Miami Heat Select Michael Beasley In The 2008 NBA Draft

MIAMI, 06/26 - The Miami HEAT announced today they have selected forward Michael Beasley with the second pick in the 2008 NBA Draft.

Beasley spent one year playing for Kansas State before declaring for the NBA Draft as an early entry candidate. He was named National Freshman of the Year by The Sporting News and the USBWA and received the Pete Newell Big Man of the Year award from the NABC. He also earned unanimous First Team All-American honors from the Associated Press, NABC, The Sporting News and the USBWA and was named to the Wooden Award All-America Team. He was also named Big 12 Player of the Year by the Associated Press and the league coaches and was a unanimous First Team All-Conference and All-Rookie Team Selection.

During his lone season at Kansas State, Beasley led the NCAA Division I in rebounding (12.4 rpg) and ranked third in scoring (26.2 ppg). He led the nation in 40-point games (three), 30-point/10-rebound games (13), and 20-point/10-rebound games (22). He also posted a nation-leading 28 double-doubles, breaking the freshman mark previously held by Syracuse’s Carmelo Anthony. He set new single-season school records in points (866), scoring average (26.2), 30-point games (13), double-doubles (28), rebounds (408), field goals made (307) and free throws made (216).

Beasley was a member of the USA Junior National Select Team that defeated the World Select Team at the 2007 Nike Hoop Summit, as well as a member of the silver medal-winning United States team at the 2007 FIBA World Championship for Men, and the gold medal-winning U.S. team at the 2006 FIBA Americas UI8 Championship for Men.

Beasley was born in Frederick, MD and attended Notre Dame Prep in Fitchburg, MA. While in high school, he was named Most Valuable Player of the 2007 McDonald’s All-American Game, and also earned MVP honors at the Adidas Derby Festival Classic. As a senior, he earned USA Today All-USA High School Boys Basketball Second Team honors.

Chicago Bulls select Derrick Rose with NBA Draft’s top pick

With the first pick in the 2008 NBA Draft, the Chicago Bulls selected Derrick Rose, a 6-3, 190-pound point guard out of the University of Memphis.

Rose posted averages of 14.9 points, 4.7 assists and 4.5 rebounds per game as a freshman and led Memphis to the NCAA National Championship game. He appeared in all 40 games for the Tigers, who went 38-2 and set an NCAA men’s basketball record for wins in a season.

“In this league, point guards are really hard to find," Bulls EVP of Basketball Operations John Paxson said after making the pick. "He’s got a strength about him that most guards don’t have in this league at that position.

He’s got a great burst and he’s very fast with the ball. I think he’s going to make other players better, and I think he’ll give us some leadership abilities as he goes on that we really need. For us, it was the right pick.”

Rose visited the Bulls for a private workout on June 19—two days after Michael Beasley was in town—and wasn’t shy about his desire to play for his hometown team.

“I think back to all the times people have told me I was good enough to play for the Bulls, and now it could come true,” Rose told Bulls.com last week. “I’d love to play here. I know the whole city would be behind me and it’s such a great sports city. The Bulls have a lot of talent and they’re young, too. I think if I’m lucky enough to come to this team, we’ll do some damage.”

Rose attended Simeon Career Academy High School in Chicago, where he helped the school become the first Chicago Public League team to win back-to-back state titles in Illinois prep history. His teams went 120-12 (.909) during his four years at Simeon.

A rare combination of speed, elite athleticism and poise at the point guard position, Rose emerged as a candidate to be the NBA Draft’s top pick during a remarkable postseason run, in which he averaged 20.8 points, 6.0 assists and 6.5 rebounds per game.

“I’m just an extremely competitive person,” said Rose, a member of the 2008 NCAA Tournament All-Final Four Team. “Everyone was saying I was too young or that another player was going to get the best of me because they were older, but age doesn’t always matter. It’s about being the better player. I just wanted to prove people wrong and show that I was the best player on the court.”

Rose is the second No. 1 overall pick in franchise history (Elton Brand, 1999) and he is just the third guard to be selected No. 1 overall in the NBA in the last 30 drafts (Magic Johnson, 1979; Allen Iverson, 1996).

The Bulls also acquired the draft rights to center Omer Asik, the 36th selection in NBA Draft 2008, in a three-team deal with the Portland Trail Blazers and the Denver Nuggets.

The 7-0, 255-pound Asik is a 20-year-old native of Bursa, Turkey. A two-time Turkish League All-Star (2007, 2008), Asik split 30 games last year with Alpella and Fenerbahce, where he averaged 10.2 ppg, 8.3 rpg, a league-high 1.90 bpg and 1.90 spg. In 2007-08 Euroleague action, he set a league record for blocked shots in a game with 19 rejections.

Chicago will hold an 11:00 a.m. press conference at the United Center on Monday to introduce Rose.