Jalen Rose spent his first Mother’s Day without his mom, Jeanne, doing what they both loved to do: Talk basketball.
Working on the set of ESPN’s NBA Sunday Countdown, Rose began to talk about his mother, who passed away in Februrary from lung cancer at 79 years old, and became emotional as he spoke about her legacy and their conversations growing up in Detroit.
“This is the first time in my life that I didn’t have my mother or grandmother on Mother’s Day,” Rose began, his voice trailing off, as host Maria Taylor stood up and consoled him.
“It’s been tough, for me and my family, but I’m gonna be strong. I got a lot of people who rely on me, a lot of people who love me, lot of people who believe in me.”
Rose was raised by a single mother, and never met his NBA-playing father, Jimmy Walker, who died in 2007.
His grandmother, Mary Belle Hicks, died in September at age 103. She had a funny moment during Michigan’s 2018 NCAA tournament run, telling Sister Jean that Loyola Chicago’s Final Four run was “over.”
“I used to sign ‘Dr. J’ as my autograph when I was little, and people was laughing at me and was teasing me,” Rose said. “And she was like ‘You’re gonna make it. You is Dr. J. But you ain’t never better than Magic (Johnson).’ That’s how she motivated me. … I’m just happy that the name Jalen is going to carry our legacy, carry her legacy.”
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Rose, the former Detroit Southwestern star, Fab 5 leader at Michigan and 13-year NBA veteran from 1994-2007, was in Detroit on Thursday hosting a community vaccination event at his Jalen Rose Leadership Academy school.
Here’s the two-minute clip of Rose:
Rose co-founded the Jalen Rose Leadership Academy in 2011.
Speaking last week, Rose urged Detroiters to receive the COVID-19 vaccine shot.
“I understand people that look like me don’t necessarily have the utmost trust in government or law enforcement or even medicine based on our history in the United States,” Rose said. “But this is different. This is unique. This is deadly. And it’s important for me to do what I can to spread that message. … I don’t want citizens of Detroit to feel threatened that getting the Pfizer shot, getting the vaccination shot, is going to do something to put you in peril, or something that’s going to be to your detriment. But it’s something that is going to be to our benefit, that allows us to get back to some sense of normalcy.”