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Bulls take Rose with top pick

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06/27/2008 - New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Bulls fulfilled Derrick Rose's childhood dream as the point guard became the first pick in the 2008 NBA Draft and will play for his hometown team.

The Chicago native helped lead the Memphis Tigers to the championship game of the 2008 NCAA Tournament during his freshman season, losing to Kansas in overtime, yet Rose was still named to the All-Final Four Team. He led Memphis with his 189 assists and was second on the squad with 14.9 points per game.

Rose was part of draft history as five of the top seven picks were college freshmen. He was followed by Kansas State forward Michael Beasley taken by Miami at No. 2, and it became a freshman trio when the Minnesota Timberwolves nabbed Southern California shooting guard O.J. Mayo third. That marked the first time in the draft's history that the top three picks were freshmen.

The Bulls, who finished 33-49 last season, had the top pick in the draft for the first time since 1999 when they selected Elton Brand.

"It feels great to go in and compete," Rose said. "I'm just blessed to be in that position right now, because a lot of people aren't, and just knowing that we are a few pieces away from really contending as a team, it just makes me happy."

Rose is just the third guard to be selected No. 1 overall in the last 30 drafts, joining Magic Johnson (1979) and Allen Iverson (1996).

Beasley was a candidate for nearly every national player of the year honor available, becoming a finalist for the Naismith, Oscar Robertson and Wooden Awards before declaring for the draft. He became just the third freshman in NCAA history to lead the nation in rebounding with his 12.4 rpg, broke the NCAA freshman record for double-doubles in a season with 28, logging four in the first half of games as he finished with a scoring average of 26.2 ppg.

Now, Beasley will try to help the Heat bounce back from a league-worst 15-67 mark last season.

"I hope we're going to bring a lot of smiles to Miami," Beasley said. 'We're going to bring a better record to Miami and hopefully a championship."

The most prized recruit in USC basketball history, Mayo decided to leave school after only one season when he averaged 20.7 points and 4.5 rebounds. He has the ability to play both shooting and point guard positions.

Mayo was heavily looked at by the Heat, but in the end he wasn't upset about slipping down a spot.

"You really can't get caught up into this too much," Mayo said. "There's going to be a lot of speculation and a lot of things floating around in the air. Obviously Mike and Derrick are two fantastic players and they did very well this year."

A pair of UCLA players were taken next as point guard Russell Westbrook was picked fourth overall by the Seattle SuperSonics, while freshman forward Kevin Love was grabbed fifth by the Memphis Grizzlies. It was the sixth time in the history of the draft that teammates were taken back-to-back.

Westbrook played a large part in pushing the Bruins to the top of the Pac-10 for the third straight year and into the Final Four this past season. He had 12.7 points per game and also topped UCLA in assists, and also played more minutes (1,318) this past season than anyone since the school began tracking such information in 1979.

The 6-foot-10 Love played just one season at UCLA, but dominated the inside with 17.5 points and 10.6 rebounds. Love's father, Stan, was selected ninth overall by the Baltimore Bullets in the 1971 NBA Draft.

Italian forward Danilo Gallinari was taken by the New York Knicks at sixth to a chorus of boos. That was followed by the Los Angeles Clippers selecting Indiana freshman guard Eric Gordon.

Gallinari played with Armani Jeans Milano in the Italian A-1 League for the past two seasons and averaged 17.5 ppg this past season. His father was a professional basketball player in Italy for several teams and has a connection with new Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni, as the two played together in Italy.

The younger Gallinari tried to ignore the reaction by the fans.

"It's a part of the game, all of the players has got to hear this," Gallinari said. "Not every time you can hear good things. So it's normal here."

Milwaukee took West Virginia forward Joe Alexander at No. 8. The pick was part of a monumental day for the Bucks, who earlier shipped forwards Yi Jianlian and Bobby Simmons to the New Jersey Nets in exchange for forward Richard Jefferson. Yi was the sixth overall pick in last year's draft.

Alexander, who led the Mountaineers in both scoring and rebounding with averages of 16.9 points and 6.4, respectively, became the first West Virginia player selected in the opening round since Ron Williams was taken by the San Francisco Warriors at No. 9 in 1968.

Charlotte, with new head coach Larry Brown, took Texas guard D.J. Augustin with the ninth pick, while Stanford center Brook Lopez was taken at No. 10 by the Nets. Twin brother Robin Lopez, also a center from Stanford, was taken at 15th by Phoenix.

Indiana took Arizona guard Jerryd Bayless 11th, followed by Sacramento getting Rider forward Jason Thompson. Portland took guard Brandon Rush of national champion Kansas next, while 6-foot-10 forward Anthony Randolph of LSU was taken by Golden State at No. 14.

Rush though is likely headed to Indiana to play with his brother, Kareem. Reports indicate the Blazers will deal Brandon Rush, guard Jarrett Jack and forward Josh McRoberts to the Pacers for Bayless and forward Ike Diogu.

Thompson's pick tied a record for the longest a senior waited to be chosen in the draft. Melvin Ely was taken 12th overall in 2002 by the Los Angeles Clippers.

Florida center Marreese Speights was taken 16th by Philadelphia, while Georgetown center Roy Hibbert was selected next by Toronto. However, Hibbert is likely going to the Pacers due to a proposed trade involving six-time All- Star forward Jermaine O'Neal heading to the Raptors.

Nevada forward JaVale McGee went 18th to Washington, while the Cleveland Cavaliers took North Carolina State freshman forward J.J. Hickson at No. 19. Charlotte also had the 20th pick in a trade from Denver and took Alexis Ajinca, a 7-foot-1 power forward from France.

Forward Ryan Anderson of California was taken at the 21st spot by the Nets, while Orlando took Western Kentucky forward Courtney Lee next, followed by Ohio State center Kosta Koufos going to Utah, Conga forward Serge Ibaka heading to Seattle, and French guard Nicolas Batum going to Houston.

Koufos became the ninth freshman drafted, breaking the old record of eight from last year. Conversely, only five seniors were taken in the first round.

The final five picks in the first round were San Antonio selecting IUPUI guard George Hill, New Orleans taking Kansas forward Darrell Arthur, Memphis going with Syracuse forward Donte' Greene, Detroit picking Indiana University forward D.J. White, and New Mexico guard J.R. Giddens heading to the defending NBA champion Boston Celtics.

Arthur was then traded to Portland for cash considerations.

A total of 12 freshmen were taken in the two rounds of the draft, including seven in the lottery portion (first 14 picks).