With just about 24 hours to go until the 2008 NBA Draft, we can safely assume that the Chicago Bulls will make Derrick Rose the top overall selection. However, unlike last year with Kevin Durant, the #2 pick is becoming more and more of a toss-up. Michael Beasley, thought to be a lock to the Miami Heat for weeks, could see his stock slip tomorrow night. But why?

When it comes to the top overall selection, I’ve made my opinion very clear: Derrick Rose is the man that can take the Bulls back to glory. The playoff success of young point guards like Chris Paul, Deron Williams and even Rajon Rondo show the importance of a great floor general. Reports say the Miami Heat, concerned about Beasley’s character, are looking for a point guard to play alongside Dwyane Wade and Shawn Marion.

How in the world can the Heat and Pat Riley be concerned about Beasley’s character, but ignorant of the same concerns that have plagued USC’s O.J. Mayo and Arizona’s Jerryd Bayless? Also, while both should be dynamite scorers in the league, both are relatively untested at the point guard position. If you’re not going to take the incredible scoring ability of Beasley, can you really entrust your franchise in a guy that didn’t even run the point in college?

Perhaps these rumors are all last minute bluffs by NBA teams the night before the draft. But rumors of trade-ups by New York and Milwaukee (for Mayo and West Virginia’s Joe Alexander, respectively) mean Beasley could be sitting in the green room much longer than first thought.

While talk about this year’s NBA Draft hasn’t reached full fervor yet, the debate of Derrick Rose vs. Michael Beasley has already begun. Much like last year’s draft in Greg Oden and Kevin Durant, this year’s class features two can’t-miss talents at the top. If we’ve learned anything so far this postseason, it’s that these lottery teams need an elite point guard to turn around their fortunes. That someone is Derrick Rose.

Lets rewind back to 2005, when elite college talents named Deron Williams and Chris Paul were taken 3rd and 4th overall. Three short seasons later, both Williams and Paul find themselves six wins away from the NBA Finals. Meanwhile, the guys taken before them, Andrew Bogut and Marvin Williams, have “carried” their teams to a whopping four postseason wins between them. Bogut is closely toeing the line of “bust” status and Williams’ raw potential is still just that…potential.

As for Williams and Paul, they’ve now brought their teams to the brink of “elite” status. In the last eight months, Paul has appeared on the cover of NBA 2k8, finished 2nd in MVP voting and triggered a 17 game turnaround for the Hornets. Not to be outdone, Williams helped the Jazz advance to the Western Conference Finals a season ago and is now giving the top-seeded Lakers all they can handle.

What’s this all mean for the team selecting 1st overall? It shows that with a great point guard, the effort of rebuilding becomes a lot more bearable. Lets take a look at the three teams with the best chance of landing the top pick: Miami, Seattle and Minnesota. The Heat boast a pair of veteran stars in Dwyane Wade and Shawn Marion and could find themselves back in the postseason with Rose in the backcourt. The Sonics already have Kevin Durant and Jeff Green. If the ping pong balls bounced their way, Rose could find himself in Seattle with the daunting task of helping save basketball in Seattle. Minnesota? Well, with young guys like Al Jefferson, Corey Brewer and Randy Foye, Derrick Rose could be the backbone of a dangerous nucleus in the Twin Cities.

There’s no doubt Michael Beasley will be a very good NBA player. But in the end, he’s still another talented 6′9 guy that can score from everywhere. Beasley can score 20 points and 10 rebounds a game in his rookie year. But Derrick Rose can turn around a franchise as soon as he holds up a jersey and shakes David Stern’s hand. Easy choice, right?

With conference play already winding down (less than three weeks ’till Selection Sunday!), a lively debate has begun about who is deserving of National Player of the Year. While perimeter players like Tennessee’s Chris Lofton and Davidson’s Stephen Curry (if you haven’t seen him play, do it) can make an argument, it’s essentially a two-man race: Kansas State’s freshman phenom and North Carolina’s Tyler Hansbrough.

Beasley follows in the footsteps of last year’s star freshmen, Kevin Durant and Greg Oden. There’s little doubt he’ll be going pro after this year, and there’s little doubt that he’ll be the first pick in June’s NBA Draft. Beasley and freshman teammate Bill Walker have quickly put Kansas State back on the national stage. Over the weekend, he set a Big 12 record with 44 points, upping his scoring average to 26 points to go with 12 rebounds a game. Both of those marks are higher than Durant’s averages last year.

Unfortunately, we haven’t been able to see Beasley on national television as much as we saw Durant, largely because Kansas State games don’t air very often. Last month’s upset over Kansas (a win Beasley guaranteed before the season) wasn’t televised nationally. For those who haven’t seen him play, tonight’s game at Texas will be broadcast on ESPN.

Beasley’s biggest competitor in the National Player of the Year debate is Hansbrough, the psychotic white boy from Chapel Hill. Hansbrough’s physical abilities can’t compare with Beasley’s, but his determination sure can. If it’s possible for the ACC’s leading scorer and rebounder to be “scrappy” and “feisty,” Hansbrough would fit that description.

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