Winners and losers from All-Star Weekend

Lakers coach Phil Jackson said Tuesday that his teams have historically come out of the All-Star break with a renewed focus and energy because they can see the light at the end of the tunnel and the remaining games on the schedule become "like a college season."

Finally, there's something in the NBA experience that the rookie class can relate to. They've spent the first three-and-a-half months getting adjusted to everything from traveling on cross-country chartered planes to being called for traveling in games for using the same crossover dribble that stymied opponents back in school.

Before we turn our Rookie Rankings focus to the second half of the season, let's look back at the weekend in Phoenix that was, where a handful of first-year players experienced different fates.

Derrick Rose -- He became the first rookie to win the PlayStation Skills Challenge, besting All-Stars Tony Parker, Mo Williams and Devin Harris. His double-clutch, two-handed reverse dunk at the end of his clinching round would have given him a shot to get to the finals in the Sprite Slam Dunk later that night, too.

O.J. Mayo -- The Grizzlies kicked off their Mayo for ROY campaign with three billboards of he-of-trimmed-beard over Phoenix this weekend and the No. 3 pick went on to hit the shot of the H-O-R-S-E competition by tossing one in from the stands. Kevin Durant can keep the My Little Pony trophy he won. If I'm Mayo, I'm happier with the YouTube clip of me making that shot.

Sonny Weems -- The Denver rookie has just one assist in six games this season, but he got to rack up a dime in the slam dunk contest by standing in the aisle of Section 124 in the U.S. Airways Center and throwing an alley-oop off the bounce to teammate J.R. Smith.

Michael Beasley -- I thought about putting him in the Losers category for those ugly-as-sin one purple, one orange pair of sneakers he wore, but it's tough to deny his team-high 29 points in the Rookie Challenge that put a scare in the Sophomores.

Rudy Fernandez -- The Spaniard got robbed by the judges on both of his dunks. The flip behind the back, off the backboard, one-hand hammer dunk while wearing the throwback Fernando Martín jersey should have been at least a 45, but it only got a 42. His part Dr. J-against-the-Lakers-in-the-1980-Finals, part Andre Iguodala-in-the-'06 dunk-contest second dunk would have gotten a 50 if Pau Gasol knew how to throw a pass. Even with the failed attempts before he converted, it deserved much better than the 42 it was given.

Marc Gasol -- The juiciest story I heard about Gasol all weekend? That he was seen playing Jenga in the hotel lobby. Come on, get your swagger up.

Russell Westbrook -- Westbrook saw his Rookie team's double-digit lead in the Rookie Challenge evaporate at the hands of Thunder teammates (and Sophomore foes) Kevin Durant and Jeff Green. Durant scored a Rookie Challenge record 46 points and you know he won't let Westbrook forget that the rest of the year.

Greg Oden -- Oden had to sit out the Rookie Challenge with a bruised left knee, which was later diagnosed as a bone chip. The poor guy just can't stay healthy.

JaVale McGee/Courtney Lee/Sun Yue -- The trio of rooks were spotted making the rounds in Phoenix. I'm more of a fan of refusing to go to All-Star as a spectator until you make it as a participant. In each of their first games played after the break, McGee had four points and three fouls, Lee had seven points on 2-for-6 shooting and four turnovers and Yue got a DNP.

Korleone Young Drop of the Week: O.J. Mayo MEM; M. Gasol MEM (-1)

Eddie Gottlieb Rise of the Week: D. Rose CHI; K. Love MIN (+1)

1. Derrick Rose, G, Chicago G MPG PPG RPG APG SPG BPG FG% 3P% FT% 52 36.8 16.9 3.6 6.3 0.8 0.2 .472 .263 .784 Last Week: 2 | Drafted: 1 Even though ESPN.com's rookie expert, David Thorpe, wrote that it was a four-way tie for the Rookie of the Year in his opinion last week, it really should come down to Rose and O.J. Mayo because they've been solid from Day 1. The No. 1 pick nudges ahead this week thanks to an 18-point, six-assist game against the Heat.

2. O.J. Mayo, G, Memphis G MPG PPG RPG APG SPG BPG FG% 3P% FT% 53 37.9 19.3 4.2 2.8 1.1 0.2 .441 .385 .873 Last Week: 1 | Drafted: 3 Mayo shot just 10-for-30 in two games last week and relinquishes the top spot back to Rose. However, he did put up 12 points, three assists and three steals to Rose's four, seven and one in the T-Mobile Rookie Challenge on Friday.

3. Russell Westbrook, G, Oklahoma City G MPG PPG RPG APG SPG BPG FG% 3P% FT% 54 31.8 15.0 4.7 4.9 1.4 0.2 .406 .286 .809 Last Week: 3 | Drafted: 4 Our NBA.com writing staff in Phoenix asked as many All-Stars as we could a variety of poll questions that we'll break out on the site in the future. One of the questions was, "Who is the best rebounding guard in the league?" The most common names to pop up were Rajon Rondo and Jason Kidd, but if we ask that question again in a couple of years, it wouldn't surprise me if Westbrook's name was mentioned. Westbrook had 12 boards against the Blazers last week, with eight of the already impressive total coming on the offensive glass.

