the “Fab 5” University of Michigan Wolverines, along with Chris Webber, Juwan Howard, Jimmy King, and Ray Jackson.
The thing many fans might not know about Rose was that his father, Jimmy Walker, also played in the NBA for nine seasons and was a 2x All-Star. What fans also probably don’t know is that Rose never met his father, and the question to that is, why haven’t they met?
Jalen Rose Never Met His Father, Jimmy Walker
Jimmy Walker played for three teams in the NBA, including five seasons with the Detroit Pistons. Walker was known for being a good person, as his former teammate Dave Bing once said, “We played together, lived together, and enjoyed each other as friends and as teammates. A great guy to be around; Jimmy had a big heart.”
Despite having a big heart, Walker was not involved in his son’s life. When Rose was a little kid, he grew up in Detroit without electricity, heat, or hot water. This seems crazy since Rose’s father was an NBA player, but there was a reason for it.
Walker was married when Rose was born, but he wasn’t married to Rose’s mother, Jeanne Rose. When Walker was playing in the NBA, he liked to sleep around with women behind his back, and Jeanne Rose was one of them.
So, Jalen Rose and his mother grew up poor without help from Walker. Rose’s mother never told her son that Walker was his father, so not only did Rose grow up without a father, but he also never knew who his father was… Until a teacher at his high school showed him a videotape of Walker playing basketball.
Yes, Jalen Rose first discovered who his father was from a teacher showing him old footage of his father playing basketball. This led to Rose first feeling hurt, for his father never showed up to be a part of his life. But then it quickly changed to him becoming inspired to be like his father.
Rose eventually found an old bubble gum card of his father, and he kept it with him wherever he went. Sometimes, Rose would play pickup basketball and pull his father’s card out for inspiration.
Rose would get better as a basketball player and of course, become a key player on the University of Michigan’s basketball team and eventually make the NBA. While in the NBA, Rose would connect with his father over the phone and talk with him.
This was all thanks to Rose’s Indiana Pacers teammate, Austin Croshere, who went to Providence College, the same college where Walker attended and was a star basketball player. Croshere knew Walker and gave Rose Walker’s number, starting the connection between father and son.
Things appeared to be good between Rose and Walker, and the two planned on meeting up, so they could actually talk in person. This, unfortunately, would never happen.
Before the two met up, Walker passed away from lung cancer. This hurt Rose, as his dream of meeting his father would never become a reality.
“I was hurt, saddened, and selfishly disappointed that we never got a chance to meet,” Rose said. “You want to know something? We were supposed to meet this month, we were supposed to meet this month.”
Rose would eventually come to terms with his loss of his father and the fact he never met him in person. Even without ever meeting Walker, Rose would cherish the moment he found out his father was an NBA player and how this knowledge helped him discover his own talent and confidence to reach the NBA.
“Some wanted to be doctors, some wanted to be lawyers,” Rose said. “I wanted to be a basketball player, and because of Jimmy, I always knew that I had it in me. He wasn’t there, but he inspired me. And for that, I’ll always be thankful.”
It’s sad to know Jalen Rose had to grow up not knowing his father and the fact he had to grow up in a terrible situation. Still, knowing that, despite never meeting his father, Rose could use the knowledge of having an NBA player as a father as motivation to reach his goals is an inspiration for all of us.
No matter what life throws at you, if you work hard and keep a sense of confidence, you too can achieve your dreams, just like Jalen Rose.
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