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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.
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.
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.
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.
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 two players from the same school were selected in the top five.
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.
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.