4. Brook Lopez, C, New Jersey G MPG PPG RPG APG SPG BPG FG% 3P% FT% 54 29.9 12.5 8.1 0.9 0.5 1.9 .512 .000 .818 Last Week: 4 | Drafted: 10 Lopez came out of the All-Star break strong, putting up 21 points and nine rebounds in a loss to the Rockets. Again, how did nine teams pass on this guy back in June?

5. Eric Gordon, G, L.A. Clippers G MPG PPG RPG APG SPG BPG FG% 3P% FT% 54 33.1 14.9 2.4 2.6 1.0 0.5 .447 .378 .865 Last Week: 5 | Drafted: 7 It's hard to take anything positive out of that 40-point embarrassment of a loss by the Clippers to the Suns on Tuesday, but at least Gordon got it going. Gordon followed up his 30-point performance (on 10-for-16 shooting) against the Knicks before the break with 24 points on 8-for-16 shooting against Phoenix.

6. Michael Beasley, F, Miami G MPG PPG RPG APG SPG BPG FG% 3P% FT% 51 24.3 13.3 5.3 0.9 0.5 0.5 .455 .382 .768 Last Week: 6 | Drafted: 2 For as much flak I've given Beasley, I always get a kick out of talking to the guy. When somebody asked him at the Rookies practice what are his chances of winning Rookie of the Year, he responded, "zero percent" and then said the trophy belongs to Mayo. It's going to be interesting to see if the Shawn Marion-Jermaine O'Neal trade opens up some more playing time for Beasley at power forward or if he continues to come off the bench.

7. Mario Chalmers, G, Miami G MPG PPG RPG APG SPG BPG FG% 3P% FT% 52 31.6 10.1 2.6 4.8 1.9 0.1 .426 .375 0.733 Last Week: 7 | Drafted: 34 There was only one game to go on for Chalmers last week, so his six points on 3-for-8 shooting, five assists, four rebounds, four steals and three turnovers in a win against Rose and the Bulls keeps him in the same spot for the time being.

8. Kevin Love, F, Minnesota G MPG PPG RPG APG SPG BPG FG% 3P% FT% 52 23.8 9.5 8.8 1.2 0.4 0.6 .451 .143 .784 Last Week: 9 | Drafted: 5 The 17 and 11 Love had against the Wizards will make Wolves fans smile, but Minnesota may have lost its 2009 magic. The Timberwolves have lost five in a row and are 2-8 over their last 10.

9. Marc Gasol, C, Memphis G MPG PPG RPG APG SPG BPG FG% 3P% FT% 53 30.0 11.0 7.1 1.7 0.8 1.0 .524 .000 .716 Last Week: 8 | Drafted: 48 by L.A. Lakers in 2007 Foul trouble limited Gasol to just 21 minutes in an 18-point loss to the Jazz last week, who were without big men Carlos Boozer and Andrei Kirilenko. Gasol's going to have to learn how to avoid getting whistles against him as the next step to establishing his career.

10. Jason Thompson, F, Sacramento G MPG PPG RPG APG SPG BPG FG% 3P% FT% 54 26.3 10.4 6.8 1.0 0.6 0.5 .500 .000 .713 Last Week: 10 | Drafted: 12 The Brad Miller-for-Drew Gooden part of the trade completed by the Kings and Bulls was more about payroll considerations than anything else because Gooden's contract is up this summer. At the same time it was a vote of confidence by Sacramento that Thompson and second-year man Spencer Hawes are the real deal and ready to have the training wheels taken off.

The Next 10 (alphabetical order): Ryan Anderson (NJN), D.J. Augustin (CHA), Rudy Fernandez (POR), Roy Hibbert (IND), George Hill (SAS), Courtney Lee (ORL), Luc Mbah a Moute (MIL), JaVale McGee (WAS), Greg Oden (POR), Marreese Speights (PHI)

Noteworthy Ukic Roko Ukic (TOR) wins the Rodney Dangerfield Award this week for not getting any respect for his stellar 22-point (on 9-for-13 shooting), three-assist performance in a win against the Spurs before All-Star weekend. Sadly, he commanded more attention as a look-alike to the kid from Freaks and Geeks. Greg Oden (POR) averaged 12 points, 10.5 rebounds and 1.5 blocks in two games last week before crashing knees with Corey Maggette of Golden State and heading back to the injured list. Roy Hibbert (IND) shot 10-for-16 from the field in two starts at center last week in place of the injured Jeff Foster, but the 7-footer snagged just seven rebounds. The HNPAMY (Have Not Played A Minute Yet) Club: J.R. Giddens (BOS), D.J. White (OKC) * = assigned to D-League D-League Watch: jawad Williams was signed by Rio Grande Valley Vipers after being waived by Cleveland; Courtney Sims was recalled by Phoenix three days after being assigned to the Iowa Energy; Othello Hunter was assigned to the Anaheim Arsenal by Atlanta; Hamed Haddadi was re-assigned to the Dakota Wizards by Memphis