After months of pre-draft workouts and speculation over whom the No. 1 pick in the 2008 NBA draft would be, the Chicago Bulls put the issue to rest Thursday when they selected Derrick Rose with the top pick.

Rose, a 6-foot-3 freshman point guard, helped lead the Memphis Tigers to the NCAA championship. He averaged 14.9 points, 4.7 assists and 4.5 rebounds in his rookie campaign.

Rose, a Chicago native, is the Bulls' first No. 1 overall selection since they grabbed Elton Brand in 1999. He's the second-straight freshman taken with the top pick, following Portland's Greg Oden last year.

"I was a little nervous when they came back out, but I always had that in mind that I want to be No. 1," Rose said. "So it was great hearing my name and being the No. 1 pick."

Much was made over who the Bulls would take with the first pick -- Rose or Michael Beasley.

The Kansas State forward led the nation with 12.4 rebounds per game and ranked third with 26.2 points per game in his freshman season.

But while Rose was taken first, Beasley didn't have to wait long for his name to be called. He was selected by the Miami Heat with the No. 2 pick.

It was thought before the draft that Miami might not take Beasley and would instead trade its pick to get a guard to accompany Dwyane Wade in its backcourt.

A guard who had drawn interest from Miami is USC's O.J. Mayo, who was selected third by Minnesota before he was traded to Memphis in a late-night deal. In exchange for Mayo, the Timberwolves received UCLA's Kevin Love, who was selected at No. 5. In his freshman season, the 6-foot-5 Mayo tallied 20.7 points and 4.5 rebounds per game for the Trojans.

The 1-2-3 selection of Rose, Beasley and Mayo marked the first time in draft history that three freshman made up the top three picks.

"We actually talked about this earlier," Beasley said. "We all grew up together and we all grew up playing against each other and we all made a pact together that we would all be here. Just to see it all fall into place and see it all happen is kind of crazy."

The first non-freshman was selected with the No. 4 pick when Seattle chose UCLA guard Russell Westbrook. The 6-foot-4 sophomore averaged 12.7 points and 4.3 assists for the Bruins last season.

Westbrook's teammate Love was taken next at No. 5, before later being acquired by Minnesota. Love averaged a double-double for UCLA in his freshman campaign, tallying 17.5 points and 10.6 rebounds a game.

New York selected the first international player of the draft when they took Italy's Danilo Gallinari with the No. 6 pick.

Indiana freshman Eric Gordon was taken at No. 7 by the L.A. Clippers. Gordon averaged 20.9 points per game for the Hoosiers in his rookie season.

With the No. 8 pick, the Milwaukee Bucks selected West Virginia's Joe Alexander. The junior forward averaged 16.9 points and 6.4 rebounds last season.

Charlotte took Texas guard D.J. Augustin with the No. 9 pick, and New Jersey selected Stanford center Brook Lopez at No. 10 to round out the top 10.

Jerryd Bayless was selected at No. 11 by Indiana, Jason Thompson was taken 12th by Sacramento, Portland picked Kansas guard Brandon Rush at No. 13, Anthony Randolph was chosen by Golden State at No. 14, and Brook Lopez's brother, Robin Lopez, was taken 15th by Phoenix.

Rush was later traded to the Indiana Pacers in a deal that also sent Bayless to Portland.

In other draft-day trades, No. 17 Roy Hibbert, who was selected by Toronto, was sent to Indiana as part of a deal involving All-Star Jermaine O'Neal. Rush's Kansas teammate Darrell Arthur was selected No. 27 by New Orleans and then traded to Portland for cash. The Pistons selected D.J. White at No. 29 before trading him to Seattle for two second-round picks.