Just be yourself.(Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images) Fultz and Rose are more similar than one may thinkīefore Derrick Rose’s Halloween 50 piece, I never realized how similar he and Markelle Fultz actually were. “Whether I’m playing with 40-year-old men or 3-year-old toddlers, it’s the same sport. “I’m not concerned at all because it’s just basketball,” he said. His background is one filled with mischief and mayhem, but no criminal record. I’m going to be the same player and work as hard as I can.”īut the biggest questions about Beasley are about his off-the-court demeanor. No matter if I’m 5-feet or 8-feet-1, I’m the same player. Said Beasley: “I didn’t know there was a height requirement to get in the NBA. Only 11 power forwards in the NBA were listed shorter than 6-8 last season.īut because his game relies on quickness, a lethal left hand and an ability to shoot with tremendous range, most NBA scouts feel Beasley can thrive in the NBA as an undersized power forward. Some were surprised when his official height came in at 6-7 without sneakers and 6-8 1/4 with them. They can love you and hate you at the same time.”īeasley is an unquestioned star on the court with ability to touch 21 inches above the rim, the wingspan of a seven-footer and a chiseled 238-pound body that has just 7.5 percent body fat. “It would be a lot of pressure, but growing up in Chicago I got used to it,” he said. Now, he’s had to contemplate the perks and pressures that would come with playing in his hometown city. He watched the lottery with family and friends, and - like most of the basketball world - was shocked when the Bulls defied the odds. Rose never really considered the chance of playing for the Bulls, who had just a 1.7 percent chance of winning the first pick in the draft lottery. He led his Chicago-area teams to multiple AAU national championships, and his high school came within a whisker of capturing three straight state titles. That Rose got Memphis to the national title game as a true freshman isn’t a surprise, considering his pedigree of winning. “They’re at the opposite ends of the spectrum as far as personalities go,” Riley said. Riley, focused solely on rebuilding the roster after giving up his coaching duties, is well aware of the differences between Rose and Beasley. Rose seems like more of the sure thing, but Beasley might prove to be too good to pass up after demolishing college basketball to the tune of 26.2 points and 12.4 rebounds per game as a true freshman.Ĭhicago, a team already set at point guard with Kirk Hinrich, will pick first, while Miami is second, its highest draft pick in the 20-year history of the franchise. Rose and Beasley should be the top two picks in the draft, but the order in which they will be selected has yet to pan out. But between the lines, he is a player many feel is the second coming of all-NBA point guard Jason Kidd with his rare blend of size, speed and court vision. Unlike the brash, carefree Beasley, Rose is shy away from the court. I’m going to mess up because I don’t know everything yet.”Īt the other end of the spectrum is Memphis phenom Derrick Rose - a top point guard who is also 19. “You want me to act 25? I’m 19, and I’m living my life. Off the court, I don’t know how mature (the media) want me to be,” Beasley said. “On the basketball side, I’m 30 years old. So, which was the most telling to Chicago Bulls General Manager John Paxson and Miami Heat president Pat Riley, owners of the top two picks in the June 26 draft? Was it Beasley’s knack for finding trouble and seemingly coasting through life without a care in the world? Or was it the enormous talent that could one day make him one of the NBA’s best forwards? And then, even though he seems destined to play power forward at the next level, the Kansas State product stepped out beyond the 3-point line and buried one high-arcing shot after another. His fluid stride, 35-inch vertical leap and enormous wingspan made the drill he was running through look like child’s play. Just last week at the NBA’s pre-draft camp at Disney’s Wide World of Sports, Beasley missed his bus to the gym, showed up late and clowned around on a side court as other long-shot players were clawing and scratching for their NBA lives.īut once finally on the court, Beasley was a dazzling, dynamic force. This is the temptation and the trouble with taking Michael Beasley at the top of the upcoming NBA draft.
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