To most everyone else, he’s Derrick Rose, All-Star guard for the Chicago Bulls and MVP candidate.

To Brenda, he’s a 22-year-old who still needs a mother’s care after a doctor recently diagnosed Rose with two painful stomach ulcers. She stayed at his house for three days, making sure her baby was OK. “I was wishing I could take the pain from him and put it on me,” she says.

To most everyone else, Rose is the superstar who had 22 points, 12 assists and six rebounds in a victory against the Orlando Magic— having barely eaten or had liquids in four days because of the ulcers. “You want to be great, you fight through the pain,” he says.

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Playing without center Joakim Noah and new Bulls forward Carlos Boozer for extended stretches, Rose has kept Chicago near the top of the Eastern Conference with his outstanding play. Chicago was 37-16 through Wednesday, third in the East, 2½ games behind the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat.

Averaging career highs of 24.5 points, 8.2 assists and 4.4 rebounds with a flair for producing daily highlights, Rose has put his name in the MVP conversation in his third season.

The wins, statistics and leadership prompted TNT analyst Charles Barkley to say Rose is the best point guard in the NBA and the leader for MVP.

“If anything, it makes you feel good about yourself knowing that your hard work is paying off and people are putting you in the discussions,” Rose says. “It takes a lot of work, especially to come out and say you want to be (MVP, which he did in October). It put a lot of pressure on me, but pressure makes me play better.”

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Rose’s “Why can’t I be MVP of the league?” surprised some.

“I was like ‘Whoa, is he crazy? Who says that?’ ” Noah says. “Right now, he’s in that position. That’s how confident he is in his ability. I know at the end of the day he’s one of the reasons why I work, because I know in the summer how much work he puts in. And I have to do the same.”

Shortly after becoming Bulls coach in June, former Celtics assistant Tom Thibodeau worked late at the practice facility watching video and learning about his personnel. He often heard the ball bouncing in the gym. After a few days, he stopped checking to see who it was.

“The actions told me more than anything else,” Thibodeau says. “When you’re sitting on an opposing bench, you obviously see the talent but what you don’t see is the drive. You don’t see the humility, and you don’t see how important winning is because you don’t know him.”

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When I here Seal it just blows me away. His emotion in his voice is so real. His voice alone is amazing. Really listen to his lyrics. Let go & let yourself feel it.