By BRETT PYNE
BYU SPORTS MEDIA RELATIONS
BYU basketball player Mike Rose received an honorable release from his missionary service for medical reasons and will return to the university and its basketball program in the fall.
Prior to his release, he was serving as a full-time missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at the Missionary Training Center in Provo in preparation for his assignment to the Venezuela Maracaibo Mission.
“It’s definitely hard not to be going because I was excited and ready to go,” Rose said. “I was planning on serving for two years. Sometimes life just throws different things at you.”
Rose’s medical circumstances will not prevent him from continuing as a student-athlete at BYU. A native of Houston, Rose, 19, plans to re-enroll at BYU for the fall semester.
“My main concern is obviously for Mike and his well-being,” BYU coach Steve Cleveland said. “I know he was looking forward to his missionary service, but we certainly welcome him back and are happy to have him continue being a part of the basketball program.”
A 6-foot-2 guard, Rose appeared in 26 games as a freshman for the Cougars 21-9 NCAA Tournament team in 2003-04. He averaged 3.9 points in 7.9 minutes of action and shot a team-best 46 percent behind the three-point arc. Known for his shooting range, Rose set a BYU record by connecting on eight threes in his first college game on his way to a season-high 26 points.
